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Johnny F. Harris v. United States
Citations: 938 F.2d 882; 1991 U.S. App. LEXIS 14671; 1991 WL 124454Docket: 89-2644
Court: Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit; July 11, 1991; Federal Appellate Court
Johnny F. Harris was convicted of aiding and abetting armed bank robbery and appealed the district court's denial of his motion under 28 U.S.C. Sec. 2255, claiming ineffective assistance of counsel for not requesting a lesser-included-offense instruction. The robbery occurred in January 1987, when a man robbed the First State Bank at gunpoint and fled in a car driven by Harris, who was later found with the stolen money and weapon. During a joint trial in April 1987, Harris was convicted, and his conviction was upheld on appeal. In his 1989 Sec. 2255 motion, Harris argued that there was insufficient evidence to prove he knew of his accomplice's intent to use a weapon, thus warranting a lesser charge instruction under 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2113(a). The court evaluated Harris's claim using the Strickland v. Washington two-part test for ineffective assistance, requiring him to show both deficient performance by counsel and resulting prejudice. The court determined that Harris could not demonstrate the necessary prejudice, as the evidence strongly indicated he was aware of the armed nature of the robbery. The district court had concluded that the evidence proved beyond a reasonable doubt that he knew Wilson was armed, leading to the affirmation of the lower court's judgment. Harris's additional claim of ineffective assistance for not calling witnesses during his new trial motion was also dismissed as meritless.