I. During Francisco Cubero's plea hearing , the magistrate judge told him that his
supervised-release term could not exceed five years but, at sentencing, the court imposed
supervised release for life. The district court denied collateral relief and the Eleventh Circuit,
in confl ict with other courts of appeals, denied a certificate of appealability. Did the circuit
court err in denying Mr. Cubero an appeal given that other courts have decided similar cases
on the merits with conflicting results?

II. A collateral challenge to the validity of a guilty plea is generally "procedurally
defaulted" unless it was raised on direct appeal unless the plea was unknowing or involuntary.
Francisco Cubero argued in his § 2255 motion that his plea was unknowing because the
district court misled him about the consequences of pleading guilty. Did the court of appeals
err in holding that Mr. Cubero procedurally defaul ted his due-process claim by not raising
it on direct appeal?

Whether the district court's failure to correctly inform the defendant of the direct consequences of pleading guilty prejudiced the defendant