Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: United States of America v. Marvin Cates

Case No.: 19-1042

Officials: WOOD, Chief Judge, and HAMILTON and SCUDDER, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

Marvin Cates pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a person with a prior felony conviction in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). After the court accepted his guilty plea, Cates sought to withdraw it. The district judge denied the motion to withdraw the plea and sentenced Cates.

Cates has appealed, claiming ineffective assistance of counsel. He says that he made a timely request to withdraw his guilty plea and that his trial counsel was deficient in failing to move to withdraw it. We questioned whether Cates truly wishes us to decide his ineffective‐assistance claim on this record, including a directive to his appellate counsel to review the question with him after oral argument. He has insisted that he wants to have his claim decided on the existing record. Because the record contains insufficient evidence to support Cates’s ineffective‐assistance claim, we affirm.

Affirmed

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Derek A Hawkins is trademark corporate counsel for Harley-Davidson. Hawkins oversees the prosecution and maintenance of the Harley-Davidson’s international trademark portfolio in emerging markets.