United States v. Frederic Scott

MEMORANDUM

Defendant-Appellant Frederic Scott appeals the district court’s order denying his motion to vacate, set aside, or correct his sentence under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 . Scott contends that the district court improperly denied his ineffective assistance of counsel claim without holding an evidentiary hearing. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 2253 , and we affirm.

Under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 , the district court must hold an evidentiary hearing “[ujnless the motion and the files and records of the case conclusively show that the prisoner is entitled to no relief.” United States v. Chacon-Palomares, 208 F.3d 1157, 1159 (9th Cir.2000) (quoting 28 U.S.C. § 2255 ). We review de novo the district court’s denial of a § 2255 motion, and we review for abuse of discretion the district court’s decision to deny an eviden-tiary hearing on a § 2255 motion. Id. at 1158-59.

Scott’s § 2255 motion alleged that his trial counsel acted deficiently by giving inaccurate information on (1) the definition of a firearm under 18 U.S.C. § 924 (c) and (2) Scott’s likelihood of success at trial. Scott claims that absent this deficient performance he would have accepted a plea offer or pursued a guilty…