United States v. Griffith , 111 F. App'x 192 ( 2004 )

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 04-4256
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
versus
CHARLES JETER GRIFFITH,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western
District of North Carolina, at Asheville. Lacy H. Thornburg,
District Judge. (CR-03-50)
Submitted: September 15, 2004 Decided: October 22, 2004
Before LUTTIG, MICHAEL, and TRAXLER, Circuit Judges.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Leslie Carter Rawls, Charlotte, North Carolina, for Appellant.
Gretchen C. F. Shappert, United States Attorney, Thomas R. Ascik,
Assistant United States Attorney, Asheville, North Carolina, for
Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
See Local Rule 36(c).
PER CURIAM:
Charles Jeter Griffith seeks to appeal his conviction and
135-month sentence imposed after a jury found him guilty of
conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, in
violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841, 846 (2000). On appeal, Griffith
claims that trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance. Finding
no error, we affirm.
Ineffective assistance claims are not generally addressed
on direct appeal unless it appears conclusively from the record
that Appellant received ineffective assistance of counsel. United
States v. Richardson, 195 F.3d 192, 198 (4th Cir. 1999). Such
claims generally should be raised by motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255(2000). Id. We conclude Griffith has not shown conclusively from
the face of the record that counsel provided ineffective
representation. Accordingly, we affirm Griffith's conviction
without prejudice to his assertion of ineffective assistance of
counsel claims in a § 2255 proceeding. We dispense with oral
argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately
presented in the materials before the court and argument would not
aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED
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