United States v. Willie Lee

Opinion

United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit

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No. 24-1027

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United States of America

lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellee

v.

Willie Jay Lee

lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellant

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Appeal from United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa

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Submitted: July 24, 2024 Filed: August 9, 2024 [Unpublished]

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Before KELLY, GRASZ, and STRAS, Circuit Judges.

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PER CURIAM.

Willie Lee appeals the sentence the district court1 imposed after he pled guilty to a drug offense. His counsel has moved for leave to withdraw and has filed a brief

1 The Honorable Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger, United States District Judge for the Southern District of Iowa.

under Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), asserting claims of ineffective assistance of counsel. Lee has also filed a motion for appointment of new counsel on appeal.

We decline to consider Lee’s ineffective-assistance claim in this direct appeal.

Ineffective-assistance claims are normally deferred for proceedings under 28 U.S.C. § 2255, barring exceptional circumstances. See United States v. Looking Cloud, 419 F.3d 781, 788-89 (8th Cir. 2005). We conclude there are no such circumstances in this case, as the record is not sufficiently developed to decide the merits of Lee’s claim. See United States v. Ramirez-Hernandez, 449 F.3d 824, 826-27 (8th Cir. 2006) (stating ineffective-assistance claims are “usually best litigated in collateral proceedings” where a record can be properly developed).

We have independently reviewed the record under Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S.

75 (1988), and have found no non-frivolous issues for appeal. Accordingly, we grant counsel leave to withdraw, deny Lee’s motion for appointment of new counsel, and affirm.

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