25 results for 'cat:"Criminal Procedure" AND cat:"Ineffective Assistance"'.
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J. Gallagher finds the trial court was not required to sever defendant's indictment and conduct separate trials. All three robberies were committed over a short period of time and involved similar characteristics, including being committed late at night on individuals alone in their cars, while the evidence for each crime was simple and direct, involving victim testimony from each of the incidents that was unlikely to confuse the jury. Meanwhile, because the outcome of the trial would have been no different if defendant's attorney had filed a motion to sever the indictment, defendant's ineffective assistance claim fails. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Gallagher, Filed On: March 14, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-958, Categories: criminal Procedure, ineffective Assistance, Robbery
J. Bright finds the lower court erroneously denied the petitioner's request to reopen his habeas case without resolving factual disputes or making credibility determinations. Although the motion was filed after the relevant procedural deadline, the ineffective assistance claims raised by the petitioner are of such critical importance the deadline is irrelevant. The petitioner claimed his attorney lied about efforts to contact him after he was deported to Jamaica, and because the lower court made no determination regarding the facts of the case, this court declines to do so and remands the case for proper analysis. Reversed.
Court: Connecticut Court Of Appeals, Judge: Bright, Filed On: February 15, 2024, Case #: AC45984, Categories: criminal Procedure, Habeas, ineffective Assistance
J. Harris finds the trial court improperly denied defendant's post-conviction motion claiming multiple instances of ineffective assistance of counsel at his trial for felony theft, fleeing and other charges. Portions of two of defendant's claims involving his counsel's alleged failure to obtain traffic camera footage and advise him to take a plea offer are not refuted by the record, so those portions of the trial court's order are overturned and remanded for the attachment of records or an evidentiary hearing. On remand the trial court also must allow defendant to amend another claim involving his counsel's failure to call a witness who reached out to the public defender's office before the trial. Reversed.
Court: Florida Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Harris, Filed On: October 6, 2023, Case #: 23-0818, Categories: criminal Procedure, ineffective Assistance, Theft
J. Welbaum finds the lower court erroneously denied defendant's motion for a hearing on postconviction relief claims of ineffective assistance of counsel. He was not required to provide definitive proof of deficient performance; rather, a defendant must only make a plausible claim based on evidence outside the trial court record to be entitled to a hearing, and because defendant met this threshold, the case will be remanded for an evidentiary hearing. Reversed in part.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Welbaum, Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-2895, Categories: criminal Procedure, ineffective Assistance, Sex Offender
J. Lee finds that the lower court improperly denied defendant's motion to amend his postconviction petition claiming his counsel was ineffective for failing to inform him of his potential life sentence on drug charges. The court abused its discretion in finding that the proposed amendments to the petition did not relate back to his original petition for statutes of limitations purposes. Reversed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Lee, Filed On: August 15, 2023, Case #: 22-1678, Categories: criminal Procedure, ineffective Assistance
J. Boatwright finds the trial court improperly denied two grounds of defendant’s nine-ground motion for postconviction relief subsequent to an evidentiary hearing in his case. The portions of the trial court’s order denying grounds two and eight, which respectively claim defendant’s counsel was ineffective for failing to object to an allegedly vindictive sentence and advise him of the maximum sentence he faced for rejecting the state’s plea offer, are reversed, as they were not adequately addressed at the evidentiary hearing and there are no attached records supporting the trial court’s summary denial of both. The case is remanded for the trial court to either attach those supporting records or hold another evidentiary hearing. Affirmed in part.
Court: Florida Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Boatwright, Filed On: August 11, 2023, Case #: 22-1463, Categories: criminal Procedure, ineffective Assistance
J. Arthur finds that the lower court improperly dismissed a petition after finding that it did not fall under the definition of extraordinary cause when defendant's attorney failed to timely file for post-conviction relief. Defendant's attorney filed the petition one day before the 10-year deadline expired. However, upon checking the state's electronic court system, she found her filing had not properly processed and she had to submit it late. The attorney's actions constitute malpractice and demonstrate extraordinary cause. Vacated.
Court: The Appellate Court of Maryland, Judge: Arthur, Filed On: July 26, 2023, Case #: 03-K-08-002390, Categories: criminal Procedure, ineffective Assistance, Murder
Per curiam, the appeals court finds that, as the state concedes, the trial court improperly denied as untimely defendant's post-conviction motion to withdraw the plea entered in his case. The state's argument that the trial court should be affirmed anyway because it noted in its order that defendant's plea was not involuntary fails, in part because the trial court never addressed defendant's ineffective assistance claims and it ruled at a time when defendant also had a pending motion to amend his initial post-conviction motion. The trial court is overturned and the case is remanded for further proceedings. Reversed.
Court: Florida Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: July 5, 2023, Case #: 22-1787, Categories: criminal Procedure, ineffective Assistance, Plea
J. Neville finds that the lower court properly found that defendant did not receive effective assistance of retained postconviction counsel at a hearing on the state's motion to dismiss his postconviction petition. Retained counsel's presumption of reasonable assistance was rebutted when counsel failed to withdraw and to make amendments to defendant's pro se petition for an adequate presentation of his claims. Affirmed in part.
Court: Illinois Supreme Court, Judge: Neville, Filed On: June 15, 2023, Case #: 127789, Categories: criminal Procedure, ineffective Assistance
Per curiam, the appeals court finds the trial court properly determined defendant was given ineffective assistance of counsel in the form of legally incorrect advice which led him to reject a deal the state offered for a six-year prison term and instead proceed to trial, where he was found guilty and sentenced to 20 years. The remedy the lower court ordered granting defendant a new trial was incorrect, as Florida precedent holds that defendant should have at least been offered the same six-year deal he had previously been offered. The case is remanded for further proceedings taking into account the precedent and this opinion. Affirmed in part.
Court: Florida Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: May 26, 2023, Case #: 23-0054, Categories: criminal Procedure, ineffective Assistance, Conspiracy
Per curiam, the Louisiana high court finds that the court of appeal should not have reversed the district court’s denial of post-conviction relief based on ineffective assistance. Defense counsel's failure to challenge a prospective juror for her employment with the district attorney did not prejudice defendant based on the overwhelming evidence against defendant, including witness testimony that defendant actively sought out the unarmed victim and angrily confronted him with a gun that was loaded and ready to fire. Reversed.
Court: Louisiana Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: May 5, 2023, Case #: 2022-KP-01506, Categories: criminal Procedure, Evidence, ineffective Assistance