Michael C. Johnson v. United States ( 1996 )


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  •                                     ___________
    No. 96-1529
    ___________
    Michael C. Johnson,                     *
    *
    Appellant,                *
    *   Appeal from the United States
    v.                                 *   District Court for the
    *   Eastern District of Missouri.
    United States of America,               *
    *         [UNPUBLISHED]
    Appellee.                 *
    ___________
    Submitted:    October 17, 1996
    Filed:   October 22, 1996
    ___________
    Before BOWMAN, MAGILL, and LOKEN, Circuit Judges.
    ___________
    PER CURIAM.
    Michael Johnson appeals from the district court's1 order denying his
    28 U.S.C. § 2255 motion.     We affirm.
    Johnson was originally sentenced to 78 months imprisonment and four
    years supervised release; the prison term was later reduced to 21 months
    pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 35(b), but the supervised
    release period remained the same.      He argued his supervised release period
    should also have been reduced.         We conclude the court's discretionary
    decision not to modify the sentence with respect to supervised release
    could not be considered a violation of law warranting habeas relief, as the
    four-year supervised release term was within the statutory limits for
    1
    The HONORABLE CAROL E. JACKSON, United States District Judge
    for the Eastern District of Missouri.
    Johnson's Class B felony.      See 18 U.S.C. § 3583(b) (limits on supervised
    release depending on class of felony; Class B felony carries five-year
    limit); Goff v. United States, 
    965 F.2d 604
    , 605 (8th Cir. 1992) (per
    curiam) (decision to grant or deny Rule 35(b) motion is entirely within
    district court's discretion).
    We further conclude that Johnson's ineffective-assistance claim was
    properly rejected, as Johnson did not show that his attorney's failure to
    call   certain   witnesses   prejudiced     his   defense.   See    Strickland   v.
    Washington, 
    466 U.S. 668
    , 687, 694 (1984).        Johnson abandoned his remaining
    claims--that     falsified   information,    forged    signatures   and    perjured
    testimony were used against him, and that his pretrial motions were denied
    without review or opportunity to object--by not discussing them in his
    appellate brief.       See Fed. R. App. P. 28(a); see also Jasperson v.
    Purolator Courier Corp., 
    765 F.2d 736
    , 740-41 (8th Cir. 1985).            We do not
    consider Johnson's claims raised for the first time on appeal.            See Fritz
    v. United States, 
    995 F.2d 136
    , 137 (8th Cir. 1993), cert. denied, 
    510 U.S. 1075
    (1994).     We deny his motion for appointment of counsel.
    Accordingly, we affirm.
    A true copy.
    Attest:
    CLERK, U. S. COURT OF APPEALS, EIGHTH CIRCUIT.
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