474
Opinion of the Court
respondent was sentenced to 15 years to life in state prison. After pronouncing sentence, the trial judge informed respondent, "You may file an appeal within 60 days from today's date with this Court. If you do not have money for Counsel, Counsel will be appointed for you to represent you on your appeal." App. 40.
Although Ms. Kops wrote "bring appeal papers" in her file, no notice of appeal was filed within the 60 days allowed by state law. See Cal. Penal Code Ann. § 1239(a) (West Supp. 2000); Cal. App. Rule 31(d). (A notice of appeal is generally a one-sentence document stating that the defendant wishes to appeal from the judgment. See Rule 31(b); Judicial Council of California, Approved Form CR-120 (Notice of Appeal-Felony) (Jan. 5, 2000), http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/forms/ documents/cr120.pdf.) Filing such a notice is a purely minis-terial task that imposes no great burden on counsel. During the first 90 days after sentencing, respondent was apparently in lockup, undergoing evaluation, and unable to communicate with counsel. About four months after sentencing, on March 24, 1994, respondent tried to file a notice of appeal, which the Superior Court Clerk rejected as untimely. Respondent sought habeas relief from California's appellate courts, challenging the validity of both his plea and conviction, and (before the California Supreme Court) alleging that Ms. Kops had not filed a notice of appeal as she had promised. These efforts were uniformly unsuccessful.
Respondent then filed a federal habeas petition pursuant to 28 U. S. C. § 2254, alleging constitutionally ineffective assistance of counsel based on Ms. Kops' failure to file a notice of appeal on his behalf after promising to do so. The United States District Court for the Eastern District of California referred the matter to a Magistrate Judge, who in turn ordered an evidentiary hearing on the limited issue of whether Ms. Kops promised to file a notice of appeal on respondent's behalf. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Magistrate Judge found:
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