Terrill Smith v. United States

NOT FOR PUBLICATION FILED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS JAN 8 2026

MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK

U.S. COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

TERRILL SMITH, No. 23-15637

Petitioner-Appellant, D.C. No. 2:21-cv-01928-SPL

v.

MEMORANDUM*

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Respondent-Appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Arizona Steven Paul Logan, District Judge, Presiding

Argued and Submitted May 15, 2025 Phoenix, Arizona

Before: RAWLINSON, BUMATAY, and SANCHEZ, Circuit Judges. Dissent by Judge RAWLINSON.

Terrill Smith (“Smith”) appeals the denial of his 28 U.S.C. § 2255 motion

for alleged ineffective assistance of counsel. We review a district court’s denial of

a § 2255 motion de novo, and the decision whether to hold an evidentiary hearing

on such a motion for an abuse of discretion. United States v. Rodriguez, 49 F.4th

1205, 1211 (9th Cir. 2022). We affirm.

* This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3. 1. Smith’s trial counsel did not provide prejudicial ineffective…