United States v. Santana , 263 F. App'x 334 ( 2008 )

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 05-7741
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
versus
MANUEL DOMINGO SANTANA, a/k/a Manny Santana,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of Virginia, at Alexandria. Leonie M. Brinkema, District
Judge. (CR-04-39-1-LMB; CA-05-463)
Submitted: January 23, 2008 Decided: February 4, 2008
Before MOTZ and SHEDD, Circuit Judges, and WILKINS, Senior Circuit
Judge.
Vacated and remanded by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Manuel Domingo Santana, Appellant Pro Se. Kelli Marie Ferry, James
Ryan, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Alexandria, Virginia,
for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Manuel Domingo Santana pled guilty to conspiracy to
distribute MDMA “Ecstacy” and was sentenced on May 18, 2004, to 108
months of imprisonment. He did not file a direct appeal. In April
2005, Santana filed a 28 U.S.C. § 2255 (2000) motion, alleging
ineffective assistance of counsel and that his sentence was
erroneous in light of United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220 (2005).
The district court denied relief on Santana’s Booker claim and
ordered the Government to respond to Santana’s claim of ineffective
assistance on the ground that defense counsel failed to file a
notice of appeal as requested by the defendant. Noting that
Santana had waived his right to appeal, the court concluded that
Santana failed to request that counsel file a notice of appeal.
The court made this factual finding on the basis of conflicting
affidavits made by Santana and trial counsel.
We granted a certificate of appealability on the issue of
whether Santana’s trial counsel provided ineffective assistance by
failing to file a notice of appeal as requested in violation of
United States v. Peak, 992 F.2d 39, 42 (4th Cir. 1993), and ordered
additional briefing on this issue. See 4th Cir. R. 22(a). After
reviewing the arguments and record on appeal, we vacate and remand
for an evidentiary hearing on Santana’s claim that trial counsel
failed to file a notice of appeal as requested.
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An attorney who fails to file an appeal after being
instructed to do so by his client is per se ineffective. Roe
v. Flores-Ortega, 528 U.S. 470, 476-77 (2000); see also Peak, 992
F.2d at 42 (holding that criminal defense counsel’s failure to file
notice of appeal when requested to do so is per se ineffective
assistance). This is true even if the defendant has waived his
right to appeal. United States v. Poindexter, 492 F.3d 263, 273
(4th Cir. 2007). “Under our approach, when a defendant brings a
§ 2255 claim based on his attorney’s failure to file a requested
notice of appeal, the district court should hold a hearing if it is
unclear in the record whether the attorney was so instructed.” Id.
at 272. Although it is not per se error for a district court to
make credibility determinations on the basis of conflicting
affidavits, see, e.g., Strong v. Johnson, 495 F.3d 134, 139-40 (4th
Cir. 2007), we conclude that in this case the record as to whether
Santana requested an appeal is insufficiently clear to permit
resolution of the issue without an evidentiary hearing.
Accordingly, we vacate and remand for an evidentiary
hearing regarding this factual dispute. We dispense with oral
argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately
presented in the materials before the court and argument would not
aid the decisional process.
VACATED AND REMANDED
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