Sharpe

MEMORANDUM **

Aaron Sharpe appeals the district court’s denial of his 28 U.S.C. § 2255 motion for post-conviction relief. Sharpe argues that his trial counsel was constitutionally ineffective for failing to file a motion to suppress evidence that was uncovered by a warrantless search. The district court concluded that Sharpe’s counsel was not ineffective because such a motion would not have been granted. We review these legal conclusions de novo. See United States v. Alaimalo, 313 F.3d 1188, 1191 (9th Cir.2002). We affirm.

The facts of the case are known to the parties and we do not repeat them here.

To prevail, Sharpe “first must show that a motion to suppress based on warrantless entry would have been meritorious.” Ortiz-Sandoval v. Clarke, 323 F.3d 1165, 1170 (9th Cir.2003). We assume, without deciding, that the initial entry by the police into Sharpe’s trailer was unconstitutional, tainting the officers’ personal observations in the warrant affidavit. “In order to determine whether evidence obtained through a tainted warrant is admissible, [a] reviewing court should excise the tainted evidence and determine whether the remaining untainted evidence would provide a neutral…