Ford v. United States, No. 17-2206 (8th Cir. 2019)
Annotate this CaseThe Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of movant's 28 U.S.C. 2255 motion to vacate, set aside, or correct his sentence based on his claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. Movant claimed that counsel failed to impeach his accuser's credibility. The court held that counsel's investigation of the witness demonstrated reasonable professional judgment and was therefore not constitutionally deficient. The court rejected movant's claim that counsel's cross-examination of the witness amounted to ineffective assistance of counsel, and held that counsel did not act unreasonably in concluding that the best way to discredit an alleged sexual assault victim was through scientific evidence and expert testimony rather than through attempted character demolition. Therefore, counsel provided reasonable representation under Strickland v. Washington. The court also held that the district court did not err in declining to hold an evidentiary hearing.
Court Description: Smith, Author, with Loken and Gruender, Circuit Judges] Prisoner case - Habeas. Claim that trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance of counsel by failing to adequately cross-examine the victim fails because the jury had sufficient objective evidence to convict Ford irrespective of the victim's supposed character for dishonesty; further, counsel's cross-examination was not unreasonable in its scope and choice of topics; counsel's investigation of the victim demonstrated reasonable professional judgment and was not constitutionally defective; decision not to call witnesses was within counsel's discretion and was exercised reasonably; the district court did not abuse its discretion by denying Ford's request for an evidentiary hearing on his claims.
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