Hafoka

United States v. Hafoka

Good Law
312 F. App'x 77
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitFebruary 12, 2009No. 06-15065California422 words

Opinion

Lead Opinion

MEMORANDUM **

Petitioner Siokatame Hafoka (“Joe Ha-foka”) appeals the district court’s denial of his 28 U.S.C. § 2255 motion without an evidentiary hearing. Hafoka raised ineffective assistance of counsel claims in his § 2255 motion and contends that the district court erred in failing to hold an evi-dentiary hearing. Because the parties are familiar with the facts, we shall not recite them here. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2253 , and we affirm.

The district court did not abuse its discretion in denying an evidentiary hearing on Hafoka’s ineffective assistance claims. See United States v. Leonti, 326 F.3d 1111, 1116 (9th Cir.2003). When considering a § 2255 petition, the district court shall hold an evidentiary hearing “[u]nless the motion and the files and records of the case conclusively show that the prisoner is entitled to no relief.” 28 U.S.C. § 2255 . A district court has the discretion to fore-go an evidentiary hearing and instead rely on the record, which may be supplemented by: discovery and documentary evidence, the judge’s own notes and recollection of the trial, and common sense. Shah v. *78 United States, 878 F.2d 1156, 1159 (9th Cir.1989).…

Sign in to read the full opinion

Create a free account to read the complete opinion text, citation history, and good-law status for this case.