Fellouris v. United States

860 F. Supp. 97, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13334, 1993 WL 658681
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedSeptember 23, 1993
DocketNo. 93 Civ. 6323 (CBM)
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 860 F. Supp. 97 (Fellouris v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fellouris v. United States, 860 F. Supp. 97, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13334, 1993 WL 658681 (S.D.N.Y. 1993).

Opinion

OPINION

MOTLEY, District Judge.

INTRODUCTION

MOVANT, STEVEN FELLOURIS, along with two co-defendants, was indicted on August 16, 1985. The ease was tried as to defendants JONATHON B. KOHAN and DANIEL LOWERY in a five-day trial starting on February 7, 1986. A bench warrant was issued with respect to Fellouris on September 5, 1985, whose whereabouts, at the time, were unknown.

Fellouris voluntarily returned to the United States and was arrested on October 23, 1991 upon his release from a 41 day stay in the hospital.

[98]*98After the arrest, the court held its first pre-trial conference in this case on November 1, 1991. In orders dated November 1, 1991, December 16, 1991 and January 3, 1992, the court excluded all time from November 1, 1991 to March 20, 1992 from the time within which trial had to commence pursuant to the Speedy Trial Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(1)(F). Each time, defendant Fellouris’ medical condition was cited as a basis for the exclusion, allowing the parties time to conduct medical examinations and obtain and consult medical records.

On March 20, 1992, Fellouris pleaded guilty to count two only of the indictment, bank fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1344 and 2. No medical evidence was presented. On June 26, 1992, this court sentenced Fellouris to five years in prison, the maximum term under the statute in effect at the time of the offense.

On October 26, 1992, Fellouris filed a motion for reduction of sentence pursuant to Rule 35(b) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. By order of the court, dated April 9,1993, that motion was denied due the court’s finding that Fellouris’ condition had not significantly changed since his sentencing in June 1992.

Fellouris now claims, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255, that the court should vacate, set aside or correct his sentence.

The court determines that the motion should be denied, without hearing, for the reasons set forth below.

DISCUSSION

Fellouris’ § 2255 motion rests on the ground that he had ineffective assistance of counsel.

§ 2255 provides in part,

Unless the motion and the files and records of the case conclusively show that the prisoner is entitled to no relief, the court shall cause notice thereof to be served upon the United States attorney, grant a prompt hearing thereon, determine the issues and make findings of fact and conclusions of law with respect thereto.

Rule 4(b) of the Rules Governing Section 2255 Proceedings for the United States District Courts provides in part that,

If it plainly appears from the face of the motion and any annexed exhibits and the prior proceedings in the case that the movant is not entitled to relief in the district court, the judge shall make an order for its summary dismissal and cause the movant to be notified.

To determine whether it is necessary to conduct a hearing on allegations made in support of a § 2255 motion, the court looks to the sufficiency of affidavits or other evidence proffered in support of those allegations. United, States v. Aiello, 814 F.2d 109, 113 (2d Cir.1987); Dalli v. United States, 491 F.2d 758, 760 (2d Cir.1974). Fellouris’ signed memorandum of law and fact serve as his affidavit. Affidavits are sufficient to grant a hearing if they proffer evidence, admissible at a hearing, which might entitle Movant to relief. Dalli, 491 F.2d at 760. However, allegations that are “insufficient in law, undisputed, immaterial, vague, conclusory, palpably false or patently frivolous” do not warrant a hearing. United States v. Malcolm, 432 F.2d 809, 812 (2d Cir.1970).

Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

In support of his claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, Movant alleges that counsel 1) failed to present a defense that counsel knew or should have known existed and 2) by stating that Fellouris had no defense to the charges against him, “induced” Movant to enter into a guilty plea.

In Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674, rehearing denied, 467 U.S. 1267, 104 S.Ct. 3562, 82 L.Ed.2d 864 (1984), the Supreme Court set forth the two-part standard for the assertion of a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel.

First, the defendant must show that counsel’s performance was deficient. This requires showing that counsel made errors so serious that counsel was not functioning as the “counsel” guaranteed to the defendant by the Sixth Amendment. Second, the defendant must show that the deficient performance prejudiced the defense. This requires showing that ’ counsel’s errors [99]*99were so serious as to deprive the defendant of a fair trial, a trial whose result is reliable.

Id. at 687, 104 S.Ct. at 2064; accord U.S. v. Eisen, 974 F.2d 246, 265 (2nd Cir.1992).

The Court noted that if an insufficient showing is made on either component of the Strickland test, the other need not be addressed. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 697, 104 S.Ct. at 2069. In addition, the Court held that the defendant must overcome “a strong presumption that counsel’s conduct falls within the wide range of reasonable professional assistance.” Id at 689, 104 S.Ct. at 2065. The Court more recently emphasized its position, stating that “[t]he essence of an ineffective-assistance claim is that counsel’s unprofessional errors so upset the adversarial balance between defense and prosecution that the trial was rendered unfair and the verdict rendered suspect.” Kimmelman v. Morrison, 477 U.S. 365, 374, 106 S.Ct. 2574, 2582, 91 L.Ed.2d 305 (1986).

1) Failure to Raise a Defense Counsel Knew or Should Have Known Existed

Entailed in counsel’s basic duty to assist the defendant are counsel’s duties “... to advocate the defendant’s cause ...” and “... to consult with the defendant on important decisions and to keep the defendant informed of important developments in the course of the prosecution.” Strickland, 466 U.S. at 688, 104 S.Ct. at 2065. Failure to raise an existing defense would clearly fall within the realm of counsel’s basic duties.

In asserting his claim that counsel failed to present a defense available to him as disclosed by his co-defendants’ appeals of their own convictions, Movant relies on the Second Circuit’s decision in

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Nunez v. United States
892 F. Supp. 528 (S.D. New York, 1995)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
860 F. Supp. 97, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13334, 1993 WL 658681, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fellouris-v-united-states-nysd-1993.