Smith v. United States

644 F. Supp. 303, 1986 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19913
CourtDistrict Court, D. Maryland
DecidedSeptember 25, 1986
DocketCiv. No. Y-86-755; Crim. No. Y-74-0694
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 644 F. Supp. 303 (Smith v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Maryland primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Smith v. United States, 644 F. Supp. 303, 1986 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19913 (D. Md. 1986).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM

JOSEPH H. YOUNG, District Judge.

Petitioner Allen Blair Smith has filed a motion to vacate, set aside, or correct his sentence pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255 on the basis of ineffective assistance of counsel at trial. He has also filed a motion under 28 U.S.C. § 144 requesting that this Court recuse itself for reasons of bias and prejudice. Petitioner Smith was convicted by a jury of bank robbery and related charges on March 19, 1975, and sentenced to eighteen years imprisonment. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed his conviction. United States v. Allen Blair Smith, 527 F.2d 610 (4th Cir.1975). Petitioner subsequently filed numerous motions challenging both the length of his sentence and the validity of his conviction.1

Smith’s most recent motion calls for this Court to “disassociate [itself] from any additional rulings” in this case on the grounds of bias and prejudice. Title 28 U.S.C. § 144 requires a petitioner to submit an affidavit stating the facts and reasons for believing that a judge harbors bias or prejudice either against the movant or in favor of an adverse party. Petitioner Smith has alleged no facts to support his claim, other than his assertions that this Judge will later be subpoenaed as a witness, and that this Judge deprived petitioner of his constitutional rights to a fair trial in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 241.

Section 241 of Title 18 sets forth the crime of conspiracy against the rights of citizens. Only the government may charge an individual with a crime, thus petitioner’s invocation of 18 U.S.C. § 241 is without merit. The allegation that this Judge “will be a witness in some future unnamed proceeding is [also] not an adequate ground for recusal in the pending action.” United States v. Allen Blair Smith, 607 F.2d 1003 (4th Cir.1979) (emphasis in original). Accordingly, petitioner’s motion for recusal is denied.

Petitioner’s companion motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 to vacate, set aside, or correct his sentence alleges several instances in which he was denied effective assistance of counsel at trial.2 The standard for determining whether a defendant received adequate assistance of counsel is a two-pronged test, as defined in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984). Under the first prong, plaintiff must demonstrate that counsel’s representation fell below an objective standard of reasonableness. This showing must overcome a strong presumption that counsel’s conduct falls within the wide range of reasonable professional assistance. Strickland, supra, 466 U.S. at 687-89, 104 S.Ct. at 2064-65. Strategic choices and trial tactics must be assessed under this reasonableness standard — the law does not require flawless representation. Marzullo v. Maryland, 561 F.2d 540, 544 (4th Cir.1977), cert. denied, 435 U.S. 1011, 98 S.Ct. 1885, 56 L.Ed.2d 394 (1978). Under the second prong of the Strickland test, petitioner must also show prejudice as a result of counsel’s allegedly deficient performance. For a finding of prejudice, petitoner “must show that there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel’s unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different. A reasonable probability is a probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome.” 466 U.S. at 694,104 S.Ct. at 2068.

[306]*306Smith claims that his attorney’s performance was inadequate for several reasons. He submits that his counsel failed to object to the introduction of evidence gained pursuant to an allegedly unconstitutional search and seizure and pursuant to an unlawful arrest. Petitioner also claims that his attorney “agreed with the trial judge” to dismiss a motion filed to suppress this allegedly illegal evidence. Upon a thorough review of the files and records in this case, this Court is satisfied that petitioner’s counsel did not act unreasonably in failing to object to the introduction of this evidence.

The attorney who represented petitioner at his arraignment made a pre-trial motion to suppress all evidence seized on or about the 24th or 25th of October, 1974, on the grounds that the evidence was obtained as a result of petitioner’s illegal arrest and subsequent personal search, and as a result of searches of petitioner’s premises conducted without appropriate warrants or probable cause. This motion was ordered moot per agreement of counsel on the morning petitioner’s trial commenced. As the files reflect, Smith was apprehended upon the issuance of an arrest warrant dated October 24, 1974. His premises were searched pursuant to warrants issued the same day. An arrest warrant may be issued if it appears from an affidavit filed with the complaint that there is probable cause to believe that an offense has been committed and that the defendant has committed it. Fed.R.Crim.P. 4(a). A search warrant may be issued where an affidavit shows probable cause to believe that a crime has been committed and that evidence of the crime could be concealed on particular property. Zurcher v. Stanford Daily, 436 U.S. 547, 554, 98 S.Ct. 1970, 1975, 56 L.Ed.2d 525 (1978). The affidavit filed in the instant case shows that the Union Trust Company, South Salisbury Boulevard branch, was robbed on July 22, 1974 and on August 26,1974. A witness of the August 26th robbery stated that he believed he recognized the bank robber and that it was Allen Blair Smith. The license plate on the truck used as a getaway vehicle reflected that the vehicle was registered to Smith. Moreover, Smith’s fingerprints were found on notes used by the robber to perpetrate the crime. Accordingly, probable cause existed to believe that a crime had been committed and that petitioner committed it. His arrest, therefore, was pursuant to a valid warrant and was not unconstitutional.

The search warrants allowed access to four premises. Number 807 Lake Street is a residence owned by petitioner which he was renting to Mr. Elwood Conway at the time of the second bank robbery. On the morning of August 26, 1974, Mr. Conway observed petitioner in his pickup truck in the rear yard at 807 Lake Street. Petitioner put a walkie-talkie in his car. Witnesses to the robbery that day stated that the robber held a walkie-talkie. Moreover, currency used to pay an electric bill for the account of Allen B. Smith, Lake Street, had unusual orange discoloration.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
644 F. Supp. 303, 1986 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19913, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/smith-v-united-states-mdd-1986.