United States v. Danny Lockett , 303 F. App'x 373 ( 2008 )


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  •                      United States Court of Appeals
    FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT
    ___________
    No. 07-2667
    ___________
    United States of America,                *
    *
    Appellee,                   *
    * Appeal from the United States
    v.                                 * District Court for the
    * Eastern District of Arkansas.
    Danny Lockett,                           *
    * [UNPUBLISHED]
    Appellant.                  *
    ___________
    Submitted: October 20, 2008
    Filed: December 17, 2008
    ___________
    Before MURPHY, BYE, and BENTON, Circuit Judges.
    ___________
    PER CURIAM.
    Federal prisoner Danny Lockett appeals the district court’s order denying his
    28 U.S.C. § 2255 motion. For the reasons discussed below we vacate the district
    court’s order and remand the case with instructions.
    At a June 2007 evidentiary hearing, the district court noted that the “dispositive
    issue” was whether or not Lockett’s trial counsel had timely communicated the
    government’s August 2005 plea offer to Lockett, and that Lockett and his trial counsel
    had each testified “with some conviction and credibility” in providing directly
    contradictory versions of the relevant events. The court did not make a factual
    determination as to whether counsel timely informed Lockett of the August 2005 plea
    offer, but denied Lockett’s section 2255 motion, reasoning that--because the evidence
    was “equally divided”--Lockett had failed to meet his burden of proof. In July 2007,
    the court granted Lockett a certificate of appealability on his ineffective-assistance-of-
    counsel claim.
    Claims of ineffective assistance of counsel are mixed questions of law and fact,
    and we review the district court’s legal determinations de novo and its underlying
    findings of fact for clear error. See United States v. Robinson, 
    301 F.3d 923
    , 925 (8th
    Cir. 2002). Because Lockett’s testimony and counsel’s testimony were directly
    contradictory, and the district court merely ruled against the party with the burden of
    proof without making an essential factual determination, we conclude that the court
    committed a procedural error. See Collier v. Turpin, 
    177 F.3d 1184
    , 1193-94 & n.14
    (11th Cir. 1999) (where district court was presented with direct, not circumstantial,
    evidence, and fact finding required choosing between two contradictory versions of
    events, court’s conclusion that both versions were credible and evidence was in
    equipoise amounted to no factual determination at all and was entitled to no deference
    on appeal; noting that ordinarily appellate court would remand to district court to
    make credibility choice and resolve dispute, but foregoing remand because only one
    credibility choice was reasonable given record presented).
    We further conclude that Lockett’s remaining claims on appeal are without
    merit. Accordingly, we vacate the court’s order and remand the case for further
    proceedings consistent with this opinion.
    ______________________________
    -2-
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 07-2667

Citation Numbers: 303 F. App'x 373

Judges: Murphy, Bye, Benton

Filed Date: 12/17/2008

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 11/5/2024