United States v. David Simpson

RIPPLE, Circuit Judge.

A jury convicted David Simpson of possession with intent to distribute heroin, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(C). He moved for a new trial under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 33(a), alleging that his trial counsel had been ineffective by failing to investigate and call three witnesses who had potentially exculpatory evidence. The district court declined to conduct an evidentiary hearing and denied the motion because it found “no reasonable possibility” that the proposed testimony of these witnesses would have changed the trial’s outcome. 1 On…