United States v. Neal

793 F. Supp. 1573, 1991 WL 345029
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Oklahoma
DecidedSeptember 26, 1991
DocketNo. CR-80-04-D
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 793 F. Supp. 1573 (United States v. Neal) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Neal, 793 F. Supp. 1573, 1991 WL 345029 (W.D. Okla. 1991).

Opinion

[1574]*1574ORDER

DAUGHERTY, Senior District Judge.

The Movant in this case has filed a 28 U.S.C. § 2255 Motion pro se attacking the validity of his convictions in the above case [1575]*1575in 1980. The Government has responded and the Movant has replied thereto. The matter was referred to a Magistrate Judge for initial proceedings pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B). The Magistrate Judge found an evidentiary hearing to be unnecessary and that the issues raised by the Movant could be resolved on the basis of the record.

The Magistrate Judge filed a Report And Recommendation concerning the Movant’s § 2255 Motion on July 30, 1991. The Magistrate Judge found that all of the Mov-ant’s claims of ineffective assistance of one of his two attorneys by a conflict of interest to be without merit for the reason that the Movant failed to show an actual conflict of interest possessed by this attorney which adversely affected his performance as one of his attorneys, and moreover failed to show an alternative defense to any of the three charges involved that would have been inherently in conflict with such attorney’s other loyalties' or interests. The Magistrate Judge also found that the Movant should not prevail on his claim that there was perjured testimony used against him at trial, as Plaintiff has failed to show the use of perjured testimony against him as well as the other elements to support such claim. As a- result, the Magistrate Judge recommended that the Movant’s 28 U.S.C. § 2255 Motion be found to be without merit and be denied. As provided by 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B), the Movant was given 20 days from the date of the filing of the Magistrate Judge’s Report And Recommendation to object thereto. The Movant’s Objection was filed on August 13, 1991, and thus is now before this Court.

In accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B), this Court has examined de novo the findings contained in the Report And Recommendations of the United States Magistrate Judge, the Defendant’s Objections thereto, as well as the Defendant’s § 2255 Motion and the Government’s response. It is the opinion of this Court that, for the reasons stated below, there is no need for an evidentiary hearing on the Defendant’s Objections.

As has been stated, one of the Defendant’s claims in his § 2255 Motion involves the alleged ineffective assistance of counsel due to a conflict of interest on the part of one of his trial attorneys. The standard for determining ineffective assistance of counsel due to a conflict of interest has been clearly delineated by the United States Supreme Court and our Circuit. “In order to find that the Defendant was denied effective assistance of counsel, we would have to find that the conduct of his attorney ‘so undermined the proper functioning of the adversary process that the truth cannot be relied on as having produced a just result.’ ” U.S. v. Galloway, 937 F.2d 542 (10th Cir.1991) (citing Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984)). The Tenth Circuit has stated in another case:

It is clear that the right to counsel guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment includes the “right to representation that is free from conflicts of interest”. Wood v. Georgia, 450 U.S. 261, 271, 101 S.Ct. 1097, 1103, 67 L.Ed.2d 220 (1981). Because the Defendant lodged no Sixth Amendment objection at trial, we can disturb his conviction only if he demonstrates “that an actual conflict of interest adversely affected his lawyer’s performance”. Cuyler v. Sullivan, 446 U.S. 335, 350, 100 S.Ct. 1708, 1719, 64 L.Ed.2d 333 (1980) ... [W]e hold that defense counsel’s performance was adversely affected by an actual conflict of interest if a specific and seemingly valid or genuine alternative strategy or tactic was available to defense counsel, but it was inherently in conflict with his duties to others or to his own personal interest. Brien v. United States, 695 F.2d 10, 15 (1st Cir.1982).
U.S. v. Bowie, 892 F.2d 1494, 1500 (10th Cir.1990).

In the very recent case of Church v. Sullivan, 942 F.2d 1501 (10th Cir.1991), the Tenth Circuit reaffirmed the above-stated principles regarding conflict of interest and held that if a movant is able to show the existence of an “actual conflict” within the meaning of Cuyler, supra, he would be entitled to “an evidentiary hearing in which [1576]*1576he might develop facts sufficient to prove that the conflict adversely affected his representation.” Church, supra, at 1510. In the Church case, supra, the Tenth Circuit found an actual conflict of interest entitling Church to an evidentiary hearing because Church’s lawyer had previously represented the man that Church claimed to be his accomplice in the robbery that was the basis of his conviction. The Tenth Circuit cited the Bowie case, supra, for the proposition that “[w]hen defense counsel has previously represented a government witness in a related case, the primary conflict of interest concern is that defense counsel may not be able to effectively cross-examine the witness for fear of divulging privileged information.” Church, supra, at 1511, citing Bowie, supra, at 1501. In Church, the alleged accomplice did testify and was questioned by Church’s lawyer about his involvement in the robbery. The Court found that because of the lawyer’s previous representation of the alleged accomplice, that it was likely that there were areas in which the lawyer would be hindered in conducting a full and fair cross-examination for the benefit of his present client, Church. As a result, the Tenth Circuit found that the “actual, conflict” standard of Cuyler was met.

An examination of the Movant Neal’s § 2255 Motion reveals that his allegations fall far short of those found by the Tenth Circuit to be an “actual conflict” in Church, supra. In his § 2255 Motion, Movant Neal contends that his trial attorney, Albert Matthews, “was dealing with the government witnesses.” (Motion, at 6). He then goes on to state that Matthews was vice-president of JaBo Cattle Company in Belize, and that that cattle company had done business with Joe Curtis Baker and others. Neal alleges that Matthews and the government withheld Baker’s past criminal record.

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

Related

United States v. Sapp
989 F. Supp. 1093 (D. Kansas, 1997)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
793 F. Supp. 1573, 1991 WL 345029, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-neal-okwd-1991.