US v. Juan Lopez

Filing

UNPUBLISHED PER CURIAM OPINION filed. Motion disposition in opinion-- Originating case number: 5:06-cr-00041-RLV-DCK-14,5:10-cv-00124-RLV. Copies to all parties and the district court/agency. [999347124].. [13-7953]

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UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 13-7953

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
JUAN LOPEZ,
Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western
District of North Carolina, at Statesville.
Richard L.
Voorhees, District Judge.
(5:06-cr-00041-RLV-DCK-14; 5:10-cv00124-RLV)

Submitted:

April 22, 2014

Decided:

April 30, 2014

Before AGEE and THACKER, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior
Circuit Judge.

Vacated and remanded by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Juan Lopez, Appellant Pro Se.
Thomas Richard Ascik, Assistant
United States Attorney, Jill Westmoreland Rose, OFFICE OF THE
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Asheville, North Carolina; Kevin Zolot,
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Charlotte, North Carolina,
for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

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PER CURIAM:
Juan Lopez seeks to appeal the district court’s order
denying relief on his 28 U.S.C. § 2255 (2012) motion.

The order

is not appealable unless a circuit justice or judge issues a
certificate of appealability.
see Slack

v.

McDaniel,

529

28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1)(B) (2012);
U.S.

473,

484

(2000)

(discussing

standard for obtaining certificate of appealability).
careful

review

of

the

record,

we

grant

a

Following

certificate

of

appealability on the issue of whether the district court erred
in

dismissing,

that

his

without

trial

an

counsel

evidentiary
rendered

hearing,

ineffective

Lopez’s

claim

assistance

by

failing to initiate plea negotiations after Lopez directed him
to do so.
An

evidentiary

hearing

is

required

“[u]nless

the

motion and the files and records of the case conclusively show
that

the

[movant]

§ 2255(b).

Lopez

is

entitled

contends

that

to
the

no

relief.”

district

court

28

U.S.C.

erred

by

crediting trial counsel’s affidavit over his claims that counsel
did not engage in plea negotiations after Lopez directed him to
do so.

We note that Lopez’s and trial counsel’s accounts of

what occurred are starkly opposed.

We also note that Lopez’s

§ 2255 motion was not in conformity with the requirements of
Rule 2(b)(5) of the Rules Governing Section 2255 Proceedings,
which requires that a § 2255 motion “be signed under penalty of
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perjury by the movant or by a person authorized to sign it for
the movant.”

The commentary to the Rules indicates that the

appropriate remedy for a violation is to allow the movant to
bring his

motion

into

conformity

dismissing the motion outright.

with

the

rules

rather

than

See Kafo v. United States, 467

F.3d 1063, 1069-71 (7th Cir. 2006) (remanding to allow movant to
conform motion to rules).
The district court did not give Lopez the opportunity
to

bring

his

§ 2255

motion

into

conformity

with

the

rules,

instead relying on trial counsel’s affidavit to reject Lopez’s
claim on the merits.
the

right

to

The Supreme Court has recently recognized

“effective

counsel

during

plea

negotiations.”

Missouri v. Frye, 132 S. Ct. 1399, 1407-08 (2012); see Lafler v.
Cooper, 132 S. Ct. 1376, 1384 (2012) (same).

While there is no

constitutional right to a plea agreement, see Weatherford v.
Bursey, 429 U.S. 545, 561 (1977), and the decision to initiate
plea negotiations is ordinarily a strategic decision within the
purview of defense counsel, Hawkman v. Parratt, 661 F.2d 1161,
1171

(8th

Cir.

1981),

counsel

is

still

required

to

be

a

“reasonably effective advocate” regarding the decision to seek a
plea bargain.

Brown v. Doe, 2 F.3d 1236, 1246 (2d Cir. 1993).

Here, the evidence adduced at trial was so overwhelming that, if
Lopez’s contention that he not only sought to enter a guilty
plea but also directed counsel to negotiate with the Government
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is

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credited,

a

debatable

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question

arises

regarding

the

effectiveness of trial counsel’s assistance.
Accordingly, we grant a certificate of appealability
on

Lopez’s

claim

that

his

trial

counsel

was

ineffective

for

failing to initiate plea negotiations with the Government after
Lopez directed him to do so, vacate the district court’s order,
and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. ∗
We

deny

issues.
legal
before

a

certificate

of

appealability

as

to

all

remaining

We dispense with oral argument because the facts and

contentions
this

court

are

adequately

and

argument

presented

would

not

in
aid

the
the

materials
decisional

process.
VACATED AND REMANDED

∗

By this disposition, we express no view as to either the
veracity of Lopez’s version of events or the proper disposition
of this claim, leaving those determinations in the first
instance to the district court.

4