Hyles v. United States, No. 13-1264 (8th Cir. 2014)
Annotate this CasePetitioner appealed the district court's denial of her 28 U.S.C. 2255 motion, alleging ineffective assistance of counsel. Because petitioner failed to show prejudice, the court declined to address whether her attorney's performance was deficient. The only prejudice petitioner identified was admission of her grand jury testimony at trial. The court concluded, however, that the grand jury testimony was cumulative of other trial evidence and there was no reasonable probability that the result of the proceeding would have been different had she not testified before the grand jury. Assuming that petitioner's attorney advised her to reject the plea, she cannot prove that counsel's performance was deficient. Any advice that petitioner hold the government to its burden at trial was not constitutionally unreasonable. Further, nothing in the record indicated that petitioner wanted to accept the plea offer and would have acknowledged her guilt even if properly advised about the risks of trial. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment of the district court.
Court Description: Prisoner case - habeas. For the court's opinion in Hyles' direct appeal, see United States v. Hyles, 521 F.3d 946 (8th Cir. 2008). Admission of Hyles' grand jury testimony at trial was cumulative of other trial evidence and the district court did not err in rejecting her argument that her trial counsel was ineffective in failing to object to its admission; claim that trial counsel was ineffective in advising Hyles not to accept the government's plea offer was properly rejected as such advice (assuming it was given) was not, under the facts, constitutionally unreasonable and Hyles could not show she would have pleaded guilty if given the advice since she maintained her innocence at all phases of the prosecution.
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