85 results for 'cat:"Ineffective Assistance" AND cat:"Sex Offender"'.
J. Liu finds that the trial court improperly conducted a trial that ended with defendant's indeterminate commitment as a sexually violent predator. The trial court held an inadequate Marsden hearing to consider defendant's conflict of interest claim against his public defender. It then erred in denying him counsel to help him decide whether to file a motion to dismiss based on his claim that a 12-year delay to trial violated his due process rights. If a new Marsden hearing shows a conflict of interest exists, new counsel must be appointed to evaluate his motion to dismiss. If no conflict is found, the public defender's office must evaluate his motion to dismiss. If he does not file a motion to dismiss, or he does and the motion is denied, the trial court must find whether the sexually violent predator judgment was affected by Marsden error. Reversed.
Court: California Supreme Court, Judge: Liu, Filed On: May 20, 2024, Case #: S278262, Categories: ineffective Assistance, sex Offender
J. Oliver finds that defendant's behavior was not required to hold a sua sponte hearing to evaluate defendant's competence to stand trial for sexual abuse of a child. His remarks about his medical conditions did not require a hearing, and counsel assured the trial court that he comprehended events and could aid in his defense. Also, counsel was not deficient for seeking testimony about the victim's truthfulness since defendant admitted to the abuse in recorded interviews. Affirmed.
Court: Utah Court Of Appeals, Judge: Oliver, Filed On: May 2, 2024, Case #: 20220407-CA, Categories: Competence, ineffective Assistance, sex Offender
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J. Lagesen finds the post-conviction court erred in denying relief on defendant's claim that trial counsel was constitutionally inadequate for not objecting to the trial court’s imposition of enhanced sentences. Counsel should have recognized "that the application of the statute would require a factual determination that at least one of the convictions…involved a separate criminal episode.” Reversed.
Court: Oregon Court of Appeals, Judge: Lagesen, Filed On: May 1, 2024, Case #: A178824, Categories: ineffective Assistance, Sentencing, sex Offender
J. Dillard finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of child molestation, aggravated sexual battery, rape, incest, sexual exploitation of children, influencing a witness and other related offenses. The trial court correctly denied defendant's motion for a new trial. Defendant's trial counsel was not deficient for failing to object when defendant's handwritten notes to the victim were allowed to go out with the jury during deliberations. The notes were original documentary evidence, therefore any continuing witness objection put forth by defendant's counsel would have been overruled. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Dillard, Filed On: April 26, 2024, Case #: A24A0533, Categories: ineffective Assistance, sex Offender, Child Victims
J. Dillard finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of child molestation and sexual battery as a lesser-included offense of aggravated sexual battery. Sufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's convictions, including the victim's testimony. The trial court did not commit any error by refusing to find that defendant's convictions were mutually exclusive or by denying defendant's ineffective assistance claim. Defendant cannot show that his counsel's strategic decision not to attack the victim's credibility was unreasonable. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Dillard, Filed On: April 26, 2024, Case #: A24A0157, Categories: ineffective Assistance, sex Offender
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. Holloway finds the lower court properly denied defendant’s petition for post-conviction relief. Defendant was convicted of aggravated statutory rape for engaging in sexual relations with a then 16-year-old girl, and was sentenced to 12 years incarceration. Defendant’s enhanced sentence as a Range III career offender is reasonable as the lower court took into account his seven prior felony convictions. Defendant’s argument of violation of due process is waived, as it was not brought up on lower court proceedings, and his claim of ineffective assistance of counsel fails, as the instant court finds no deficiency in his representation. Affirmed.
Court: Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, Judge: Holloway, Filed On: April 15, 2024, Case #: M2023-00320-CCA-R3-PC, Categories: ineffective Assistance, sex Offender, Due Process
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. Mortensen finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of two counts of aggravated sexual abuse of his two minor daughters following his guilty plea. As part of the plea agreement, a sentence of two concurrent terms of six years to life was to be recommended, but at the sentencing hearing, the victims testified that they felt the sentence to be too lenient. The lower court sentenced defendant to 15 years to life for each count, to run concurrently. Defendant argues the prosecutor breached the plea agreement and the court should not have considered the victims’ view on the sentence. Defendant also asserts he received ineffective assistance by trial counsel for failing to object to the prosecutor’s statements at sentencing. However, there was no breach of the plea agreement and no deficiency in defendant’s legal representation. Affirmed.
