62 results for 'cat:"Evidence" AND cat:"Ineffective Assistance"'.
J. Johnson finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for murder based on sufficient evidence. Officers discovered the victim's body, shot in the face with a shotgun, inside the trailer after a 911 report. Defendant claimed the victim had broken into his residence, though officers saw that she was wearing socks and slippers with no dirt on them. Although defendant said he did not know the victim, it was later discovered he had recently met her on a dating website. Furthermore, testimony from defendant's ex-wife and work associate involving threats he had made about shooting them while pointing a gun at them was properly admitted. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Johnson , Filed On: May 15, 2024, Case #: 09-22-00385-CR, Categories: evidence, ineffective Assistance, Murder
Per curiam, the Vermont Supreme Court finds that the post-conviction court properly dismissed defendant’s previous claims of ineffective assistance on grounds that the victim was not cross-examined regarding the number of stab wounds to her abdomen. The plea agreement did not restrict the state from presenting additional facts. Affirmed.
Court: Vermont Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: May 10, 2024, Case #: 23-AP-238, Categories: evidence, ineffective Assistance, Sentencing
J. Markle finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of trafficking more than 400 grams of methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. The trial court correctly excluded evidence that defendant's son had prior convictions for methamphetamine possession, sale and distribution. Defendant claimed the evidence explained his state of mind in taking responsibility for the drugs to prevent his son from being arrested and showed the son's ability and intent to possess the drugs. The evidence was inadmissible and its exclusion did not prevent defendant from mounting his defense. Defendant failed to show that his trial counsel's performance was deficient. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Markle, Filed On: May 9, 2024, Case #: A24A0010, Categories: Drug Offender, evidence, ineffective Assistance
J. Bright finds that while the attorney's failure to present evidence of the inmate's mental health issues at a hearing to determine whether good cause existed for the untimely filing of his habeas corpus petition may have constituted ineffective assistance of counsel, the inmate's failure to provide any evidence regarding the claim required dismissal of his appeal to this court.
Court: Connecticut Court Of Appeals, Judge: Bright, Filed On: May 3, 2024, Case #: AC43187, Categories: evidence, Habeas, ineffective Assistance
J. Golemon finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for murder. Testimony from 13 witnesses, ballistics and firearms evidence, photographs, and surveillance video clearly showing shots fired from defendant's vehicle support the conviction. Though defendant claims self-defense, the record shows no request for such a jury instruction. Counsel's decisions at trial all fall within the range of reasonable professional assistance. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Golemon , Filed On: May 1, 2024, Case #: 09-22-00337-CR, Categories: evidence, ineffective Assistance, Murder
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J. Menashi finds that the district court properly revoked probation imposed upon defendant's conviction for drug trafficking and sentenced him to prison for violating the terms of release by repeatedly raping his teenage daughter over the course of a year. Defendant contends he received ineffective assistance at the violation hearing when counsel failed to present medical evidence indicating he was physically incapable of rape due to previous injuries, but he failed to demonstrate that any shortcoming had been prejudicial in light of his admission that he had sex with his wife on the same air mattress where some of the rapes occurred. Meanwhile, the sentence did not constitute an abuse of discretion. Affirmed.
Court: 2nd Circuit, Judge: Menashi, Filed On: April 30, 2024, Case #: 22-1775, Categories: evidence, ineffective Assistance, Probation
J. Ransom finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of assault and armed criminal action after failing to appoint counsel at her initial appearance and excluding certain evidence of the victim's violence behavior during trial. Defendant was not entitled to counsel at an initial appearance, and the court reasonably allowed only two of six accounts of the victim's alleged violent character to support defendant's claim that the victim started the fight. Affirmed.
