John Turner v. United States, 848 F.3d 767

John Turner committed four armed robberies in Memphis (Oct. 3, 2007); arrested by officers assigned to a joint federal–state task force.
Turner was charged, represented by Mark McDaniel, and pled guilty to Tennessee aggravated robbery charges; state counsel learned federal charges were forthcoming.
Assistant U.S. Attorney informed McDaniel of a pre-indictment federal plea offer (15 years) conditioned on acceptance before a federal indictment; Turner did not accept it, later replaced counsel, and ultimately pled guilty to federal charges with a 25-year sentence.
Turner filed a 28 U.S.C. § 2255 motion alleging ineffective assistance of counsel by McDaniel during pre-indictment federal plea negotiations.
The district court denied the § 2255 motion without an evidentiary hearing, holding the Sixth Amendment right to counsel had not attached pre-indictment; the government argued no Sixth Amendment protection existed before formal charges.
The Sixth Circuit panel affirmed, applying circuit precedent that the Sixth Amendment right to counsel attaches only after formal charges are filed.

Issue	Turner’s Argument	Government’s Argument	Held
Whether Sixth Amendment right to counsel attaches during pre-indictment plea negotiations	Right attaches where government initiates adversarial plea negotiations through counsel; denying attachment here leaves defendant unprotected	Sixth Amendment attaches only after formal charges; pre-indictment negotiations are outside Sixth Amendment protection	Court held right does not attach pre-indictment and affirmed based on Sixth Circuit precedent (Moody, Kennedy)
Whether district court erred by denying an evidentiary hearing on ineffective assistance claim	An evidentiary hearing was necessary to determine if counsel’s pre-indictment performance was ineffective and prejudiced Turner	No hearing required because, as a matter of law, the Sixth Amendment had not yet attached, so ineffectiveness cannot provide relief	Court held no hearing required because the legal rule foreclosed the claim

Abbate v. United States, 359 U.S. 187 (double jeopardy does not bar successive state and federal prosecutions)
Missouri v. Frye, 566 U.S. 134 (right to effective assistance of counsel during post-indictment plea bargaining; duty to communicate formal offers)
Lafler v. Cooper, 566 U.S. 156 (prejudice from counsel’s erroneous advice in plea context can warrant relief)
United States v. Moody, 206 F.3d 609 (6th Cir. rule: Sixth Amendment right attaches only after formal charges; pre-indictment plea negotiations not protected)
Kennedy v. United States, 756 F.3d 492 (reaffirming Moody in light of Frye and Lafler)
Moran v. Burbine, 475 U.S. 412 (declining to extend Sixth Amendment attachment before formal charging)
United States v. Gouveia, 467 U.S. 180 (no Sixth Amendment right during preindictment administrative detention)
Kirby v. Illinois, 406 U.S. 682 (plurality: no right to counsel at preindictment lineup)
United States v. Wade, 388 U.S. 218 (right to counsel at post-indictment critical stages)
Massiah v. United States, 377 U.S. 201 (post-indictment interrogation protection under Sixth Amendment)
United States v. Morris, 470 F.3d 596 (6th Cir. case recognizing potential unfairness where state plea bargains and federal consequences intersect; distinguished here)