[UNPUBLISHED]

In 1991, a Missouri state court jury convicted David Simmons of second degree murder and first degree burglary, and the state trial court sentenced him to consecutive terms of life and 15 years imprisonment. After the denial of his appeal and post-conviction motions, see State v. Simmons, 865 S.W.2d 893 (Mo.Ct.App. 1993), he filed a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, *654 alleging, among other things, that appellate counsel was ineffective for not arguing that the state had violated Missouri’s speedy trial statute. See Mo.Rev.Stat. §§ 217.450, 217.460 (2000). The district court 1 denied the petition, and we granted a certificate of appealability on the issue.

After careful review of the record, we conclude that Simmons’ appellate counsel was not ineffective for failing to raise the speedy trial issue because the argument lacks merit. See Grubbs v. Delo, 948 F.2d 1459, 1464 (8th Cir. 1991), cert. denied, 506 U.S. 835, 113 S.Ct. 109, 121 L.Ed.2d 67 (1992); State v. Allen, 954 S.W.2d 414, 417 & n. 2 (Mo.Ct.App. 1997). Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the district court and deny Simmons’ pending motion as moot.