Miguel Vines v. United States

COX, Circuit Judge:

This appeal arises out of the denial of Miguel Vines’s § 2255 motion. On this appeal we must determine whether the temporary absence of a defendant’s trial counsel during the presentation of evidence necessarily gives rise to an irrebuttable presumption of prejudice that mandates vacation of that defendant’s conviction. We conclude that the temporary absence of counsel during the presentation of evidence is not per se violative of the Sixth Amendment right to the assistance of counsel.

I. BACKGROUND

In June of 1988, a senior Customs inspector examined the shipping documents…