Bobby Smith, et al v. USA

Filing

Opinion issued by court as to Appellant Bobby Alexander Smith. Decision: Affirmed. Opinion type: Non-Published. Opinion method: Per Curiam.

Case: 11-14452

Date Filed: 03/24/2014

Page: 1 of 6

[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
________________________
No. 11-14452
________________________
D.C. Docket Nos. 3:11-cv-00082-HLA-JRK,
3:09-cr-00059-HLA-JRK-1

BOBBY ALEXANDER SMITH,
Petitioner-Appellant,
versus
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Respondent-Appellee.
________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Middle District of Florida
________________________
(March 24, 2014)
Before MARTIN and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges, and HUCK, ∗ District Judge.
PER CURIAM:

*

Honorable Paul C. Huck, United States District Judge for the Southern District of Florida,
sitting by designation.

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In this appeal, Bobby Alexander Smith challenges the district court’s denial
of his 28 U.S.C. § 2255 motion to vacate his sentence. In 2009 Smith pleaded
guilty to one count of Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon in violation of
18 U.S.C. § 922(g). Based on three previous convictions that were characterized
as violent felonies, Smith received a 15-year mandatory minimum sentence under
the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), 18 U.S.C. § 924(e). On appeal, Smith
argues his counsel was ineffective for failing to challenge the characterization of
one of his prior convictions, that is his child abuse conviction, as a violent felony
under the ACCA. After review and with the benefit of oral argument, we affirm.
I.
In 2009 Smith pleaded guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted
Felon. The plea agreement noted the application of the ACCA and that the offense
had a minimum mandatory sentence of 15 years (180 months) imprisonment. The
Presentence Investigation Report (PSI) also provided that Smith was subject to an
enhanced sentence under the ACCA because he had three prior convictions for
violent felonies, including one for child abuse under Florida law. 18 U.S.C. §
924(e).
At sentencing, Smith was represented by a highly-respected, long-time
attorney from the Federal Defender Office. Smith’s counsel made no objections to
the factual statements contained in the PSI or to the application of the ACCA to
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Smith’s sentence. During the sentencing hearing, Smith’s counsel and the Court
noted the possibility of a future sentence reduction under Fed. R. Crim. P. 35.
Apparently in anticipation of the Rule 35 motion, Smith’s counsel presented
evidence for the Court to consider in a future sentence reduction. Smith’s counsel
called four witnesses, including the child abuse victim, Smith’s stepdaughter. To
make the case for a more lenient sentence under the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors,
Smith’s counsel presented information about the nature and circumstances of
Smith’s firearm possession offense, as well as Smith’s personal history and
characteristics, including letters of support from a community group. Under his
counsel’s direction, Smith also made a lengthy and substantive statement to the
Court.
Noting he had no other option, the district court judge sentenced Smith to
180 months imprisonment, the minimum sentence permitted by the ACCA. 18
U.S.C. § 924(e)(1). Without this mandatory minimum, Smith’s sentencing range
would have been 135 to 168 months. During the sentencing hearing, the district
court expressly noted that if a Rule 35 motion was filed, it was likely that Smith’s
sentence would be substantially lowered.
Six months later the government did indeed file a motion under Fed. R.
Crim. P. 35(b)(1) recommending a one-third reduction in Smith’s sentence from

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180 to 121 months. The district court granted the motion, and granted relief
beyond that requested by the government, reducing Smith’s sentence to 84 months.
Also during this time, Smith filed a motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 to vacate
his sentence. It is that motion which is the subject of this appeal. This motion
claimed that Smith’s sentencing counsel provided ineffective assistance because he
failed to argue that Smith’s child abuse conviction was not a violent felony under
the ACCA. The district court denied the § 2255 motion, finding Smith had
demonstrated neither deficient performance on the part of his sentencing counsel,
nor prejudice as a result of counsel’s failure to object to his ACCA classification.
II.
In reviewing the denial of a § 2255 motion to vacate, this Court reviews
questions of law de novo and findings of fact for clear error. Lynn v. United
States, 365 F.3d 1225, 1232 (11th Cir. 2004). A claim of ineffective assistance of
counsel is a mixed question of law and fact that we review de novo. Devine v.
United States, 520 F.3d 1286, 1287 (11th Cir. 2008).
To succeed on an ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim, a defendant has
the burden of showing (1) that his counsel’s performance was deficient; and (2)
that the deficient performance caused him prejudice. Strickland v. Washington,
466 U.S. 668, 687, 104 S. Ct. 2052, 2064 (1984). Deficiency in performance is
measured by an “objective standard of reasonableness.” Id. at 688, 104 S. Ct. at
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2064. We must determine whether, on the facts of the particular case and from
counsel’s perspective at the time, the identified omission was “outside the wide
range of professionally competent assistance.” Id. at 690, 104 S. Ct. at 2066.
With these principles in mind, we conclude that Smith cannot prevail on his
ineffective assistance of counsel claim. Specifically, Smith’s claim fails because
he cannot show based on the facts of this case and his counsel’s perspective at the
time, that his sentencing counsel’s performance was deficient, or “outside the wide
range of professionally competent assistance.” Id. A challenge to Smith’s child
abuse conviction as an ACCA predicate was not certain to be successful given this
circuit’s law at the time. See United States v. Glasco, 223 F. App’x 951, 956 (11th
Cir. 2007) (finding child abuse conviction constituted a “crime of violence” for
purposes of a sentencing enhancement).
Even if a challenge could have been made, the sentencing hearing transcript
indicates that Smith’s experienced sentencing counsel made the strategic choice to
take a different tact. He chose instead to work with the government and paint a
persuasive, sympathetic picture for the sentencing judge in preparation for a Rule
35 motion for a substantial sentence reduction Smith hoped to receive in the not so
distant future. The sentencing transcript reflects that Smith’s counsel spent time
investigating his client’s circumstances and then prepared Smith and other

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witnesses to testify at the hearing and offer letters of support to develop an
extensive and favorable factual record for Smith’s hoped-for resentencing.
In the end, Smith’s counsel’s strategic choice was successful in persuading
the district court to reduce Smith’s sentence by nearly 50 percent to 84 months.
This 84-month sentence was considerably lower than both the sentence requested
by the government and the sentencing range that would have been ascribed to
Smith even if he had not been sentenced as an Armed Career Criminal. Based on
this record, Smith’s sentencing counsel’s performance was not “outside the wide
range of professionally competent assistance.” 1
III.
Because Smith has not shown on the record before us that his sentencing
counsel’s performance was deficient, we affirm the district court’s denial of his
§ 2255 motion to vacate.
AFFIRMED.

1

An ineffective assistance of counsel claim requires a defendant to show both deficiency and
prejudice. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 687, 104 S. Ct. at 2064. Because Smith has failed to establish
the first requirement—that his counsel’s performance was deficient—we do not consider
whether he was prejudiced.
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