First, Allen contends that the district court erred by denying
his claim that counsel was ineffective for failing to appeal his judgment of
conviction. We decline to consider this assertion because it was expressly
withdrawn below and was not considered by the district court. Instead,
the district court considered Allen's contention that counsel was ineffective
for failing to appeal the denial of his motion to reconsider sentence. The
district court denied this claim because it concluded that an appeal would
have been futile. Because there is no statute or court rule which
authorizes an appeal from an order denying a motion to reconsider
sentence, we conclude that the district court did not err by denying this
claim.
Second, Allen contends that the district court erred by denying
his claim that counsel was ineffective for failing to investigate the case.
The district court denied this claim because Allen failed to demonstrate a
reasonable probability of a different outcome had further investigation
been undertaken. We agree, see Molina v. State, 120 Nev. 185, 192, 87
P.3d 533, 538 (2004), and conclude that the district court did not err by
denying this claim.
Third, Allen contends that the district court erred by denying
his claim that counsel was acting under an actual conflict of interest
because he was unable to pay his attorney's fees. The district court denied
this claim because Allen failed to demonstrate that an actual conflict
existed. We agree and conclude that the district court did not err by
denying this claim. Cf. Clark v. State, 108 Nev. 324, 326, 831 P.2d 1374,
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1376 (1992) (an actual conflict of interest existed where counsel had
initiated a civil proceeding against his client to recover attorney's fees).
Fourth, Allen contends that the district court erred by denying
his claim that counsel was ineffective for failing to seek a ruling regarding
whether the State would be permitted to seek additional charges before
encouraging him to plead guilty. We decline to consider this assertion
because it was not raised below; moreover, Allen fails to demonstrate that
counsel would have been successful had he challenged the State on this
basis. See generally Thompson v. State, 125 Nev. 807, 812, 221 P.3d 708,
712 (2009) (explaining the prosecutor's authority to proceed by indictment
and information). To the extent Allen asserts he was coerced by the
State's actions, we conclude that no relief is warranted because Allen
admitted in the guilty plea agreement and canvass that he had discussed
the charges with counsel, understood the consequences of pleading guilty,
and chose to plead guilty because he believed doing so was in his best
interest. Molina, 120 Nev. at 191, 87 P.3d at 537-38 ("A thorough plea
canvass coupled with a detailed, consistent, written plea agreement
supports a finding that the defendant entered the plea voluntarily,
knowingly, and intelligently." (internal quotation marks omitted)). The
totality of the circumstances demonstrates that Allen was able to
rationally weigh the advantages of going to trial rather than pleading
guilty. See Brady v. United States, 397 U.S. 742, 750 (1970); Schoultz v.
Warden, 88 Nev. 135, 139, 494 P.2d 274, 276 (1972) ("[A] guilty plea is not
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'coerced' merely because motivated by desire to avoid the possibility of a
higher penalty.").
We conclude that the district court did not err, and we
ORDER the judgment of the district court AFFIRMED.'
icie_ca -et< , J.
Hardesty
-- DC (Al 14S J.
Douglas
J.
'We have reviewed all documents that Allen has submitted in proper
person to the clerk of this court in this matter, and we conclude that no
relief based upon those submissions is warranted. To the extent that
Allen has attempted to present claims or facts in those submissions which
were not previously presented in the proceedings below, we have declined
to consider them in the first instance
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cc: Hon. Michael Villani, District Judge
Sandra L. Stewart
Attorney General/Carson City
Clark County District Attorney
Eighth District Court Clerk
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