Massaro v. United States
- Decided
- April 23, 2003
- Docket
- 01-1559
- Status
- Published
- Jurisdiction
- Federal
Cited 3,337 timesNo negative treatment found in this library
What later courts said
- recognizing that “in most cases a motion brought under § 2255 is preferable to direct appeal for deciding claims of ineffective assistance” — United States v. Spruill (2015)
- holding that "in most cases” it is preferable that a motion for ineffective assistance of counsel be raised on collateral review rather than on direct appeal — United States v. Dwight D. York (2005)
- recognizing that an ineffective assistance of counsel claim can be raised in a § 2255 proceeding, “whether or not the claim could have been raised on direct appeal.” — Brian W. Cooper v. United States (2004)
Each line is a later court’s own words about this case, not a summary. Read the opinion before relying on it.
How the opinion begins
[*502] Justice Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court.
Petitioner, Joseph Massaro, was indicted on federal racketeering charges, including murder in aid of racketeering, 18 U. S. C. § 1962(d), in connection with the shooting death of Joseph Fiorito. He was tried in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The day before Massaro’s trial was to begin, prosecutors learned of what appeared to be a critical piece of evidence: a bullet allegedly recovered from the car in which the victim’s body was found. They waited for several days, however, to inform defense counsel of this development. Not until the trial was underway and the defense had made its opening statement did they make this disclosure. After the trial court and the defense had been informed of the development but still during the course of trial, defense counsel more than once declined the trial court’s offer of a continuance so the bullet could be examined. Massaro was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.
On direct appeal new counsel for Massaro argued the District Court had erred in admitting the bullet in evidence, but he did not raise any claim relating to ineffective assistance of trial counsel. The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the conviction. Judgt. order reported at 57 F. 3d 1063 (1995).
Statutes cited
Cite this
Massaro v. United States, 538 U.S. 500 (2003)Read the full opinion
Reading the library on this site uses your account’s daily calls, the same as the connector and the API. The Free plan needs no card. Calls a day on each plan.