Frederick Campbell v. United States , 891 F.3d 940 ( 2018 )


Menu:
  •            Case: 15-13261   Date Filed: 06/04/2018   Page: 1 of 20
    [PUBLISH]
    IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
    ________________________
    No. 15-13261
    Non-Argument Calendar
    ________________________
    D.C. Docket Nos. 3:12-cv-00881-MMH-MCR, 3:09-cr-00051-MMH-MCR-1
    FREDRICK CAMPBELL,
    Petitioner-Appellant,
    versus
    UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
    Respondent-Appellee.
    ________________________
    Appeal from the United States District Court
    for the Middle District of Florida
    ________________________
    (June 4, 2018)
    Before ED CARNES, Chief Judge, HULL, and JULIE CARNES, Circuit Judges.
    PER CURIAM:
    Case: 15-13261    Date Filed: 06/04/2018    Page: 2 of 20
    Fredrick Campbell, a federal prisoner proceeding pro se, appeals the district
    court’s dismissal of his 28 U.S.C. § 2255 motion alleging ineffective assistance of
    counsel. A jury found Campbell guilty of drug and firearms offenses and he was
    sentenced to 195 months in prison. We affirmed his convictions and sentence on
    direct appeal. Campbell then filed this § 2255 motion, contending that his pretrial
    counsel rendered ineffective assistance in investigating and litigating his motion to
    suppress evidence. The district court denied Campbell’s § 2255 motion without an
    evidentiary hearing on the grounds that Campbell could not establish deficient
    performance or prejudice. This is his appeal.
    I.     FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
    A. Facts
    In late 2008, Detectives Richard Hughey and Charles Bates of the
    Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office received a tip from a confidential informant that
    Campbell was using United Parcel Service and Federal Express to ship marijuana
    to Jacksonville. The detectives used computer databases to identify several
    addresses associated with Campbell, one of which was 7635 Praver Drive East in
    Jacksonville. Detective Hughey contacted William Brown, a UPS employee, and
    told Brown to notify him if UPS received any packages designated for the
    addresses associated with Campbell.
    2
    Case: 15-13261        Date Filed: 06/04/2018       Page: 3 of 20
    In January 2009, a UPS driver told Brown that he had a package addressed
    for a “Maureen Lawrence” at the Praver house. Brown took the package to his
    office, opened it, and found that it contained marijuana.1 Brown contacted
    Detective Hughey, and he and Detective Bates arrived at the UPS facility shortly
    thereafter to inspect the package. The detectives saw the marijuana sitting in the
    open package, determined that it was in fact marijuana, resealed the package, and
    decided to make a controlled delivery of the package. The detectives also obtained
    an anticipatory search warrant to execute after successful delivery of the package.
    Police officers set up surveillance around the Praver house before making
    the controlled delivery. Detective Hughey observed a man, later identified as
    Campbell’s brother, Alex, drive up to the house, pull into the garage, and close it.
    About five minutes later he opened the garage and drove off. A few minutes after
    Alex left, another vehicle arrived at the house and the passenger, who the police
    identified as Campbell, got out. The vehicle drove off, and a detective dressed in
    plainclothes walked up to Campbell in the front yard of the house to give him the
    package. Campbell stated that the package might belong to a sibling with the last
    name of Lawrence, but accepted the package and then put it inside the garage. He
    then closed the garage door from the outside, knocked on the front door, and an
    1
    UPS prohibits the shipment of illegal drugs, and it also reserves the right to open and
    inspect any package that it ships. Brown testified that he opened the package to determine
    whether it contained any contraband.
    3
    Case: 15-13261     Date Filed: 06/04/2018   Page: 4 of 20
    individual later identified as Tamario Wiley opened the front door and let
    Campbell inside. A few minutes later, Alex returned to the house, drove his
    vehicle inside the garage, and closed the garage door from the inside.
    The officers executed the search warrant about ten minutes later. They
    found the UPS package in a car parked in the garage; that car also contained
    another 50-pound package of marijuana. As the officers searched the house for
    marijuana, they found a number of other incriminating items: four firearms,
    including an assault rifle with a 100-round magazine; a laptop with an open screen
    displaying a UPS tracking number; a money counter; several thousand dollars in
    cash; a lease agreement naming Alex as the lessee of the Praver house; lease
    agreements for other houses; and storage unit rental agreements.
