Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Tony P. Rogers v. Jason Wells

Case No.: 17-2903

Officials: Hamilton, Brennan, and St. Eve, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

Tony Rogers, the petitioner, who was convicted of sexually assaulting his daughter, DAR, appealed his conviction on the grounds of ineffective assistance of counsel. Rogers alleged that his trial lawyer failed to request an in-camera review of DAR’s medical records, which he believed contained information about her mental health that could have influenced the credibility of her testimony. However, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals dismissed Rogers’s claim, and the Supreme Court of Wisconsin declined to review the case.

Subsequently, Rogers filed a federal habeas corpus petition, arguing that the state court’s decision contradicted established federal law or applied it unreasonably. He asserted that his trial counsel’s failure to obtain DAR’s medical records, or at least request an in-camera review, violated his rights. Nevertheless, the district court rejected Rogers’s petition, determining that the state court’s decision did not violate federal law and that its application of the federal standard to Rogers’s case was not unreasonable.

The Seventh Circuit concluded that Rogers’s counsel was not ineffective for neglecting to request an in-camera review of DAR’s medical records. The court reasoned that such a motion would have lacked merit because Rogers failed to demonstrate the records’ materiality, as required by state law. Furthermore, the court found Rogers’s assertion that he provided a credible basis for an in-camera review of DAR’s medical records to be speculative and lacking context. Ultimately, the court determined that the Wisconsin Court of Appeals’ ruling did not unreasonably apply federal law.

Affirmed.

Decided 03/22/24

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