Judge Raymond Dearie
Dixon is serving a 30-year sentence after pleading guilty to drug trafficking. Rejecting each of his six separate "grounds" asserting counsel Stein’s ineffectiveness in handling Guidelines-related matters at resentencing in 2006, the court denied Dixon’s pro se petition seeking vacatur under 28 USC §2255. In Ground One Dixon claimed Stein failed to properly challenge the court’s purported failure to consider the factors set out in 18 USC §3553(a). In addition to noting that the §3553(a) factors figured prominently in the post-Booker v. United States resentencing proceeding, the court observed that Ground One’s allegations fundamentally misapprehended the resentencing proceedings. Further, as to Stein’s purported inadequacyin some unspecified respectin handling of Guidelines-related questions, Dixon did not show himself prejudiced within the meaning of Strickland v. Washington. Among his other claims, Dixon merely speculated that Stein ineffectively failed to plead Dixon to the drug offense carrying the lowest possible mandatory sentence. Dixon was sentenced three years prior to Missouri v. Frye and Lafler v. Cooper, neither of which has retroactive effect. Also, his assertions in Count Three were "frivolous."
