United States v. Christopher Lister

MEMORANDUM

Appellant Christopher Henry Lister pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute and Dispense a Controlled Substance in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846 , 841(a)(1), and 841(b)(1)(C). Lister challenges both his conviction and his sentence.

Lister first argues the government violated his Brady rights by failing to turn over evidence relevant to sentencing and that his counsel was ineffective under Strickland. See Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 , 83 S.Ct. 1194 , 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963); Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 , 104 S.Ct. 2052 , 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984). Lister provided the factual support for these claims in declarations attached to his opening brief; those declarations were not before the district court. This Court struck those declarations and any arguments that rely on them; Lister’s Brady and Strickland arguments were therefore stricken. But those arguments fail even had they not been stricken. Lister has not shown a Brady violation. And this Court generally does not “review challenges to the effectiveness of counsel on direct appeal.” United States v. Liu, 731 F.3d 982, 995 (9th Cir.2013). This is not the rare case where a counsel’s effectiveness is ripe for…