Habeas Relief – Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

Listen to this article

7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Alonso Corral v. Brian Foster

Case No.: 20-1665

Officials: RIPPLE, HAMILTON, and KIRSCH, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Habeas Relief – Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

A jury convicted Alonso Corral of attempted homicide after two men who knew him swore that he shot at them. At trial, Corral presented a mistaken-identity defense, urging that the real shooter was a 15-year-old named “Kenny.” Because Corral’s trial counsel believed that Corral and Kenny did not look alike, he did not present evidence of Kenny’s appearance. Corral argues that this decision was constitutionally deficient. After failing to persuade state courts of this view, Corral petitioned for federal habeas relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, which the district court denied. Because the last state court to adjudicate the merits of Corral’s ineffectiveness claim considered his claim in light of the relevant circumstances and reasonably concluded that his counsel made a sound strategic decision not to present the appearance evidence, we affirm under the doubly deferential standard that governs our review.

Affirmed

Full Text

Derek A Hawkins is Corporate Counsel, at Salesforce.