Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

Listen to this article

WI Court of Supreme Court

Case Name: State of Wisconsin v. Jovan T. Mull

Case No.: 2020AP001362-CR

Officials: Patience Drake Roggensack, J.

Focus: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

Ms. Ericka Walker was shot and killed in her bedroom during a crowded house party in the early morning hours of March 7, 2015, when a fight bordering on a brawl erupted. Eyewitness accounts are consistent so far as the general details of the evening, but differ significantly regarding the specifics.

The court of appeals granted defendant Mull a new trial because it concluded Mull received ineffective assistance of counsel at his trial, which resulted in his conviction for first-degree reckless homicide.

Mull’s trial counsel did not perform deficiently because the supreme court need not assess whether counsel’s performance prejudiced the defense. Lastly, the supreme court will not grant him a new trial in the interest of justice because the controversy was fully tried.  Mull rehashes his prior arguments: that the jury did not hear “important evidence to the determination of [Mull’s] guilt,” and that Mull lacked a meaningful defense. The supreme court however ruled that did not lead to a miscarriage of justice

Reversed

Decided 04/04/23

Full Text