United States v. Austin

UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 96-6121 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, versus ANTHONY STEVEN AUSTIN, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle Dis- trict of North Carolina, at Greensboro. William L. Osteen, Sr., District Judge. (CR-93-131, CA-95-177-2) Submitted: May 16, 1996 Decided: June 5, 1996 Before RUSSELL, LUTTIG, and WILLIAMS, Circuit Judges. Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Anthony Steven Austin, Appellant Pro Se. Michael Francis Joseph, Assistant United States Attorney, Greensboro, North Carolina, for Appellee. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See Local Rule 36(c). PER CURIAM: Appellant appeals from a district court order adopting a mag- istrate judge's recommendation and dismissing his 28 U.S.C. § 2255 (1988) motion. We deny a certificate of appealability and dismiss the appeal. Appellant raised four claims in his habeas motion, that his counsel was ineffective for (1) failing to investigate defenses; (2) failing to move for suppression of evidence; (3) failing to file a motion for discovery; and (4) coercing Appellant to plead guilty. The first and fourth allegations directly contradict Appel- lant's sworn statements in court during the criminal prosecution. Those sworn statements conclusively foreclose these two claims because the record contains no compelling circumstances that would dictate a contrary result. Via v. Superintendent, Powhatan Correc- tional Ctr., 643 F.2d 167, 171 (4th Cir. 1981). The second and third allegations state non-jurisdictional claims antecedent to the guilty plea. They were waived by the guilty plea. Tollett v. Henderson, 411 U.S. 258 (1973). Therefore, we dismiss the appeal. We deny Appellant's motion for appointment of counsel and dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the court and argument would not aid the decisional process. DISMISSED 2