No. 23-7185

Lawrence Northern v. Lizzie Tegels, Warden

Lower Court: Wisconsin
Docketed: 2024-04-10
Status: Denied
Type: IFP
Response WaivedIFP
Tags: appellate-procedure counsel-of-choice direct-appeal due-process ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel right-to-counsel sixth-amendment state-v-machner strickland-standard strickland-v-washington
Latest Conference: 2024-05-09
Question Presented (from Petition)

1. Is State v. Machner Unconstitutional? Subsumed within this question is a subsidiary question: Have Alabama, Texas, Wisconsin and the Eleventh Circuit effectively overturned this Court's precedent, Strickland v. Washington, recognizing when a court is presented with an ineffective-assistance claim, the reviewing court should look to the full record presented by the defendant. However, Alabama, Texas, Wisconsin, and the Eleventh Circuit held (or seems to hold) that failure to call challenged counsel as a witness automatically doomes the ineffective-assistance claim: a rule that Wisconsin has followed at least since 1979's State v. Machner.

2. Did Wisconsin Attorneys Jeffrey Reitz and Timothy Provis Engage in Impremissible advocacy when Attorney Reitz filed a Notice of Appeals without Petitioner's knowledge or consent and then outsourced appellate briefing to Attorney Provis, who filed a defective appellate brief raising only unpreserved discovery issues, constituting a per se violation of the Sixth Amendment?

3. Did the Wisconsin Court of Appeals deprive Petitioner counsel of his choice with its refusal to dismiss Petitioner's (in name only) direct appeal, wherein, his pro se letter to the court asking for the appeal to be dismissed, Petitioner specifically explained that his retained counsel, without Petitioner's knowledge or consent, subcontracted out his appellate representation to an attorney, not affiliated with the Reitz's firm, and there was a substantial breakdown in communication - neither Reitz nor Provis conferred/consulted with Petitioner regarding the direct appeal?

Question Presented (AI Summary)

Question not identified.

Docket Entries

2024-05-13
Petition DENIED.
2024-04-18
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/9/2024.
2024-04-12
Waiver of right of respondent Lizzie Tegels to respond filed.
2024-02-21

Attorneys

Lawrence Northern
Lawrence Northern — Petitioner
Lizzie Tegels
Kara Lynn JansonWisconsin Department of Justice, Respondent