Lino Ramirez v. United States, 751 F.3d 604

Ramirez pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to 240 months’ imprisonment plus ten years’ supervised release.
Ramirez filed a 28 U.S.C. § 2255 petition in August 2012 asserting four claims of ineffective assistance and one challenge to a prior-law enhancement.
The district court dismissed the time-barred claims and deemed claim 1 timely, finding no prejudice from the lack of a cooperation offer or proffer.
On appeal, the court granted a certificate of appealability only as to claim 1 and affirmed the district court’s dismissal of the remaining claims.
The majority held that Ramirez failed to show prejudice under Strickland/Frye for the claimed ineffective assistance related to cooperation discussions; no formal plea offer existed.
A dissent would remand for an evidentiary hearing to determine whether the government’s nascent cooperation/proffer was communicated to Ramirez and whether prejudice occurred.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Ineffective assistance for not informing cooperation discussions	Ramirez	Ramirez’s counsel failed to convey government cooperation discussions	No prejudice shown; no formal offer; informal discussions insufficient
Failure to seek § 851(b) colloquy	Ramirez	Counsel should have requested a required colloquy	Not reviewed; certificate limited to claim 1
Failure to withdraw guilty plea upon Ramirez’s request	Ramirez	Counsel failed to withdraw plea	Not reviewed; certificate limited to claim 1
Intervening change in law affecting prior felony enhancement	Ramirez	Law change invalidates enhancement	Not reviewed; certificate limited to claim 1

Lafler v. Cooper, 132 S. Ct. 1376 (U.S. 2012) (Sixth Amendment right to counsel applies to plea bargaining; Strickland applies to guilty-plea challenges)
Missouri v. Frye, 132 S. Ct. 1399 (U.S. 2012) (Duty to communicate formal plea offers; safer prejudice analysis in plea negotiations)
Padilla v. Kentucky, 559 U.S. 356 (U.S. 2010) (Plea negotiations as a critical stage; counsel's duty to provide information)
Merzbacher v. Shearin, 706 F.3d 356 (4th Cir. 2013) (Nascent plea discussions; evidentiary considerations on prejudice)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (U.S. 1984) (Deficient performance and prejudice standard for ineffective assistance)
Dodd v. United States, 614 F.3d 512 (8th Cir. 2010) (Appellate review limited by certificate of appealability)