Ross

MEMORANDUM *

Defendant-petitioner Peter W. Ross, III, appeals the denial of habeas corpus relief. He was convicted in Arizona state court on one count of aggravated assault involving the use of a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument and one count of aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury to victim Brian Wharton, for which he is serving two concurrent sentences of 25 years to life. The trial court denied Ross’s petition for post-conviction relief after conducting an evidentiary hearing on claims of ineffective assistance of counsel. The Arizona Court of Appeals subsequently rejected Ross’s claims of ineffective assistance and speedy trial violations by memorandum order. After the state supreme court denied review, Ross reasserted these claims in a petition for writ of habeas corpus filed in federal district court under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 . Ross now appeals the district court’s denial of the writ, claiming that he lacked competent counsel at a critical stage of the state court’s pre-trial proceedings and that this constitutional defect further resulted in both a speedy trial violation and the loss of exculpatory witnesses. We affirm the ruling of the district…