Cassini

United States v. Cassini

Good Law
207 F. App'x 787
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitNovember 15, 2006No. 05-30623California271 words

Opinion

Lead Opinion

MEMORANDUM ***

Michael Alan Cassini appeals his sentence arising out of his conviction for wire and bank fraud. See 18 U.S.C. §§ 1343 , 1344. He asserts ineffective assistance of counsel. 1 We affirm.

While we do not generally consider ineffective assistance of counsel claims on direct appeal, the record here is well enough developed to enable us to do so. See United States v. Jeronimo, 398 F.3d 1149, 1155-56 (9th Cir.2005); United States v. McKenna, 327 F.3d 830, 845 (9th Cir.2003).

We have carefully reviewed the record and are able to determine that *788 counsel was not ineffective. In fact, the record shows that counsel’s representation was well “within the range of competence demanded of attorneys in criminal cases.” Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687 , 104 S.Ct. 2052, 2064 , 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984) (internal quotation marks omitted). Counsel agreed to the various stipulations defendant now challenges — the loss calculation and the number of victims — in exchange for the government’s agreement to drop several of the charges. This was a reasonable strategic decision, given the weight of the evidence against defendant. Id. Moreover, counsel’s performance at the…

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