United States v. Robert Dean Skiles

85 F.3d 639 NOTICE: Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3 provides that dispositions other than opinions or orders designated for publication are not precedential and should not be cited except when relevant under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, or collateral estoppel. UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Robert Dean SKILES, Defendant-Appellant. No. 95-56449. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Submitted April 30, 1996. * Decided May 6, 1996. Before: BROWNING, REINHARDT and FERNANDEZ, Circuit Judges. 1 MEMORANDUM ** 2 Federal prisoner Robert Dean Skiles appeals pro se the district court's denial of his 28 U.S.C. § 2255 motion to vacate his bank robbery sentence on the ground that he was denied effective assistance of counsel at sentencing because his counsel failed to seek a downward departure in sentence for aberrant behavior. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 and affirm. 1 3 Skiles contends his counsel should have sought a further downward departure in sentence for aberrant behavior because after being a law abiding citizen his whole life, he committed fourteen bank robberies over eighteen months when he had lost his business, needed…