Court: Missouri Supreme Court, Judge: Ransom, Filed On: April 30, 2024, Case #: SC100303, Categories: evidence, ineffective Assistance, Assault
J. Van Cleef uphold the trial court’s judgment of a life sentence for aggravated sexual assault and family violence “occlusion,” which requires enhanced penalties under Texas law for choking the victim, a mother of three young children. The trial court properly allowed the victim to testify about the defendant’s prior conviction and allowed a state witness to testify about the victim’s truthfulness. Furthermore, the conviction is supported by sufficient evidence, including the victim's detailed testimony that defendant would force her to brush his teeth and bathe him after he raped and sodomized. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Judge: Van Cleef, Filed On: April 24, 2024, Case #: 06-23-00128-CR , Categories: evidence, ineffective Assistance, Sex Offender
J. Smith finds the witnesses' close relationships to the victim and minor variations in their testimony does not render defendant's sexual imposition conviction against the weight of the evidence. The testimony established all elements of the offense, while the jury was in the best position to determine the witnesses' credibility. Meanwhile, because defendant's girlfriend was not present at the time of the assault, his attorney's failure to call the woman as a witness did not constitute ineffective assistance, as her testimony would not have included any relevant evidence. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Smith, Filed On: April 22, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-1678, Categories: evidence, ineffective Assistance, Sex Offender
J. Kyzar finds that defendant was properly convicted for DWI, fifth offense. Defendant claims that his counsel failed when they did not seek to suppress and object to the use his medical records as evidence, as those include the results of his blood alcohol tests, but there was no reason why the trial court would allow counsel to suppress or successfully object to the admission of this evidence that the trooper obtained with a warrant.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Kyzar, Filed On: April 17, 2024, Case #: KA-23-742, Categories: evidence, ineffective Assistance, Dui
Per curiam, the appeals court finds the trial court partially erred in denying defendant's motion for postconviction relief based on ineffective assistance of counsel at his trial which ended in him being convicted of attempted first-degree murder and other charges. The trial court did not attach enough findings to totally refute defendant's claim it denied regarding unimpeached video testimony from the victim, so the case is remanded for the trial court to either hold an evidentiary hearing or attach the needed records. Reversed.
Court: Florida Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: April 9, 2024, Case #: 22-1055, Categories: evidence, ineffective Assistance, Murder
J. Bell finds the trial court improperly denied defendant's postconviction petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Defendant was convicted for multiple counts of sexual assault upon one person. His appellate counsel's omission of a sufficiency challenge fell below an objective standard in that he evoked precedent providing a change in sexual position is insufficient to show the acts constitute more than one offense without challenging the convictions for the same offense. Because the sufficiency challenge stood a reasonable probability of success, defendant was prejudiced by counsel's omission. Reversed in part.
Court: Nevada Supreme Court, Judge: Bell , Filed On: April 4, 2024, Case #: 85887, Categories: evidence, ineffective Assistance, Sex Offender
J. Orme finds that the jury had sufficient evidence to infer that defendant was reckless enough about the victim's lack of consent to support a conviction for aggravated sexual assault. Counsel's decision not to have defendant's girlfriend corroborate his story was not the best practice but it was not objectively unreasonable enough for an ineffective assistance claim. Affirmed.
Court: Utah Court Of Appeals, Judge: Orme, Filed On: March 7, 2024, Case #: 20200720-CA, Categories: evidence, ineffective Assistance, Sex Offender
J. LaGrua finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder, concealing the death of another and a firearm offense. The trial court correctly admitted evidence of Facebook messages and evidence of the victim's bank records which implied that defendant stole from him. The bank records evidence was intrinsic evidence necessary to explain defendant's financial motive and was not unfairly prejudicial. Defendant cannot show that the evidence of the Facebook messages between defendant and a co-conspirator probably impacted the trial outcome. Defendant failed to show that her trial counsel's performance was deficient or that she was prejudiced by the alleged deficiencies. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: LaGrua, Filed On: March 5, 2024, Case #: S24A0095, Categories: evidence, ineffective Assistance, Murder
J. Welch finds the trial court properly, by plea bargain, convicted defendant for theft, attempted failure to appear and false reporting. The victim's stolen car was observed and stopped by officers. Though defendant was a passenger, a search revealed the keys to be in defendant's pocket, and the driver told officers that defendant had picked her up in the borrowed car. Affirmed.
Court: Nebraska Court Of Appeals, Judge: Welch , Filed On: March 5, 2024, Case #: A-23-887, Categories: evidence, ineffective Assistance, Theft
J. Douglas finds the district court properly convicted defendant, by guilty plea, for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of meth. The court also denied defendant habeas relief for his argument that trial and appellate counsel were ineffective for failing to object to the purity of meth attributed to him. That defendant was accountable for a certain amount of the drug by weight makes his evidentiary argument meritless. The court would have adopted the same guideline range and imposed the same sentence even if the drug purity objection had been made. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Douglas , Filed On: March 1, 2024, Case #: 22-51046, Categories: Drug Offender, evidence, ineffective Assistance
J. Dysart vacates the trial court's judgment determining that defense counsel rendered ineffective assistance of counsel to defendant. In this case, there is no testimony from the defense counsel as to why he did not file a motion to withdraw the plea. Without the testimony, this court cannot make a finding as to whether the decision to not file the motion was based on trial strategy or counsel deficiency. Vacated.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Dysart, Filed On: February 20, 2024, Case #: 2024-K-0019, Categories: evidence, ineffective Assistance
J. Miller finds that despite defendant's claim he did not assault the victim to steal her phone, the state was not required to prove his mental state to convict him of robbery. Rather, it was required to prove he threatened or inflicted serious physical harm on the victim and, therefore, his conviction was supported by sufficient evidence because he took the phone immediately after he punched and dragged the victim. Meanwhile, the failure by defendant's attorney to object to potential hearsay testimony from a detective about inconsistencies in the victim's story did not prejudice defendant or rise to the level of ineffective assistance of counsel. The victim's testimony alone was sufficient to convict defendant of all three offenses. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Miller, Filed On: February 20, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-629, Categories: evidence, ineffective Assistance, Robbery
J. Luthy finds the trial court properly convicted a man on two counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. The man says his attorney’s assistance was ineffective, for example because he did not object to testimony related to how much of the drugs are usually kept for personal use, for example. His arguments are unpersuasive. Affirmed.
