United States v. Killings , 190 F. App'x 343 ( 2006 )

United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
F I L E D
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT June 21, 2006
Charles R. Fulbruge III
Clerk
No. 05-50173
Conference Calendar
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
VERNAL K. KILLINGS,
Defendant-Appellant.
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Western District of Texas
USDC No. 2:03-CR-124-26
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Before STEWART, DENNIS, and OWEN, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Vernal K. Killings appeals the sentence imposed following
his plea of guilty to conspiracy to distribute marijuana. He
argues that this court should vacate his sentence because the
record demonstrates ineffective assistance of counsel at
sentencing.
In general, claims of ineffective assistance will not be
considered on direct appeal when the claims were not raised in
the district court because there has been no opportunity to
develop record evidence on the merits of the claim. United
*
Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that
this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except
under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R. 47.5.4.
No. 05-50173
-2-
States v. Lampazianie, 251 F.3d 519, 527 (5th Cir. 2001). Thus,
when the record does not contain information regarding the
tactical motivations behind counsel’s actions or information
regarding how the alleged errors influenced the result of the
trial, this court has declined to address an ineffective
assistance issue on appeal. See United States v. Maria-Martinez,
143 F.3d 914, 916 (5th Cir. 1998). Because we find the record
insufficient for review of Killings’s claims, we affirm the
judgment of the district court without prejudice to Killings’s
right to raise his claims in a motion to vacate, set aside, or
correct sentence pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255. Id. at 918-19.
AFFIRMED.