John Martin v. United States

MEMORANDUM

John Derrick Martin appeals the district court’s denial of his § 2255 ineffective assistance of counsel habeas petition. We affirm.

To prevail in a claim for ineffective assistance of counsel, the petitioner must show that counsel’s performance was deficient and that counsel’s deficient perform-anee prejudiced the defense. Strickland, v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687 , 104 S.Ct. 2052 , 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984). Martin has done neither. Martin’s claim that his counsel should have cross-examined Agent Goodman on Goodman’s “previous history” with Martin fails because Martin had no previous history with Agent Goodman, and indeed Martin appears to conflate Agent Goodman with Officer Donegan of the Nashville Police Department. Martin’s claim that counsel’s failure to go to Nashville to investigate the scene of the crime fails because his trial lawyer stated in an affidavit that he had ample photographic and video evidence of the scene as well as reports from the government witnesses, all of which counsel reviewed thoroughly. Considering the evidence the government had against Martin, the district court correctly concluded that Martin’s counsel did not provide ineffective…