Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Anthony Lee, Sr. v. Darren Galloway

Case No.: 23-1552

Officials: Easterbrook, Scudder, and Kirsch, Circuit Judges

Focus: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

In 1996, Anthony D. Lee, Sr. was convicted of aggravated kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault, receiving a 100-year prison sentence. Lee claimed the victim had willingly entered his car and that any sexual activity was consensual. Later, he sought postconviction relief, alleging his attorney, Richard Friedman, had neglected to interview key witnesses who could support his account. Lee backed his claim with affidavits from six potential witnesses. Despite this, the trial court rejected Lee’s ineffective-assistance claim, a decision upheld by the Illinois Appellate Court.

Lee then turned to federal court under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. Initially denied by the district court, his petition saw a different outcome with the Seventh Circuit. They disagreed with the state courts’ rulings, criticizing their assumption that witnesses would merely echo their affidavits if called to testify. The Seventh Circuit vacated the decision and instructed the district court to conduct an evidentiary hearing.

Following a three-day hearing, the district court again denied Lee’s § 2254 petition. It concluded that Friedman’s performance met professional standards and, alternatively, any errors did not significantly harm Lee’s defense given the strength of the state’s case. Lee appealed anew.

The Seventh Circuit upheld the district court’s decision, ruling that Lee had not proven a “reasonable probability” of a different trial outcome absent Friedman’s errors. The court highlighted the affidavits’ failure to explain the severity of the victim’s injuries and suggested that additional witness testimony might have undermined Lee’s defense by contradicting his or their own previous statements.

Affirmed.

Decided 07/08/24

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