Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

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WI Court of Appeals – District I

Case Name: State of Wisconsin v. Albert R. Moss

Case No.: 2019AP331

Officials: Brash, P.J., Dugan and Donald, JJ.

Focus: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

Albert R. Moss, pro se, appeals from an order denying his WIS. STAT. § 974.06 (2017-18) motion regarding his conviction for felony murder. Moss argues that his request for a second continuance during his jury trial was improperly denied, and that he was denied substitution of counsel as a result.

Additionally, Moss raises a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel relating to two issues. First, he argues that the prosecutor improperly vouched for his co-actor’s credibility, and that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to object. His second issue relates to an instruction by the trial court that the parties had stipulated to the qualifications of the expert testifying about the victim’s cause of death. Moss asserts that the instruction was improper in that it instructed the jury that the causation element of felony murder was proven, and that his trial counsel was ineffective for not objecting to that as well. The postconviction court rejected Moss’s arguments. 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.