    The police arrested Campbell and his brother. When police asked Campbell
    where he lived, he initially gave the P.O. Box listed on his driver’s license, but
    then identified the Praver house as his residence. The police searched Campbell
    and found over $5,000 in cash and a small amount of marijuana on his person.
    The police used the documents from the Praver house to obtain search
    warrants for storage unit 226 at Atlantic Self-Storage and a house located at 4708
    Trevi Drive in Jacksonville. Police found over $500,000 in cash at the storage
    unit. At the Trevi house, police found money grams; hotel, car rental, and airline
    receipts; various notes containing addresses, phone numbers, and tracking
    4
    Case: 15-13261    Date Filed: 06/04/2018    Page: 5 of 20
    numbers; and storage unit rental agreements. Those rental agreements led the
    police to conduct more authorized searches at other storage units, one of which
    (storage unit 2002) contained an assault rifle and boxes of shipping receipts
    connected to marijuana shipments.
    B. Procedural History
    A grand jury indicted Campbell, Alex, his mother, and his sister with
    conspiracy to distribute 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuana, in violation of 21
    U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(A) and 846. Campbell and his brother were also
    charged with possessing marijuana with intent to distribute, in violation of 21
    U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C), and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a
    drug trafficking crime, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A).
    Campbell filed a motion to suppress the evidence obtained from Brown’s
    search of the package at the UPS facility, the officers’ search of the Praver house,
    and the search of storage unit 2002. He also sought to exclude evidence taken
    from storage unit 226 and the Trevi house as fruits of the poisonous tree. As
    relevant here, the government argued that Campbell did not have standing to
    challenge the Praver house search because he did not have a legitimate expectation
    of privacy in that house.
    The magistrate judge held a hearing in August 2009 and the government
    called Detective Hughey, Detective Bates, and Brown (the UPS employee).
    5
    Case: 15-13261    Date Filed: 06/04/2018   Page: 6 of 20
    Campbell’s pre-trial counsel, Ross Haine, did not call any witnesses, and instead
    relied on cross-examination to attempt to show that Campbell had a legitimate
    expectation of privacy at the Praver house. At the end of the hearing, Haine argued
    that Campbell had established standing to challenge the search of the Praver house
    because computer searches revealed that Campbell was associated with the Praver
    house and Campbell had given the Praver house as his address when he was
    arrested. According to Haine, those facts showed that Campbell was more than a
    mere visitor at the Praver house and that he had a legitimate expectation of privacy
    in it.
    The magistrate judge issued a report recommending that Campbell’s motion
    be denied, finding that he did not have a legitimate expectation of privacy in the
    Praver house. The magistrate judge also found that the officers exceeded the scope
    of their authority when they seized the storage unit agreement documents from the
    Praver house, which led them to obtain search warrants for the storage units. But
    the magistrate judge found that Campbell could not challenge the evidence
    obtained from the storage units as fruits of the poisonous tree because he did not
    have standing to challenge the Praver house search. The district court adopted the
    magistrate judge’s recommendation and denied Campbell’s motion to suppress.
    Campbell proceeded to a jury trial in February 2010. Campbell testified in
    his own defense. He admitted that he had marijuana shipped from California to
    6
    Case: 15-13261       Date Filed: 06/04/2018      Page: 7 of 20
    Jacksonville and sold it, but denied that any of his family members were involved
    in the operation. He also denied ever renting or residing in the Praver house. The
    jury found Campbell guilty on all three charges. 2 At the sentence hearing, the
    district court found that Campbell committed perjury because he had lied under
    oath about his family’s involvement in the marijuana operation, the amount of
    marijuana he was trafficking, and other pieces of evidence. He received a 195-
    month prison sentence.
    Campbell appealed his convictions and sentence, which we affirmed.
    United States v. Campbell, 434 F. App’x 805 (11th Cir. 2011) (unpublished). As
    relevant here, we rejected his claim that he had standing to challenge the search of
    the Praver house. 
