United States v. Warren, 0:10-cr-00276

Defendant Stevon Warren was convicted by a jury of interstate transportation to engage in prostitution (18 U.S.C. § 2421) and sex trafficking of a minor (18 U.S.C. § 1591); sentences were 46 months and 132 months, to run concurrently.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed the convictions and sentences on direct appeal.
Count One alleged Warren drove Larisha Duncan from Minneapolis, Minnesota to River Falls, Wisconsin for a prostitution appointment; Duncan testified accordingly at trial.
Count Two alleged Warren transported 15-year-old C.D. to a Minneapolis hotel to perform a commercial sex act with an undercover officer; C.D. testified to these events at trial.
Warren filed a § 2255 motion raising multiple claims, which the court distilled into four grounds: (1) insufficiency of interstate-travel proof for Count One; (2) grand-jury perjury by C.D.; (3) Brady violation regarding portions of a recorded C.D. interview; and (4) ineffective assistance of counsel (failure to use the interview and bad plea advice).

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (Warren)	Defendant's Argument (Government)	Held
Sufficiency of interstate-transport element for Count One	Government conceded no interstate travel, so element not proven	Prosecutor’s statement concerned Count Two; record and Duncan’s testimony show Duncan was transported to Wisconsin	Rejected — evidence supports interstate transport for Count One
Grand-jury perjury by C.D.	C.D. lied before the grand jury about social contact (smoking marijuana) with Warren, undermining indictment	Any grand-jury error is harmless given conviction after full trial; petit jury verdict controls	Rejected — petit jury verdict renders alleged grand-jury perjury harmless
Brady violation re: recorded C.D. interview	Government introduced inflammatory portions but withheld C.D.’s statement that she “held extreme dislike and contempt” for Warren	Recording was disclosed pre-trial; government did not introduce the interview at trial; withheld remark is not material	Rejected — no Brady violation: no suppression, nonintroduction, and no materiality
Ineffective assistance of counsel (investigation/use of interview; plea advice)	Counsel failed to follow up on interview and misadvised Warren to reject a 3-year plea	Counsel’s performance not shown deficient; Warren offers no credible evidence he would have accepted plea and consistently maintained innocence	Rejected — claims too conclusory; no Strickland prejudice shown

Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963) (prosecution must disclose materially exculpatory evidence)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984) (two-part ineffective-assistance standard: deficient performance and prejudice)
United States v. Mechanik, 475 U.S. 66 (1986) (errors in grand-jury proceedings are harmless where petit jury convicts after a fair trial)
United States v. Dugan, 150 F.3d 865 (8th Cir.) (grand-jury errors rendered harmless by subsequent conviction)
United States v. Sanders, 341 F.3d 720 (8th Cir.) (to show prejudice from plea advice, movant must show he would have accepted plea)
United States v. Almendares, 397 F.3d 653 (8th Cir.) (Brady requires disclosure but not introduction at trial)
Mandacina v. United States, 328 F.3d 995 (8th Cir.) (Brady materiality standard: reasonable probability of a different result)