Court: Utah Court Of Appeals, Judge: Mortensen, Filed On: March 28, 2024, Case #: 20221055-CA, Categories: ineffective Assistance, Sentencing, sex Offender
J. Dorrian finds defendant's claim of ineffective assistance of counsel regarding the filing of a notice of alibi prior to his trial on rape charges is contradicted by the record, which shows his attorney filed the notice more than six months before trial; therefore, the claim is meritless. Meanwhile, the trial court properly denied defendant's motion for acquittal because the victim's testimony established all the elements of the offenses with which he was charged and was sufficient to prove the assaults. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Dorrian, Filed On: March 26, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-1139, Categories: ineffective Assistance, sex Offender, Child Victims
J. Overstreet finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of sexual assault of his four-year-old daughter. Defense counsel was not ineffective for failing to object to the admission of two positive STD tests, as this evidence was admissible at trial despite the physician-patient privilege attached to them under the exception set forth in the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act. Affirmed.
Court: Illinois Supreme Court, Judge: Overstreet, Filed On: March 21, 2024, Case #: 129289, Categories: ineffective Assistance, sex Offender, Child Victims
J. Luthy finds that counsel should have asked for a unanimity jury instruction on an aggravated sexual abuse of a child charge. But defendant was not prejudiced since the activity supporting the charge occurred during the same interaction that resulted in his rape of child conviction. And admission of hearsay testimony was likely error but did not cause prejudice since it was the same as other properly admitted evidence. Affirmed.
Court: Utah Court Of Appeals, Judge: Luthy, Filed On: March 21, 2024, Case #: 20210381-CA, Categories: Confrontation, ineffective Assistance, sex Offender
J. McEvers finds that the district court properly entered an amended criminal judgment and a district court order denying defendant's request to withdraw his conditional guilty pleas and his claims of ineffective assistance of counsel. Defendant was charged with two counts of gross sexual imposition. Defendant did not show that his counsel rendered ineffective assistance. Affirmed.
Court: 9th Circuit, Judge: McEvers, Filed On: March 18, 2024, Case #: 2024ND47, Categories: ineffective Assistance, sex Offender, Plea
J. Pipkin rules that the trial court improperly convicted defendant of cruelty to children in the first degree and finds that defendant is entitled to a new trial on that offense due to juror misconduct. The verdict form given to the jury incorrectly listed the charge as cruelty to children in the third degree. Upon being recalled for a second round of deliberations after the mistake was discovered, a juror used her phone to Google the classifications of the offense of cruelty to children and then shared the information with other jurors. The trial court correctly convicted defendant of sexual battery. Defendant's trial counsel was not deficient for allowing defendant to proceed to trial with only one hearing aid. Defendant twice told the trial court that he was able to hear. Reversed in part.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Pipkin, Filed On: March 15, 2024, Case #: A23A1752, Categories: ineffective Assistance, Jury, sex Offender
J. Dillard finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of rape, kidnapping, aggravated sodomy and aggravated assault. Defendant waived his ability to challenge the trial court's handling of an incident in which a prospective juror told other jurors, some of whom ended up on the jury, that "he did it." The juror was removed. The decision by defendant's trial counsel not to further question jurors about the incident was strategic and defendant failed to show he was prejudiced by the decision. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Dillard, Filed On: March 14, 2024, Case #: A24A0358, Categories: ineffective Assistance, Jury, sex Offender
J. Orme finds that it was reasonable for counsel not to object to alleged prosecutorial misconduct during cross-examination of defendant during his trial on rape charges, as objections would have allowed the state to highlight contradictions in defendant's testimony. However, counsel should have requested unanimity jury instructions on two forcible sexual abuse charges, and the state did not sufficiently clarify which acts applied to which charges, so defendant is entitled to a new trial on those two charges. Reversed in part.
Court: Utah Court Of Appeals, Judge: Orme, Filed On: March 14, 2024, Case #: 20220163-CA, Categories: 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. Hellman finds the post-conviction court properly denied defendant’s petition for relief from several counts of first-degree sex crimes against a minor. To preserve “a claim for replacement of counsel based on counsel’s oppositional statements as opposed to his claim based on counsel’s refusal to raise certain claims, petitioner needed to have objected to counsel’s response on the record.” Affirmed.
Court: Oregon Court of Appeals, Judge: Hellman, Filed On: March 6, 2024, Case #: A174808, Categories: ineffective Assistance, sex Offender, Child Victims
J. Bright finds that while the lower court erroneously refused to consider the merits of the inmate's ineffective assistance claim contained in his petition for a writ of habeas corpus, its decision to deny the writ was nevertheless correct as the prosecution's failure to disclose a complete copy of notes taken by a detective did not prejudice the inmate or alter the outcome of the trial. Although a complete copy of the notes indicated a different number of girls on the premises the day the inmate assaulted the victim when compared to the victim's testimony, the discrepancy was unimportant and, furthermore, the inmate's attorney was able to achieve the desired impeachment result through cross-examination of the detective, regardless of the notes. Affirmed.
Court: Connecticut Court Of Appeals, Judge: Bright, Filed On: March 1, 2024, Case #: AC45422, Categories: Habeas, ineffective Assistance, sex Offender