Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

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WI Court of Appeals – District I

Case Name: State of Wisconsin v. Terrance L. Curtis

Case No.: 2018AP882-CR

Officials: Fitzpatrick, P.J., Blanchard and Kloppenburg, JJ.

Focus: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

A jury found Terrance Curtis guilty of first-degree reckless homicide for causing the death of his five-month-old son, R.C. Curtis raises four issues on appeal: (1) whether he received ineffective assistance of counsel when his trial counsel failed to timely produce his expert witness’s report, resulting in a sanction limiting the expert’s testimony at trial; (2) whether the circuit court erred by declining to exclude from the courtroom during trial R.C.’s maternal grandmother, D.O., when Curtis’s theory of defense was that D.O. was the third-party perpetrator of the crime; (3) whether the court erred by admitting testimony by a law enforcement officer regarding nonverbal behavior by Curtis during an interview, which Curtis asserts amounted to impermissible opinion testimony as to Curtis’s truthfulness; and (4) whether Curtis is entitled to a new trial in the interest of justice and whether he received a constitutionally fair trial as a result of these errors.

As to the first issue, we conclude that Curtis’s ineffective assistance of counsel claim fails because Curtis has not shown that he was prejudiced by trial counsel’s failure to timely produce the expert report. As to the second issue, we conclude that Curtis has not shown that the circuit court erroneously exercised its discretion by permitting D.O. to remain in the courtroom during the trial. We do not address the third issue, based on Curtis’s concession that he has forfeited it. Finally, we conclude that, because Curtis’s arguments regarding the first three issues fail, he has not shown either that his trial was constitutionally defective or that he is entitled to a new trial in the interest of justice. Accordingly, we affirm.

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Derek A Hawkins is trademark corporate counsel for Harley-Davidson. Hawkins oversees the prosecution and maintenance of the Harley-Davidson’s international trademark portfolio in emerging markets.