United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
F I L E D
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT April 20, 2005
Charles R. Fulbruge III
Clerk
No. 04-41022
Conference Calendar
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
ROBERT DENNIS THOMPSON,
Defendant-Appellant.
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Texas
USDC No. 2:04-CR-94-1
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Before JONES, SMITH, and PRADO, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Robert Dennis Thompson appeals his conviction following a
jury trial for possession with intent to distribute more than
100 kilograms of marijuana. 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(B).
He argues that his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance
(1) by stipulating to the elements of the charged offense, (2) by
not investigating and raising any pre-trial issues, and (3) by
not investigating, raising, or filing a motion for new trial
and/or a motion to arrest the judgment.
*
Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that
this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except
under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R. 47.5.4.
No. 04-41022
-2-
“We have undertaken to resolve claims of inadequate
representation on direct appeal only in rare cases where the
record allowed us to evaluate fairly the merits of the claim.”
United States v. Higdon, 832 F.2d 312, 314 (5th Cir. 1987); see
Massaro v. United States, 538 U.S. 500, 504-05 (2003). This is
not one of those rare cases. Without prejudice to Thompson’s
right to file a motion pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255, the judgment
of the district court is AFFIRMED.