Long v. United States

The Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of petitioner's claim under 28 U.S.C. 2255, alleging that counsel was ineffective because counsel failed to object to testimony concerning his statement to an agent or to a remark the Government made during closing arguments about his decision not to testify. Petitioner was convicted of two counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child and sentenced to life in prison. The court held that counsel did not violate petitioner's Sixth Amendment right to the effective assistance of counsel by failing to object to the Government's use of his pre-arrest, pre-Miranda statement to the agent. Given the split of authority at the time petitioner was tried, and the complete lack of Eighth Circuit or Supreme Court authority on the subject, counsel's performance fell within the wide range of professionally competent assistance. View "Long v. United States" on Justia Law