                                  I. Background

      Abdullah was arrested on July 17, 1989, during the execution of a search warrant
at a Kansas City, Missouri, apartment. During the course of the search, authorities
found 745 grams of cocaine powder and a loaded .44 caliber revolver. The weapon
was found in a bedroom under a bed sheet.

        Abdullah, along with four other defendants, was charged by a federal grand jury
in an eighteen-count indictment. He initially pleaded not guilty to the charges against
him, but in September 1989, pleaded guilty to oneappeared on his behalf in June 1995.
Even though he had obtained private counsel, Abdullah filed the pro se motion in
March 1996, asserting in one paragraph that he had not "used" a firearm within the
meaning of § 924(c)(1) in light of Bailey. Noting that a represented party must file
pleadings through his attorney, the district court denied the motion without
consideration of its contents and instructed the clerk to return the motion to Abdullah's
attorney of record. Abdullah's private counsel never raised the Bailey argument on his
behalf.3

        Abdullah's pro se attempt to challenge his conviction based on Bailey was
insufficient to preserve our review of the claim. It was not properly raised before or
ruled upon by the district court, and we find no unfairness or injustice