    Id. at 809.
    We stated that Campbell testified at trial that he did
    not live in the house and the evidence from the suppression hearing showed that he
    did not lease the house. 
    Id. at 810.
    Because those facts “did not establish that he
    was more than a mere guest at the Praver house,” we held that he did not have
    standing to challenge the search of that house. 
    Id. C. Campbell’s
    § 2255 Motion
    Campbell filed this pro se § 2255 motion in August 2012. He raised an
    ineffective assistance of counsel claim against Haine, his pretrial counsel who
    handled the motion to suppress. He alleged that Haine rendered ineffective
    2
    The jury found Alex guilty on all three charges. Campbell’s mother and sister pleaded
    guilty.
    7
    Case: 15-13261    Date Filed: 06/04/2018    Page: 8 of 20
    assistance by failing to consult with Campbell, failing to investigate Campbell’s
    ties with the Praver house, and by failing to call Campbell and other witnesses at
    the suppression hearing. According to Campbell, if Haine had called him and the
    other witnesses then he could have established that Campbell had a reasonable
    expectation of privacy in the Praver house.
    Campbell attached a number of sworn affidavits to his § 2255 motion that he
    relied on to support his ineffective assistance claim. In one affidavit, Campbell
    stated that he had met with Haine on multiple occasions before the suppression
    hearing and that the two discussed potential defenses. Campbell told Haine that he
    wanted Haine to file a motion to suppress, and that Haine did so and provided
    Campbell with a copy. But according to Campbell, Haine did not explain what
    “standing” was after the government filed its response; Haine told Campbell not to
    worry about that because Campbell had provided the Praver house as his residence
    when he was arrested. When Campbell told Haine that Campbell did not live at
    the house, Haine replied that it “wouldn’t be a good idea to tell the government
    you didn’t live at the Praver home, because if I were to say you didn’t stay at the
    home, you wouldn’t have standing to challenge the search.” Campbell also stated
    in the affidavit that Haine did not interview him about his connection to the home
    and that when Campbell explained that he wanted to testify, Haine replied that it
    would not be a good idea because the government would trip him up. Campbell’s
    8
    Case: 15-13261     Date Filed: 06/04/2018   Page: 9 of 20
    friend, Tamario Wiley, also submitted an affidavit describing his meeting with
    Haine.
    As for the other affidavits, Campbell submitted one in which he described
    his connection to the Praver house. He stated that he was a regular guest at the
    house and went there almost every day, even without an invitation. He stated that
    he had been present at the home when no one was there, slept there on multiple
    occasions — including the night before his arrest — and would go to the house to
    play video games, listen to music, and hang out with his brother Alex and their
    friends. He also stated that he kept personal items at the Praver house, such as
    clothes, his computer, and papers. Campbell admitted that he did not have a key to
    the Praver house but if he wanted to visit when no one was there Alex or Wiley
    would leave a door unlocked or he would borrow their keys. Finally, Campbell
    denied meeting anyone at the Praver home to sell drugs, but admitted to having
    marijuana sent to the home on two occasions (including the delivery in this case).
    Campbell also submitted affidavits from Alex, Wiley, and three friends who visited
    the home. Those five people confirmed that Campbell often visited the Praver
    house to hang out.
    The district court denied Campbell’s motion without an evidentiary hearing.
    It found that a hearing was not necessary because, accepting the facts in
    Campbell’s affidavits as true, he could not succeed on his ineffective assistance
    9
    Case: 15-13261      Date Filed: 06/04/2018    Page: 10 of 20
    claim. For deficient performance, the court found that Haine adequately
    investigated the case and made a reasonable decision not to call Campbell because
    the government could have used Campbell’s testimony at trial for impeachment
    purposes. As for prejudice, the court found that Campbell could not state a
    meritorious Fourth Amendment claim because the evidence did not establish that
    he had an unrestricted right of access to the house or that he had a reasonable
    expectation of privacy as an overnight guest.
