Fermin Guerrero v. Martin Biter, Warden
DueProcess HabeasCorpus Securities
1. Does the Constitution require a court on habeas review to assess cumulatively the prejudice caused by multiple constitutional errors at a criminal trial?
2. Did Fermin Guerrero suffer material prejudice from his prosecutor's undisputed failure to disclose to Guerrero's defense that the prosecution's key witness had been paid between $6,000 and $10,000 for assisting law enforcement in Guerrero's case?
3. Did Guerrero's trial counsel provide constitutionally ineffective assistance by failing to present evidence—contained in his own trial file—that would have rehabilitated the defense's key exculpatory witness and rebutted the prosecution's attack on her credibility?
4. Does the combined prejudice from the prosecution's withholding of evidence and trial counsel's ineffective assistance warrant relief from Guerrero's conviction under the Fourteenth Amendment?
Does the Constitution require a cumulative assessment of multiple constitutional errors at a criminal trial?