Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

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WI Court of Appeals – District I

Case Name: State of Wisconsin v. Cordell Leslie Adams

Case No.: 2016AP1926-CR

Officials: Kessler, Brash and Dugan, JJ.

Focus: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

Cordell Leslie Adams appeals from his judgment of conviction, entered upon a jury’s verdict, for two counts of felon in possession of a firearm and one count of possession of a controlled substance. He further appeals from the postconviction order denying his motion for a new trial.

Adams’s arguments on appeal relate to the firearms charges. Specifically, Adams argues that the trial court improperly permitted the firearms expert to rely on the eTrace report for his testimony regarding the ownership of the gun because the eTrace report was inadmissible hearsay. He also asserts that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to object to several alleged errors during the trial, including: (1) a police detective’s testimony regarding Adams’s failure to answer certain questions during the police interrogation, which Adams contends violated his right to remain silent; (2) additional testimony of that police detective regarding his belief of whether Adams was being completely truthful during the interrogation; and (3) the trial court’s questioning of witnesses after they were examined by counsel. Finally, Adams argues that his right to confrontation was violated when the trial court admitted testimony that one of the guns he was charged with possessing had been stolen. We affirm.

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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.