    Campbell appealed and we granted a certificate of appealability on the
    following claim only: Whether the district court erred in denying, without an
    evidentiary hearing, Campbell’s claim that his pretrial counsel provided ineffective
    assistance in his litigation of a motion to suppress evidence that was obtained
    during the search of a residence located at 7635 Praver Drive.
    II.    STANDARD OF REVIEW
    “We review the district court’s denial of an evidentiary hearing in a § 2255
    proceeding for abuse of discretion.” Winthrop-Redin v. United States, 
    767 F.3d 1210
    , 1215 (11th Cir. 2014). “A district court abuses its discretion if it applies an
    incorrect legal standard, applies the law in an unreasonable or incorrect manner,
    follows improper procedures in making a determination, or makes findings of fact
    that are clearly erroneous.” 
    Id. (quotation marks
    omitted). A § 2255 petitioner “is
    entitled to an evidentiary hearing if he alleges facts that, if true, would entitle him
    10
    Case: 15-13261      Date Filed: 06/04/2018   Page: 11 of 20
    to relief.” 
    Id. at 1216
    (quotation marks omitted). Although a petitioner “need only
    allege — not prove — reasonably specific, non-conclusory facts that, if true, would
    entitle him to relief,” a district court “need not hold a hearing if the allegations are
    patently frivolous, based upon unsupported generalizations, or affirmatively
    contradicted by the record.” 
    Id. (quotation marks
    omitted).
    III.   DISCUSSION
    To prevail on his ineffective assistance of counsel claim, Campbell must
    “demonstrate both that (1) ‘counsel’s performance was deficient,’ and (2) ‘the
    deficient performance prejudiced the defense.’” United States v. Webb, 
    655 F.3d 1238
    , 1258 (11th Cir. 2011) (quoting Strickland v. Washington, 
    466 U.S. 668
    , 687,
    
    104 S. Ct. 2052
    , 2064 (1984)). “We may consider the prongs of the Strickland test
    in either order, and [Campbell] must show that both prongs are satisfied in order to
    demonstrate a Sixth Amendment violation.” 
    Id. A. Deficient
    Performance
    Campbell cannot establish that his counsel rendered deficient performance in
    litigating his motion to suppress. “The standard for counsel’s performance is
    reasonableness under prevailing professional norms.” Chandler v. United States,
    
    218 F.3d 1305
    , 1313 (11th Cir. 2000) (en banc) (quotation marks omitted). We do
    not “grade counsel’s performance” because the “issue is not what is possible or
    what is prudent or appropriate, but only what is constitutionally compelled.” 
    Id. 11 Case:
    15-13261       Date Filed: 06/04/2018      Page: 12 of 20
    (quotation marks omitted). Campbell must show that “particular and identified
    acts or omissions of [his] counsel were outside the wide range of professionally
    competent assistance,” and our review of counsel’s performance is “highly
    deferential.” 
    Id. at 1314
    (quotation marks omitted). Campbell argues that he can
    satisfy that heavy burden because Haine, his pretrial counsel, did not adequately
    investigate his connection to the Praver house and should have called him and
    other witnesses at the suppression hearing to establish that he had standing to
    challenge the search.
    That argument fails. Campbell states that Haine did not interview him, but
    he admits that Haine met with him on multiple occasions to discuss case strategy
    and that Haine complied with Campbell’s request to file a motion to suppress the
    evidence from the Praver house. Campbell faults Haine for not properly
    investigating his relationship with the Praver house, but his affidavit indicates that
    Haine reached out to Tamario Wiley (one of Campbell’s friends who lived at the
    Praver house) to discuss the case.3 And the transcript from the suppression hearing
    shows that Haine was familiar with the facts of the case and applicable Fourth
    Amendment law, as he argued that Campbell had standing to challenge the search
    3
    Wiley states in his affidavit that Haine never informed Wiley about the suppression
    hearing, but the affidavit states that Haine did meet with Wiley (and another friend of
    Campbell’s), showed Wiley and the friend some of the evidence, and explained that Campbell
    did not have a good chance of winning his case. Haine told Wiley that he did not think that
    Wiley would be a credible witness, though he did not explain why.
