United States v. Ellis

FILED
United States Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS October 17, 2017
Elisabeth A. Shumaker
TENTH CIRCUIT Clerk of Court
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v. No. 17-3037
(D.C. Nos. 2:14-CV-02578-KHV and
BRETT W. ELLIS, 2:12-CR-20093-KHV-DJW-1)
(D. Kan.)
Defendant - Appellant.
ORDER DENYING CERTIFICATE OF APPEALABILITY *
Before PHILLIPS, McKAY, and McHUGH, Circuit Judges.
Appellant seeks a certificate of appealability to appeal the district court’s
denial of his 28 U.S.C. § 2255 habeas petition.
Following the denial of his motion to suppress evidence found in a search
of his residence and computers, Appellant pled guilty to possession of child
pornography and was sentenced pursuant to a Rule 11(c)(1)(C) plea agreement to
a below-guidelines sentence of seventy-two months. In his § 2255 petition, he
raised several claims of ineffective assistance of counsel, all relating to the
*
This order is not binding precedent except under the doctrines of law of
the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. It may be cited, however, for its
persuasive value consistent with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 and 10th Cir. R. 32.1.
unsuccessful motion to suppress.
The district court denied Appellant’s § 2255 petition in a comprehensive
twenty-three page order, in which the court analyzed each of Appellant’s claims
and explained why each claim failed to show constitutionally ineffective
advocacy and/or prejudice under the Supreme Court’s governing Strickland
standard. See Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687, 694 (1984).
After thoroughly reviewing Appellant’s brief and the record on appeal, we
conclude that reasonable jurists would not debate the correctness of the district
court’s ruling. See Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 484 (2000). For
substantially the same reasons given by the district court, we DENY Appellant’s
request for a certificate of appealability and DISMISS the appeal.
ENTERED FOR THE COURT
Monroe G. McKay
Circuit Judge
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