ineffective-assistance-counsel

49 cases — ← All topics

Case Title Lower Court Docketed Status Flags Tags Question Presented
25-6722 Joseph James Craver v. Eric Guerrero, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division, et al. Fifth Circuit 2026-02-04 Denied IFP constitutional-rights habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance-counsel merits-review state-proceeding unexhausted-claims 1. Is a defendant constitutionally entitled to have his unexhausted claims heard on the merits when Defendant was not afforded counsel in the initial …
25-6388 James W. VanDivner, Jr. v. Laurel R. Harry, Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, et al. Third Circuit 2025-12-16 Denied Response WaivedIFP certificate-of-appealability habeas-corpus heat-of-passion ineffective-assistance-counsel suppressed-evidence voluntary-manslaughter Should a certificate of appealability have issued, where the suppressed evidence, considered cumulatively, would have placed a burden on the Commonwea…
24-7181 Robert Carl Sharp v. United States Eighth Circuit 2025-05-12 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-split conflict-of-interest ineffective-assistance-counsel post-conviction-relief sentencing-enhancement sixth-amendment Does the standard in Cuyler v. Sullivan, 446 U.S. 335 (1980), which requires only a showing that a conflict of interest adversely affected counsel's p…
24-6699 Reginald Lee Clark v. Bryan Collier, Executive Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, et al. Fifth Circuit 2025-03-04 Denied IFP constitutional-rights due-process equitable-tolling habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance-counsel state-action 1. Does Equitable Tolling or the Accrual Rule apply to the application of 28 USC §2244(d), upon discovery of previously concealed material information…
24-6676 Louis Angel Mercado v. Ricky D. Dixon, Secretary, Florida Department of Corrections, et al. Eleventh Circuit 2025-02-28 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (3)IFP appellate-procedure brief-filing cronic-standard ineffective-assistance-counsel presumed-prejudice state-appeal Should prejudice be presumed under United States v. Cronic when defense counsel fails to file an appellee's brief under a state initiated appeal?
24-581 Utah v. Douglas A. Lovell Utah 2024-11-26 Denied Relisted (2) aggravating-factors criminal-sentencing death-penalty ineffective-assistance-counsel mitigation-evidence strickland-standard Did the Utah Supreme Court violate this Court's binding case law when it failed to (1) properly assess Strickland deficient performance by considering…
23-6888 Darrell Wayne Frederick v. Christe Quick, Warden Tenth Circuit 2024-03-04 Denied IFP aspd brain-damage capital-punishment capital-sentencing ineffective-assistance-counsel ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mitigation-evidence prejudice prejudice-review strickland-standard strickland-v-washington The jury that sentenced Mr. Frederick to death did not hear from a single live defense witness during the penalty phase of his capital trial. Despite …
23-6833 Jason Matthew Karr v. Colorado Colorado 2024-02-26 Denied IFP appointment-of-counsel clearly-established-federal-law colorado-supreme-court constitutional-review due-process-rights evidentiary-hearing federal-law-application ineffective-assistance-counsel ineffective-assistance-of-counsel sixth-amendment strickland-standard strickland-v-washington Whether the Colorado Supreme Court held the Petitioner to a standard for pleading deficient performance and prejudice in his claims of Ineffective Ass…
23-6014 Curtis Conway Bailey v. Bryan Morrison, Warden Sixth Circuit 2023-11-15 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-sexual-conduct direct-appeal due-process immutable-fact ineffective-assistance-counsel judicial-notice mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimum-sentence michigan-law sentencing 1. Whether a trial court can find the fact of a defendant's age as an element of the offense of first-degree criminal sexual conduct under Michigan la…
23A335 Simeon Bozic v. Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 2023-10-13 Presumed Complete due-process-clause evidence-of-innocence fourteenth-amendment ineffective-assistance-counsel post-conviction-relief shinn-v-ramirez Question not identified.
22-7543 Dwayne Mitchell Littlejohn v. United States Fourth Circuit 2023-05-12 Denied Response WaivedIFP all-writs-act coram-nobis criminal-procedure custody due-process ineffective-assistance-counsel ineffective-assistance-of-counsel novelty-of-legal-interpretation sixth-amendment Whether a defendant's reliance on erroneous advice from counsel, the Court of Appeals and novelty of a legal interpretation constitutes valid reasons …
22-6690 Steven Vernon Bixby v. Bryan P. Stirling, Commissioner, South Carolina Department of Corrections, et al. Fourth Circuit 2023-02-02 Denied IFP certificate-of-appealability death-penalty federal-courts federal-review habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance-counsel ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mental-illness Whether 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1), F-R.A.P. 22(b) and this Court's decisions in Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322 (2003), Barefoot v. Estelle, 463 U.S.…
22-6007 Jerry Word v. John Christiansen, Warden Sixth Circuit 2022-11-07 Denied Response WaivedIFP civil-procedure due-process evidentiary-hearing fourth-amendment fraud-upon-court fraud-upon-the-court ineffective-assistance-counsel prosecutorial-misconduct remand search-and-seizure standing Whether the lower courts may reject a claims of fraud upon the court without addressing that issue or remanding the case to the lower courts where cle…
22-5762 Jonathan Mattox v. Arizona Arizona 2022-10-04 Denied Response WaivedRelisted (2)IFP appeal arizona-rule-criminal-procedure civil-rights criminal-procedure due-process habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance-counsel newly-discovered-evidence post-conviction-relief sentencing standard-of-review statutory-interpretation What i the coredtinter pretation that should be percieved from A.R.5. 28-1383 (4)(2) T?
