United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
F I L E D
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT April 11, 2006
Charles R. Fulbruge III
Clerk
No. 05-40876
Conference Calendar
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
ANTONIO QUIROGA,
Defendant-Appellant.
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Texas
USDC No. 2:05-CR-16-ALL
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Before JONES, Chief Judge, and JOLLY and DAVIS, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Antonio Quiroga appeals following his conviction for
possession of 118 kilograms of marijuana with intent to
distribute. Quiroga argues that counsel rendered ineffective
assistance for failing to file a motion to suppress, failing to
object to hearsay evidence, and failing to object to evidence
concerning Quiroga’s silence following his arrest.
As a general rule, this court declines to review claims of
ineffective assistance of counsel on direct appeal, although we
*
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this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except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. 05-40876
-2-
may do so in exceptional cases. United States v. Higdon, 832
F.2d 312, 313-14 (5th Cir. 1987). This is not the exceptional
case. Accordingly, we decline to review Quiroga’s ineffective
assistance claims in this direct appeal. The judgment of the
district court is affirmed without prejudice to Quiroga’s right
to raise them in a motion to vacate, set aside, or correct
sentence pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255. We express no view on the
merits of such a motion.
AFFIRMED.