Smith v. Thompson

STAHL, Circuit Judge.

In 1997, Austin Smith was convicted in Massachusetts Superior Court of six counts of sexual assault on a minor and was sentenced to eighteen to twenty years in prison. After exhausting his state court appeals, Smith brought a habeas petition in federal court, under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, alleging ineffective assistance of counsel at his state court trial. The district court below denied the habeas petition, adopting in full a magistrate judge’s report and recommendation. After careful review of the record and finding no error, we affirm.

The magistrate judge’s detailed report…