Miguel Angel Flores v. Gary L. Johnson, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Institutional Division

EMILIO M. GARZA, Circuit Judge, specially concurring.

As the majority opinion notes, the district court carefully considered, and denied, Flores’s ineffective assistance of counsel claim. I do not disagree with the district court’s thoughtful and well-reasoned opinion; it is an inevitable consequence of the relevant precedent in this area of the law, and we could add little to its to fine analysis. However, I write separately to raise questions about the authority on which that opinion is based, which appears inconsistent with itself and, possibly, with the dictates of the Constitution.

When…