Gonzalez-Gonzalez v. United States

SELYA, Circuit Judge.

The petitioner, Manuel Gonzalez-Gonzalez, moves for a certificate of appealability, 28 U.S.C. § 2253, alleging ineffective assis*323tance of appellate and trial counsel. We recite only the facts necessary to limn the petitioner’s claims. We refer readers who hunger for more exegetic detail to our opinion on direct appeal. See United States v. Gonzalez-Gonzalez, 136 F.3d 6 (1st Cir.), cert. denied, 524 U.S. 910, 118 S.Ct. 2074, 141 L.Ed.2d 150 (1998).

The petitioner’s principal claim is that his appellate counsel blundered by failing to argue that he (the petitioner) had been…