United States v. Alcaraz-Valdez, 4:21-cr-00103

Background

Jorge Sierra was indicted for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and later pled guilty to a reduced charge via a plea agreement.
Sierra was sentenced to 77 months imprisonment and five years of supervised release.
Sierra filed a timely motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 to vacate, set aside, or correct his sentence, raising eleven claims, including multiple ineffective assistance of counsel allegations and prosecutorial misconduct.
The plea agreement contained a waiver of rights to appeal or collaterally attack the sentence, except for claims of ineffective assistance of counsel.
The motion was resolved on the record without oral argument.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Ineffective assistance: "sidebar" conversations with Gov't	Hearn conspired with the government to cover up constitutional violations.	Counsel’s negotiations were proper and necessary; no evidence of conspiracy.	Claim rejected; insufficient evidence and reasonable conduct.
Involuntary plea agreement	Counsel coerced plea; plea not knowing/voluntary.	Sierra affirmed plea was voluntary in court; no evidence of coercion.	Claim rejected; strong presumption of verity for open court statements.
Failure to provide discovery timely	Counsel did not provide timely discovery.	Counsel was reasonable in performance; no supporting evidence from Sierra.	Claim rejected; arguments were conclusory and unsupported.
Failure to investigate witnesses/private investigator	Hearn did not interview key witnesses or hire a PI.	Actions were within reasonable trial strategy; no demonstrated prejudice.	Claim rejected; no showing of prejudice or unreasonableness.
Failure to object to grand jury racial make-up	Grand jury lacked Hispanic members; equal protection violation.	No statistical support or evidence of discriminatory intent provided by Sierra.	Claim rejected; prima facie case not established.
Failure to appeal Miranda violation	Counsel failed to appeal suppression of statements made after arrest.	Statements were excluded by stipulation; outcome was favorable to Sierra.	Claim rejected; reasonable lawyering found.
Failure to argue for guideline departure (Cutler)	Cutler did not make all possible guideline departure arguments at sentencing.	Cutler presented strategic, thorough sentencing arguments addressing key factors.	Claim rejected; no deficient or prejudicial performance found.
Prosecutorial misconduct	Government engaged in misconduct during prosecution.	Claims waived by plea agreement; waiver was knowing and voluntary.	Claims dismissed as procedurally barred.

Key Cases Cited

Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984) (establishes standard for ineffective assistance of counsel claims)
Harrington v. Richter, 131 S. Ct. 770 (2011) (reaffirms strong presumption of reasonable attorney performance)
Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. 362 (2000) (clarifies Strickland two-prong test)
Blackledge v. Allison, 431 U.S. 63 (1977) (affirms strong presumption of verity for in-court statements in plea hearings)
United States v. Hernandez-Estrada, 749 F.3d 1154 (9th Cir. 2014) (sets out requirements for fair cross-section grand jury claims)
United States v. Pruitt, 32 F.3d 431 (9th Cir. 1994) (enforcement of waiver provisions in plea agreements if knowingly and voluntarily entered)