Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

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WI Court of Appeals – District I

Case Name: State of Wisconsin v. Duanne D. Townsend

Case No.: 2019AP787

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

Focus: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

Duanne D. Townsend appeals from an order of the circuit court denying his WIS. STAT. § 974.06 (2017-18)1 motion without a hearing. In his motion, Townsend argued that postconviction counsel for his direct appeal was ineffective in the presentation of Townsend’s claims that his trial counsel was ineffective in multiple ways. One of those claims relating to trial counsel’s ineffective assistance was that counsel conceded Townsend’s guilt and abandoned self-defense as a theory during his trial. Townsend renewed that claim in his WIS. STAT. § 974.06 motion, asserting that pursuant to the recently decided case McCoy v. Louisiana, 138 S. Ct. 1500 (2018), counsel’s alleged concession was a structural error that entitles him to a new trial.

Additionally, in his current motion Townsend sought postconviction discovery of the medical records of one of the victims in this case. He argued that those records would further support his theory of self-defense. The circuit court rejected all of Townsend’s claims. The court ruled that McCoy was inapposite in this case, and also found that Townsend’s claims in his WIS. STAT. § 974.06 motion were procedurally barred. Moreover, the court reviewed Townsend’s claims on the merits, concluding that his trial counsel was not ineffective, and thus Townsend’s current claim that postconviction counsel was ineffective necessarily failed. We agree that McCoy is inapposite based on the facts of this case. However, we conclude that with regard to his claim of ineffective assistance of postconviction counsel, Townsend has pled sufficient facts in his WIS. STAT. § 974.06 motion and is therefore entitled to a postconviction evidentiary hearing.

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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.