Gianakos v. United States

SMITH, Circuit Judge.

Michael Sean Gianakos was found guilty of kidnapping resulting in death, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1201(a)(1), and sentenced to life imprisonment. We affirmed Gianakos’s conviction on direct appeal. United States v. Gianakos, 415 F.3d 912 (8th Cir.2005) (“Gianakos I”). Gianakos then filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255 with the district court, 1 alleging, inter alia, ineffective assistance of trial counsel for counsel’s failure to object to the trial court’s “defective” admonition regarding potential juror misconduct. The district…