Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

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7th Circuit Court of Appeals
Case Name: William Hinesley, III v. Wendy Knight
Case No.: 15-2122
Officials: EASTERBROOK,MANION, and ROVNER, Circuit Judges
Focus: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

Following a bench trial in Indiana state court, William Hinesley, III, was convicted of molesting his 13 year‐old former foster daughter, V.V. After exhausting his state court remedies, Hinesley petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus, contending that his trial counsel deprived him of effective representation when he allowed the inculpatory out‐of‐court statements of the two principal witnesses against him into evidence without objection and likewise posed no objection to the admission of two statements in which wit‐ nesses vouched for V.V.’s credibility. Hinesley also raised an argument of cumulative ineffectiveness based on these and other purported errors on the part of his lawyer. The district court denied his petition. Hinesley v. Knight, No. 1:14‐cv‐1097‐ JMS‐TAB, 2015 WL 1969643 (S.D. Ind. Apr. 29, 2015). We affirm.

Affirmed

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.