Can a common practice in criminal defense trigger constitutional protections when it’s suddenly changed?

Tagged with: Antonin Scalia Elena Kagan Habeas Corpus Sonia Sotomayor Stephen Breyer

Less than a year after creating a narrow right to make a federal ineffective assistance of counsel claim in a post-conviction proceeding despite a procedural default in state court, the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court tried to carve out the contours of that ruling during oral arguments in Trevino v. Thaler.

Tagged with: Anthony Kennedy Antonin Scalia Habeas Corpus Ineffective assistance Samuel Alito Sonia Sotomayor U.S. Supreme Court

10-3550 Woolley v. Rednour

Tagged with: 7th Circuit Digest Criminal Digest Habeas Corpus Ineffective assistance

11-3228 Ray v. Clements

Tagged with: 7th Circuit Digest Criminal Digest Criminal Procedure Digest Habeas Corpus

In a case that could help establish the limits of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling last term in Martinez v. Ryan, which established defendants’ narrow right to the effective assistance of counsel in a post-conviction proceeding, the Court has agreed to decide whether a state court procedural default prevents a federal habeas court from hearing a post-conviction ineffective assistance claim.

Tagged with: Habeas Corpus Ineffective assistance Supreme Court

2011AP2069 State ex rel. Blunt v. Smith

Tagged with: Criminal Digest Criminal Procedure Digest Habeas Corpus Ineffective assistance Smith WI Court of Appeals Digest

11-2246 Rivas-Melendrez v. Napolitano

Tagged with: 7th Circuit Digest Civil Digest Habeas Corpus Immigration Digest removal

2009AP746-W & 2010AP1064 State v. Washington

Tagged with: Criminal Digest Criminal Procedure Digest Habeas Corpus WI Court of Appeals Digest

10-9995 Wood v. Milyard

Tagged with: Criminal Digest Criminal Procedure Digest forfeiture Habeas Corpus SCOTUS Digest

2011AP402 State ex rel. Walker v. Huibregtse, et al.

Tagged with: Criminal Digest Criminal Procedure Digest Habeas Corpus Venue Walker WI Court of Appeals Digest

A federal court erred in granting habeas corpus to a defendant where the state’s witness was unavailable, because under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act a federal court cannot overturn a state court’s decision that the state took reasonable steps to find a witness merely because the federal court identified additional steps that might have been taken.

Tagged with: Habeas Corpus Supreme Court

10-2432 Purvis v. U.S.

Tagged with: 7th Circuit Digest Criminal Digest Habeas Corpus Sentencing Sentencing Digest

Despite evidence that the police withheld exculpatory evidence and witnesses were not truthful at trial, a state prisoner convicted in 1994 of sexual assault and attempted homicide will not get a new trial.

Tagged with: 7th Circuit Confrontation Clause Habeas Corpus Rape shield law sexual assualt

If a criminal defense attorney uses his peremptory challenges to exclude potential jurors because of race or gender, he violates the Equal Protection Clause, the Rules of Professional Responsibility and provides ineffective assistance of counsel.

Tagged with: 7th Circuit Court of Appeals Equal Protection Clause Habeas Corpus Ineffective assistance Supreme Court

Criminal Procedure Habeas corpus

Tagged with: 7th Circuit Digest Criminal Digest Criminal Procedure Criminal Procedure Digest Habeas Corpus

Habeas Corpus Ineffective assistance The State of Wisconsin’s motion to stay the mandate is denied. “Harrington addresses the situation in which a state-court decision ‘is unaccompanied by an explanation.’ Here, the state appellate court issued an opinion and wrote: ‘We ...

Tagged with: 09-3940 Habeas Corpus Ineffective assistance Sussman v. Jenkins United States Court of Appeals

Habeas corpus Appointed counsel When an attorney believes that a claim not certified for appeal is arguable, counsel should move the court to expand the certificate to include the claim. “Counsel has no obligation to argue claims that are not ...

Tagged with: Habeas Corpus United States Court of Appeals

In two decisions this year, the U.S. Supreme Court made it tougher for state prisoners to obtain habeas corpus relief in federal court.

Tagged with: Habeas Corpus Ineffective assistance SCOTUS U.S. Supreme Court

In an editorial in the Sunday New York Times, April 17, 2011, entitled "Justice, Too Much and Too Expensive," two law professors from Indiana and Vanderbilt University present a radical proposal that federal court review of state court convictions under the writ of habeas corpus should be even more strictly limited than it currently is -- to just death penalty cases and cases in which the prisoner can produce persuasive new evidence of his or her innocence.

Tagged with: Habeas Corpus

Habeas Corpus Ineffective assistance It was not unreasonable for Wisconsin courts to conclude that an expert witness would not have given different testimony if presented with all the facts. “We cannot say that it was ‘unreasonable’ for the Wisconsin court ...

Tagged with: Habeas Corpus Ineffective assistance

United States Court of Appeals CRIMINAL OPINION Habeas Corpus Confrontation Clause; ineffective assistance It was unreasonable for the state courts to conclude that a defendant charged with sexual assault of a child was not prejudiced by his attorney’s failure to ...

Tagged with: 09-3940 Habeas Corpus Sussman v. Jenkins

United States Court of Appeals CRIMINAL OPINIONS Habeas Corpus Confrontation Clause Where a state court judge admitted double hearsay against a defendant as substantive evidence to prove the defendants’ guilt, his federal habeas corpus petition should have been granted. “To ...

Tagged with: Habeas Corpus United States Court of Appeals

In January, the U.S. Supreme Court accepted review of a case to decide whether a state prisoner can obtain habeas corpus relief in federal court, after he went to trial because his attorney gave him deficient advice during plea bargaining. ...

Tagged with: Diane Wood Habeas Corpus Supreme Court Truth-in-Sentencing

CRIMINAL OPINIONS Habeas Corpus Ineffective assistance; plea bargaining Where a state prisoner claims he would have accepted a plea agreement if his attorney had correctly conveyed it to him, and no evidentiary hearing was held, the district court should have ...

Tagged with: Habeas Corpus

Habeas Corpus AEDPA A motion to reduce a sentence under state law is an application for “collateral review” that triggers AEDPA’s tolling provision. The parties agree that the motion is not part of the direct review process, and both this ...

Tagged with: AEDPA Habeas Corpus

Habeas Corpus Ineffective assistance of counsel Where a defendant’s attorney had no strategic reason for not interviewing potential witnesses, his representation was deficient. “In this case, a review of the record shows that the petitioner’s trial counsel told the petitioner ...

Tagged with: Habeas Corpus Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

Habeas Corpus Sentence credit Christopher L. Shelton appeals from an order of the circuit court denying his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Shelton was convicted of two crimes and given consecutive sentences. Shelton argues that because he was ...

Tagged with: Habeas Corpus Sentence credit

Habeas Corpus Sentence credit Christopher L. Shelton appeals from an order of the circuit court denying his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Shelton was convicted of two crimes and given consecutive sentences. Shelton argues that because he was ...

Tagged with: Habeas Corpus Sentence credit

Habeas Corpus Standard of review 28 U.S.C. 2254(d) applies to a habeas corpus petition, even though the state court’s order was unaccompanied by an opinion explaining the court’s reasoning. By its terms, §2254(d) bars relitigation of a claim “adjudicated on ...

Tagged with: Habeas Corpus

Habeas Corpus Ineffective assistance of counsel Under 28 U. S. C. 2254(d), federal habeas relief may not be granted with respect to any claim a state court has adjudicated on the merits unless, among other exceptions, the state-court decision denying ...

Tagged with: Habeas Corpus Ineffective Assistance of Counsel