Matthew Bridges v. United States

United States Court of Appeals

For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________ No. 23-3148 ___________________________ Matthew Shawn Victor Bridges lllllllllllllllllllllPetitioner - Appellant v. United States of America lllllllllllllllllllllRespondent - Appellee ____________

Appeal from United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa - Cedar Rapids ____________ Submitted: September 10, 2024 Filed: September 13, 2024 [Unpublished] ____________

Before LOKEN, GRUENDER, and SHEPHERD, Circuit Judges.

____________ PER CURIAM.

Matthew Bridges appeals the district court’s1 order denying his 28 U.S.C. § 2255 motion after an evidentiary hearing. The district court granted a certificate of appealability on Bridges’s claim that his counsel was ineffective for failing to file a direct appeal as requested. After de novo review of the ineffective-assistance claim, according deference to the district court’s credibility findings, we conclude that the court did not clearly err in finding that Bridges did not ask his attorney to file an appeal. See Walking Eagle v. United States, 742 F.3d 1079, 1082 (8th Cir. 2014). We also conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion in failing to continue the hearing to allow Bridges’s additional proposed witnesses to testify. See Souder v. Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corp., 939 F.2d 647, 651 (8th Cir. 1991). Accordingly, we affirm.

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