Demetrius Elishakim Jefferson v. United States of America

United States Court of Appeals
For the Eighth Circuit
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No. 23-1444
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Demetrius Elishakim Jefferson
lllllllllllllllllllllPetitioner - Appellant
v.
United States of America
lllllllllllllllllllllRespondent - Appellee
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Appeal from United States District Court
for the Southern District of Iowa - Central
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Submitted: July 28, 2023
Filed: August 2, 2023
[Unpublished]
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Before GRUENDER, BENTON, and GRASZ, Circuit Judges.
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PER CURIAM.
Demetrius Jefferson was sentenced to 210 months in prison after a jury found
him guilty of conspiracy to distribute marijuana, possession with intent to distribute
marijuana, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and being
a felon in possession of a firearm. After the judgment was affirmed on direct appeal,
United States v. Jefferson, 975 F.3d 700 (8th Cir. 2020), Jefferson sought relief in a

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28 U.S.C. § 2255 motion, which the district court1 denied. The district court granted
a certificate of appealability on one claim involving whether counsel was ineffective
for failing to argue that the use of trash-pull evidence obtained in violation of Iowa
law violated the Fourth Amendment.
Following our review, see Thomas v. United States, 737 F.3d 1202, 1206 (8th
Cir. 2013), we conclude that the district court correctly denied relief on the claim,
because Jefferson suffered no prejudice as a result of trial counsel’s failure to assert
an unavailing Fourth Amendment challenge under Iowa law. See California v.
Greenwood, 486 U.S. 35, 40 (1988) (holding that the Fourth Amendment does not
prohibit a warrantless search and seizure of garbage left outside for collection);
Kimmelman v. Morrison, 477 U.S. 365, 375 (1986) (prevailing on claim that counsel
failed to competently litigate Fourth Amendment issue requires petitioner to
demonstrate prejudice); United States v. Lora-Andres, 844 F.3d 781, 785 n.2 (8th Cir.
2016) (holding that evidence obtained in violation of state law is admissible in federal
criminal trial if it was obtained without violating United States Constitution or federal
law); cf. State v. Wright, 961 N.W.2d 396 (Iowa 2021) (holding that the warrantless
seizure of garbage bags violated Iowa state constitution’s prohibition against
unreasonable searches and seizures). We decline to expand the certificate of
appealability to consider the additional claims raised in Jefferson’s pro se
supplemental brief. See Armstrong v. Hobbs, 698 F.3d 1063, 1068 (8th Cir.2012)
(noting that court of appeals panel may exercise its discretion to consider sua sponte
issues beyond those specified in certificate of appealability).
The judgment of the district court is affirmed, and counsel’s motion to
withdraw is granted.
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1The Honorable Robert W. Pratt, United States District Judge for the Southern
District of Iowa.
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