United States v. Preston

Martha Marie Preston appeals the district court’s denial of her motion to vacate, set aside, or correct her sentence under 28 U.S.C. § 2255. We granted a certificate of appealability on two issues: (1) whether Preston was properly sentenced to twenty years for aiding and abetting in the distribution of cocaine; and (2) whether her attorney was ineffective for failing to raise this issue at sentencing or on direct appeal.

Preston was convicted by a jury of four offenses, only one of which is at issue here: based on conduct she engaged in on February 25, 1987, she was convicted of aiding and…