Court: Utah Court Of Appeals, Judge: Luthy, Filed On: February 15, 2024, Case #: 20210868-CA, Categories: Drug Offender, evidence, ineffective Assistance
J. Smith finds that although the majority of the prosecution's case rested on circumstantial evidence, there was more than enough to convict defendant of murder, including his DNA found on a hat near the victim, as well as a witness who testified defendant came to his home the day of the murder with blood on his clothing asking to wash his hands. Meanwhile, the failure by defendant's attorney to object to various witness statements that lent credibility to the prosecution's case did not rise to the level of ineffective assistance and was part of a sound trial strategy to avoid drawing attention to such evidence. Furthermore, his mention of possible drug use by defendant during closing arguments was also acceptable, as that information had already been brought up during trial. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Smith, Filed On: February 14, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-549, Categories: evidence, ineffective Assistance, Murder
J. Tabor finds that defendant was properly denied postconviction relief after being convicted of robbery for holding up a Pizza Hut. His former co-workers recognized him and overwhelming evidence of the crime was found in defendant's car; therefore, counsel's recommendation that he waive a jury trial was an appropriate strategy. Affirmed.
Court: Iowa Court Of Appeals, Judge: Tabor, Filed On: February 7, 2024, Case #: 22-1885, Categories: evidence, ineffective Assistance, Robbery
J. Gwin finds testimony from codefendants established defendant was aware it was the intention of the three men to kill the victim for his suspected theft of their personal belongings, and that even if he had left the scene of the crime before the victim died, his beating of the victim with both his fists and a brick was sufficient to convict him of murder. Although defendant's attorney failed to cross-examine his accomplices about inconsistencies in their versions of the crime, his conduct did not rise to the level of ineffective assistance because the court gave a comprehensive instruction to the jury that all the accomplice testimony should be viewed with grave suspicion. Affirmed
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Gwin, Filed On: February 7, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-429, Categories: evidence, ineffective Assistance, Murder
J. Buller finds that defendant was properly denied relief from his conviction for robbing a payday lender. Defendant contends counsel should have objected to the admission of a gun during trial, but the trial transcript indicates defendant instructed counsel to withdraw the objection for strategic purposes after discussing pros and cons. Affirmed.
Court: Iowa Court Of Appeals, Judge: Buller, Filed On: January 24, 2024, Case #: 22-1285, Categories: evidence, ineffective Assistance, Robbery
J. Bates finds that the lower court properly denied defendant's post-conviction motion alleging ineffective assistance of counsel. Even if his counsel had objected to defendant's new girlfriend's testimony that defendant put a gun in her mouth, there is no reasonable probability that the result of the trial would have been different. Affirmed.
Court: Missouri Court Of Appeals, Judge: Bates, Filed On: January 23, 2024, Case #: SD37871, Categories: evidence, ineffective Assistance, Murder
J. Cassel finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for first-degree murder based on sufficient evidence. Witness testimony, as well as fingerprint and DNA evidence, link defendant to the scene of the shooting. Furthermore, the trial court properly sustained the state's oral motion to continue due to new evidence of defendant's cell phone, which had been seized in a different investigation. Affirmed.
Court: Nebraska Supreme Court, Judge: Cassel , Filed On: January 5, 2024, Case #: S-23-225, Categories: evidence, ineffective Assistance, Murder
J. Musseman finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for first-degree murder and shooting with the intent to kill. The introduction of the medical examiner's report and toxicology report, though they do not fall under the hearsay exception, did not substantially affect the outcome of the case. Photographic lineups were not impermissibly suggestive and did not give rise to a likelihood of misidentification, and no ineffective assistance by counsel is found. Affirmed.
Court: Oklahoma Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Musseman , Filed On: December 21, 2023, Case #: F-2021-692, Categories: evidence, ineffective Assistance, Murder