Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Rodney Clemons v. Randy Pfister

Case No.: 14-3797

Officials: EASTERBROOK, WILLIAMS, and SYKES, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

In 2005 an Illinois jury convicted Rodney Clemons of murdering Doris Smith, his former girlfriend and mother of his infant son. After an unsuccessful appeal and postconviction proceedings in state court, Clemons sought federal habeas review under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. He raised several claims, but only one is relevant here. Clemons argues that his trial attorney was constitutionally ineffective in violation of the rule of Strickland v Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984), for failing to call an alibi witness. The Illinois Appellate Court declined to consider this claim because Clemons raised it only in a pro se reply brief, which the court refused to accept because he was represented by counsel. The district judge concluded that the claim was procedurally defaulted. But she also addressed the merits of the Strickland claim and denied it. We affirm on the first ground. Procedural default precludes federal merits review of Clemons’s Strickland claim.

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.