    12
    Case: 15-13261     Date Filed: 06/04/2018    Page: 13 of 20
    because he was more than a mere visitor at the Praver House. Although Haine
    may have been able to investigate more thoroughly Campbell’s connection to the
    house, he knew that Campbell had given the Praver house as his residence when he
    was arrested and that the detectives’ computer searches revealed a connection
    between Campbell and the Praver house. In light of those facts, Haine could have
    reasonably believed that he had enough information to establish standing and that
    his time would be better spent on other issues. See 
    id. at 1318
    (“[C]ounsel need
    not always investigate before pursuing or not pursuing a line of defense.
    Investigation (even a nonexhaustive, preliminary investigation) is not required for
    counsel reasonably to decline to investigate a line of defense thoroughly.”).
    As for Campbell’s argument that Haine should have called him and other
    witnesses to testify, we have stated that “[w]hich witnesses, if any, to call, and
    when to call them, is the epitome of a strategic decision, and it is one that we will
    seldom, if ever, second guess.” Waters v. Thomas, 
    46 F.3d 1506
    , 1512 (11th Cir.
    1995); see also United States v. Long, 
    674 F.2d 848
    , 855 (11th Cir. 1982) (“This
    Court will not second-guess tactical decisions of counsel in deciding whether to
    call certain witnesses.”). In light of Campbell’s testimony at trial that he did not
    reside at the Praver house (which was contrary to what he told the arresting officer)
    and the district court’s finding that he perjured himself multiple times during trial,
    13
    Case: 15-13261    Date Filed: 06/04/2018   Page: 14 of 20
    Haine’s fear that the government would trip Campbell up if he testified was not
    unreasonable. As a result, Haine did not render deficient performance.
    B.    Prejudice
    Even if Campbell could show that Haine’s performance was constitutionally
    deficient, he cannot establish prejudice. Because he alleges that Haine failed “to
    litigate a Fourth Amendment claim competently,” to demonstrate prejudice he
    must “prove that his Fourth Amendment claim is meritorious and that there is a
    reasonable probability that the verdict would have been different absent the
    excludable evidence.” Kimmelman v. Morrison, 
    477 U.S. 365
    , 375, 
    106 S. Ct. 2574
    , 2583 (1986). The government does not dispute that there is a reasonable
    probability that the verdict would have been different had the Praver house
    evidence been suppressed; the evidence from that search led to other evidence that
    established the amount of marijuana Campbell was trafficking. But the
    government does argue that Campbell cannot establish a meritorious Fourth
    Amendment claim because he did not have a legitimate expectation of privacy in
    the Praver house.
    Campbell bears the burden of “demonstrating a legitimate expectation of
    privacy” in the Praver house. United States v. Baron–Mantilla, 
    743 F.2d 868
    , 870
    (11th Cir. 1984). Campbell neither owned nor leased the house, but the Supreme
    Court has held that “in some circumstances a person may have a legitimate
    14
    Case: 15-13261        Date Filed: 06/04/2018         Page: 15 of 20
    expectation of privacy in the house of someone else.” Minnesota v. Carter, 
    525 U.S. 83
    , 89, 
    119 S. Ct. 469
    , 473 (1998). For instance, the Supreme Court has
    recognized that a houseguest “has a legitimate expectation of privacy in his host’s
    home.” Minnesota v. Olson, 
    495 U.S. 91
    , 98, 
    110 S. Ct. 1684
    , 1689 (1990).
    Campbell argues that he had an expectation of privacy as a houseguest because he
    went to the Praver house almost every day, even without an invitation, to play
    video games, listen to music, and hang out with his friends; he slept over at the
    house multiple times, including the night before the search; he kept personal
    possessions at the house, such as clothes, a laptop, and papers; and even though he
    did not have a key to the house, he could borrow Alex’s or Wiley’s keys or have
    them leave the doors unlocked so that he could enter.4
    4
    We have stated that someone who does not own or rent the searched premises can
    establish a legitimate expectation of privacy “by demonstrating an unrestricted right of
    occupancy or custody and control of the premises as distinguished from occasional presence on
    the premises as a mere guest or invitee.” 
