Gardner v. U.S.

Dist. Ct. erred in denying defendant's habeas petition challenging his unlawful possession of firearms conviction, where defendant alleged that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to file motion to suppress gun purportedly found by police in defendant's pocket during search of defendant. While defendant informed counsel that police had planted gun in pocket during instant search, defendant's insistence that police had planted gun neither justified nor compelled counsel to refrain from challenging search that produced gun. Moreover, trial counsel (as well as Dist. Ct.) mistakenly believed that defendant had to admit to actual possession of gun in order to challenge its seizure, and that defendant could properly file motion to suppress where he had reasonable expectation of privacy in his own person and clothing. Accordingly, remand was required for evidentiary hearing on issue as to whether trial counsel's failure to file motion to suppress was prejudicial to defendant.