By: Derek Hawkins//November 25, 2019//
7th Circuit Court of Appeals
Case Name: John W. Kimbrough v. Ron Neal
Case No.: 18-3145; 18-3153
Officials: WOOD, Chief Judge, and KANNE and BRENNAN, Circuit Judges.
Focus: Habeas Corpus
John Kimbrough was convicted in Indiana state court of molesting two young girls on multiple occasions. The trial court sentenced Kimbrough to 80 years in prison, which was ultimately affirmed on appeal. Kimbrough sought post-conviction relief based on ineffective assistance of appellate counsel. Specifically, Kimbrough cited his attorney’s failure to object to his 80-year sentence under Indiana Appellate Rule 7(B), which allows an appellate court to revise an inappropriate sentence.
The Indiana Court of Appeals rejected Kimbrough’s ineffective assistance claim, concluding as a matter of state law that he was not entitled to relief. The district court disagreed and granted Kimbrough’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Because a federal court considering a habeas petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d) cannot disagree with a state court’s resolution of a state law issue, we reverse.
Reversed