    Baron–Mantilla, 743 F.2d at 870
    (quotation marks
    omitted). Campbell asserts that he had an unrestricted right of access because Alex and Wiley
    let him into the house whenever he wanted, but that argument fails. Campbell did not have a key
    to the house. Although that fact is not dispositive, 
    id., it is
    significant in showing that his ability
    to access the house was not unrestricted, cf. Rakas v. Illinois, 
    439 U.S. 128
    , 149, 
    99 S. Ct. 421
    ,
    433 (1978) (stating that an individual had a legitimate expectation of privacy where he “had
    permission to use the apartment of his friend” and had a key to the apartment, which gave him
    “complete dominion and control over the apartment” and allowed him to “exclude others from
    it”); United States v. Chaves, 
    169 F.3d 687
    , 691 (11th Cir. 1999) (concluding that defendant was
    “no mere guest or invitee” because he “had the only key to the warehouse, giving him a measure
    of control and ability to exclude others”) (quotation marks omitted). Campbell had to borrow
    Alex’s or Wiley’s keys if no one was at the house, or ask them to leave the doors unlocked. And
    on the day the search took place, Campbell had to knock on the front door to gain entrance to the
    house after he put the UPS package in the garage.
    15
    Case: 15-13261   Date Filed: 06/04/2018   Page: 16 of 20
    Accepting those facts as true, Campbell cannot establish that he had a
    legitimate expectation of privacy in the Praver house as a houseguest. The
    Supreme Court has held that “in order to establish a reasonable expectation of
    privacy in a third-party’s home, an individual must demonstrate [he] is a guest on
    the premises for a personal occasion, rather than for strictly a commercial
    purpose.” United States v. Cooper, 
    203 F.3d 1279
    , 1285 n.3 (11th Cir. 2000)
    (citing 
    Carter, 525 U.S. at 90
    , 119 S. Ct. at 474); United States v. Rhiger, 
    315 F.3d 1283
    , 1286 (10th Cir. 2003) (“[The Carter] Court drew a clear distinction between
    the status of individuals present at a residence for social purposes and those present
    for business or commercial matters.”); United States v. Gamez–Orduño, 
    235 F.3d 453
    , 458 (9th Cir. 2000) (“An individual whose presence on another’s premises is
    purely commercial in nature . . . has no legitimate expectation of privacy in that
    location.”).
    The facts establish that Campbell did not have a legitimate expectation of
    privacy in the Praver house because he was using it for a commercial purpose —
    trafficking in marijuana — when he was arrested. He admits that on the day of his
    arrest he had the UPS package containing marijuana sent to the Praver house. He
    also took possession of that package from the undercover officer making the
    controlled delivery. See United States v. Gray, 
    491 F.3d 138
    , 142, 146 (4th Cir.
    2007) (Wilkinson, J.) (concluding that defendant lacked standing to challenge
    16
    Case: 15-13261        Date Filed: 06/04/2018       Page: 17 of 20
    search of his co-defendant’s apartment because there was “no doubt that at the time
    of his arrest [the defendant] was using [that] apartment to traffic in drugs”). And
    when the police searched him they found over $5,000 in cash and a small amount
    of marijuana on his person. See 
    id. at 146–47
    (noting those facts in concluding
    that defendant was on the premises for a commercial purpose).5
    The affidavits make clear that Campbell hung out with his friends at the
    house and kept personal possessions there. See 
    Carter, 525 U.S. at 85
    , 
    90–91, 119 S. Ct. at 471
    , 473–74 (concluding that defendants lacked standing because they
    were at an apartment for only a few hours to bag drugs and had no previous
    relationship with the apartment owner). But, as the Fourth Circuit concluded in a
    similar case, “the presence of scattered personal possessions are [not] sufficient to
    transform what was essentially a business relationship into a social one.” 
