Filed: Apr. 21, 2003
Latest Update: Feb. 21, 2020
Summary: F I L E D United States Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS APR 21 2003 TENTH CIRCUIT PATRICK FISHER Clerk UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. No. 02-6272 (D.C. Nos. 02-CV-805-A TOBY R. TRUSDALE, and 99-CR-177-A) (W.D. Oklahoma) Defendant-Appellant. ORDER AND JUDGMENT * Before TACHA, Chief Circuit Judge, McKAY and BALDOCK Circuit Judges. After examining the brief and appellate record, this panel has determined unanimously that oral argument would not materi
Summary: F I L E D United States Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS APR 21 2003 TENTH CIRCUIT PATRICK FISHER Clerk UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. No. 02-6272 (D.C. Nos. 02-CV-805-A TOBY R. TRUSDALE, and 99-CR-177-A) (W.D. Oklahoma) Defendant-Appellant. ORDER AND JUDGMENT * Before TACHA, Chief Circuit Judge, McKAY and BALDOCK Circuit Judges. After examining the brief and appellate record, this panel has determined unanimously that oral argument would not materia..
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F I L E D
United States Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
APR 21 2003
TENTH CIRCUIT
PATRICK FISHER
Clerk
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v. No. 02-6272
(D.C. Nos. 02-CV-805-A
TOBY R. TRUSDALE, and 99-CR-177-A)
(W.D. Oklahoma)
Defendant-Appellant.
ORDER AND JUDGMENT *
Before TACHA, Chief Circuit Judge, McKAY and BALDOCK Circuit Judges.
After examining the brief and appellate record, this panel has determined
unanimously that oral argument would not materially assist the determination of
this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a); 10th Cir. R. 34.1.9. The case is therefore
ordered submitted without oral argument.
This is a pro se 28 U.S.C. § 2255 prisoner appeal. Mr. Trusdale pled guilty
to drug and firearm charges and was sentenced to twenty-five years of
imprisonment. His conviction was affirmed by this court on appeal. See United
This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the
*
doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. The court
generally disfavors the citation of orders and judgments; nevertheless, an order
and judgment may be cited under the terms and conditions of 10th Cir. R. 36.3.
States v. Trusdale,
2002 WL 258200 (10th Cir. 2002).
In his § 2255 motion, Mr. Trusdale alleged that he received ineffective
assistance of counsel, that the evidence was insufficient to support his
convictions, that the sentencing guidelines were applied incorrectly, and that his
guilty plea was involuntarily entered. The district court denied the motion.
Finding no merit in any of Mr. Trusdale’s arguments, the district court declined to
grant him a certificate of appealability. Petitioner then applied to this court for a
certificate of appealability.
In order for this court to grant a certificate of appealability, Petitioner must
make a “substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right.” 28 U.S.C. §
2253(c)(2). To do so, Petitioner must demonstrate “that reasonable jurists could
debate whether (or, for that matter, agree that) the petition should have been
resolved in a different manner or that the issues presented were adequate to
deserve encouragement to proceed further.” Slack v. McDaniel,
529 U.S. 473,
484 (2000) (internal quotations omitted).
In his plea agreement, Mr. Trusdale waived his right to appeal or
collaterally challenge his guilty plea or his sentence. We have consistently upheld
such waiver provisions in plea agreements. See United States v. Elliott,
264 F.3d
1171 (10th Cir. 2001); United States v. Cockerham,
237 F.3d 1179 (10th Cir.
2001), cert. denied,
534 U.S. 1085 (2002). Mr. Trusdale has already challenged
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the validity of his waiver, and we have found it to be enforceable. See Trusdale,
2002 WL 258200, at *3.
With respect to Mr. Trusdale’s allegations of ineffective assistance of
counsel, as the district court explains, Petitioner has failed to allege any facts
establishing deficient performance by trial counsel that affected Mr. Trusdale’s
decision to plead guilty. Therefore, all of Mr. Trusdale’s claims based on
ineffective assistance of counsel in connection with the guilty plea must fail.
We have carefully reviewed the briefs, the district court’s disposition, and
the record on appeal. Nothing in the facts, the record on appeal, or the briefs
raises an issue which meets our standards for the grant of a certificate of
appealability. Therefore, for substantially the same reasons as set forth by the
district court in its Order of August 14, 2002, we cannot say “that reasonable
jurists could debate whether (or, for that matter, agree that) the petition should
have been resolved in a different manner.”
Id.
We DENY Petitioner’s request for a certificate of appealability and
DISMISS the appeal. Petitioner’s motion to proceed in forma pauperis on appeal
is GRANTED.
Entered for the Court
Monroe G. McKay
Circuit Judge
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