Rivers v. United States, No. 12-15208 (11th Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CasePetitioner, convicted of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute, appealed the denial of his 28 U.S.C. 2255 motion to vacate his sentence based on the ineffective assistance of counsel. Petitioner's counsel died before defendant filed his petition. The district court permitted counsel for petitioner's codefendant to testify at an evidentiary hearing over petitioner's objection under Federal Rule of Evidence 807. The court held that statements admitted under Rule 807 lacked the "circumstantial guarantees of trustworthiness" required by the rule, and so it was error for the district court to admit them. Nonetheless, the court did not reverse the denial of motion because petitioner failed to meet his burden to prove the claims in his petition. Therefore, the Rule 807 error was harmless and the court affirmed the judgment.
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