    Gray, 491 F.3d at 151
    (concluding that defendant lacked standing where he visited his
    co-defendant’s apartment “four or five times a week,” spending several hours
    there; played video games and watched TV at the apartment; kept a change of
    5
    Campbell relies on two cases to argue that his social ties to the Praver house outweigh
    his use of that house for his marijuana operation, but those cases are off point because the
    defendants were not using the residences in those cases for a business purpose at the time of their
    arrests. See 
    Rhiger, 315 F.3d at 1286
    –87 (concluding that defendant had standing to challenge
    search where he entered his friend’s home to take a nap); 
    Gamez–Orduño, 235 F.3d at 461
    (concluding that defendants had a legitimate expectation of privacy while staying in a trailer to
    eat and rest). And even though the house was leased to his brother, Campbell testified that he
    did not reside at the house. Cf. 
    Gray, 491 F.3d at 144
    (“The Supreme Court has long held that
    the relatives of home owners who regularly reside at the residence are protected by the Fourth
    Amendment.”).
    17
    Case: 15-13261       Date Filed: 06/04/2018      Page: 18 of 20
    clothes, his toothbrush, and PlayStation console at the apartment; and had spent the
    night there and borrowed his co-defendant’s keys). Not only was Campbell at the
    Praver house for a business purpose when he was arrested, but several facts show
    that he used the house as a base for his marijuana trafficking operation. When the
    police searched the house, they found not only the UPS package containing
    marijuana and another 50-pound package of marijuana, but also four firearms,
    including an assault rifle with a 100-round magazine; a laptop with an open screen
    displaying a UPS tracking number; a money counter; and several thousand dollars
    in cash. 6 That he socialized at the house and kept some possessions there do not
    erase the essential purpose of his visit on the day of his arrest — trafficking in
    marijuana. See 
    id. at 152
    (noting that “[s]ocial interaction is, of course, incidental
    to many business dealings,” and declining to “create a toothbrush or Nintendo rule
    that would inflexibly mark a relationship as social in the face of testimony of
    6
    Campbell tries to minimize the commercial nature of the house by stating in his
    affidavit that he never made any drug deals at the Praver house in terms of meeting someone at
    the house to sell drugs and that he never used the house to package drugs. But he does admit to
    using the house as a place to send drugs on at least two prior occasions, and the money counter
    and guns indicate that the house was a center of drug activity. Campbell relies on the Sixth
    Circuit’s conclusion in United States v. Pollard, 
    215 F.3d 643
    , 645–48 (6th Cir. 2000), that a
    defendant arrested at another person’s house during a drug deal had standing to challenge the
    search, but in that case there was no evidence that the house was used for extensive drug
    operations.
    18
    Case: 15-13261       Date Filed: 06/04/2018       Page: 19 of 20
    extensive drug operations, replete with scales, large amounts of cash,
    neighborhood complaints, and multiple customers”). 7
    Because Campbell cannot show that he had a legitimate expectation of
    privacy in the Praver house, he does not have a meritorious Fourth Amendment
    claim. As a result, he cannot show that his counsel’s alleged deficient performance
    caused actual prejudice. 
    Kimmelman, 477 U.S. at 375
    , 106 S. Ct. at 2583.
    IV.     CONCLUSION
    Accepting as true the facts in Campbell’s affidavits, he cannot demonstrate
    deficient performance or actual prejudice. As a result, the district court did not
    abuse its discretion in denying his § 2255 motion without an evidentiary hearing.
    See 
    Winthrop-Redin, 767 F.3d at 1216
    (“A petitioner is entitled to an evidentiary
    hearing if he alleges facts that, if true, would entitle him to relief.”) (quotation
    marks omitted); see also Diaz v. United States, 
    930 F.2d 832
    , 834 (11th Cir. 1991)
    (“[T]his court has held that on habeas a federal district court need not conduct an
    evidentiary hearing if it can be conclusively determined from the record that the
    petitioner was not denied effective assistance of counsel.”) (quotation marks and
    alterations omitted).
    7
    And as the Fourth Circuit pointed out, if we accept the argument that hanging out a
    house and keeping possessions there automatically transforms a business relationship into a
    social one, “not only would every person planning illegal activity have a legitimate expectation
    of privacy in his own home, but also in the home of every acquaintance where he could stash
    some personal belongings.” 
    Gray, 491 F.3d at 152
    .
    19
    Case: 15-13261   Date Filed: 06/04/2018   Page: 20 of 20
    AFFIRMED.
    20