United States v. Pius Ailemen

MEMORANDUM

Pius Ailemen appeals the district court’s denial of his petition for habeas corpus filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255 . Ailemen was convicted by a jury of conspiracy to distribute heroin, engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, and one count of distribution of heroin. Proceeding pro se, Ailemen argues that he was denied his Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel based on allegations that (a) counsel deprived him of his right to testify; (b) counsel made a promise to the jury in their opening statement that they failed to support by evidence; and (c) the hostility between defense counsel themselves and between them and the court resulted in prejudice. This court reviews de novo a district court’s denial of a § 2255 motion and for clear error any factual findings made by the district court. United States v. Aguirre-Ganceda, 592 F.3d 1043, 1045 (9th Cir.2010). We affirm the denial of Ailemen’s habeas petition.

During 1991 and into early 1992, Ailemen headed a large international drug conspiracy. The federal investigation that led to Ailemen’s indictment and eventual conviction included various surveillance techniques, including wiretaps and an…