22-5536 Mikal D. Mahdi v. Bryan P. Stirling, Commissioner, South Carolina Department of Corrections, et al. Fourth Circuit 2022-09-08 Denied IFP capital-mitigation ineffective-assistance-counsel ineffective-assistance-of-counsel investigation-into-mitigating-evidence mental-health-background mitigating-evidence post-conviction-review sixth-amendment traumatic-background trial-investigation Did the state post-conviction court misapply this Court's Sixth Amendment precedent when it held that Mikal Mahdi's trial attorneys reasonably ended t…
22-5103 Chico Jermell Carraway v. United States Third Circuit 2022-07-13 Denied Response WaivedIFP 2255-motion 28-usc-2255 evidentiary-hearing ineffective-assistance-counsel ineffective-assistance-of-counsel plea-agreement plea-bargaining rule-11 rule-11-procedure sentencing sentencing-hearing When a defendant alleges with supporting evidence that he pleaded guilty based on an unkept promise of counsel concerning sentencing, is he entitled t…
21-7582 Francisco Abreu Tartabull v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2022-04-08 Denied Response WaivedIFP 11th-circuit 28-usc-2255 certificate-of-appealability district-court eleventh-circuit evidentiary-hearing habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance-counsel ineffective-assistance-of-counsel section-2255 Whether the Eleventh Circuit's denial of a certificate of appealability, where the district court erred or alternatively abused its discretion by deny…
21-7392 Jeffery Neil Brantley v. Ashley Moody, Attorney General of Florida, et al. Eleventh Circuit 2022-03-16 Denied Response WaivedIFP civil-rights constitutional-privacy due-process federal-habeas-corpus financial-records habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance-counsel ineffective-assistance-of-counsel judicial-review state-constitutional-rights supremacy-clause DOES THE SUPREMACY CLAUSE PREEMPT THE STATES FROM CREATING A CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT OF PRIVACY THAT GRANTS WITHIN THE STATE INDIVIDUALS, LEGITIMATE EXPE…
21-6863 Nesly Loute v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2022-01-14 Denied Response WaivedIFP abuse-of-discretion appellate-review certificate-of-appealability district-court evidentiary-hearing habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance-counsel ineffective-assistance-of-counsel remand section-2255 Whether the Eleventh Circuit's denial of a certificate of appealability, where the district court erred or alternatively abused its discretion by deny…
21-6439 John Joseph Rushinsky, Jr. v. David Shinn, Director, Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry, et al. Ninth Circuit 2021-11-30 Denied Response WaivedIFP burden-of-proof constitutional-rights criminal-law criminal-procedure due-process habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance-counsel ineffective-assistance-of-counsel prejudice strickland-standard 1. May the state, consistent with Due Process, sweepingly criminalize a broad range of conduct embracing both innocent and culpable behavior and assig…
21-6227 Misael Cordero v. Jonathan Gramp, Administrator, East Jersey State Prison Third Circuit 2021-11-09 Denied IFP circuit-split due-process effective-assistance-of-counsel false-testimony government-misconduct habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance-counsel sixth-amendment 1. Which divided Courts of Appeals are correct: the Eleventh, Fifth and Second Circuits holding that a due process violation occurs when the governme…
20-7060 Charles Lee Mosier, Sr. v. Texas Texas 2021-02-05 Denied IFP collateral-proceedings constitutional-review constitutional-standards due-process evidence ineffective-assistance-counsel ineffective-assistance-of-counsel post-conviction-relief strickland-standard strickland-v-washington DOES A STATE'S INITIAL-REVIEW POST-CONVICTION COLLATERAL PROCEEDINGS MEET CONSTITUTIONAL STANDARDS WHEN THOSE PROCEEDINGS FAIL TO PROVIDE A PRISONER T…
20-975 Freddie Owens v. Bryan P. Stirling, Director, South Carolina Department of Corrections, et al. Fourth Circuit 2021-01-22 Denied certificate-of-appealability constitutional-claim constitutional-rights federal-appeals-court habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance-counsel ineffective-assistance-of-counsel martinez-standard martinez-v-ryan procedural-default The Court of Appeals granted a Certificate of Appealability (COA) on Freddie Owens's constitutional claim that he was denied the effective assistance …
20-6766 Steven Justin Villalona v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2021-01-04 Denied Response WaivedIFP 28-usc-2255 due-process evidentiary-hearing haines-v-kerner ineffective-assistance-counsel ineffective-assistance-of-counsel judicial-recusal pro-se-pleadings recusal section-2255 (1) What rights under the Due Process clause do prisoners have during the course of 28 U.S.C. § 2255 proceedings? (A) For example, if the record, mot…
20-5570 Richard Bernard Moore v. Bryan P. Stirling, Director, South Carolina Department of Corrections, et al. Fourth Circuit 2020-09-02 Denied Amici (2)IFP adjudicated-on-the-merits fair-presentation fair-presentation-doctrine habeas habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance-counsel martinez-rule martinez-v-ryan new-evidence procedural-default state-post-conviction-review In determining whether a claim has been fairly presented to, and "adjudicated on the merits" by, the state courts for § 2254(d) purposes, must a feder…
20-5066 Everett L. Spillard v. Superior Court of California, Humboldt County, et al. California 2020-07-15 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review constitutional-rights due-process federal-courts habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance-counsel judicial-misconduct sixth-amendment state-courts transcripts 1. Can Superior Court and it's DA Violate all Judicial mistakes and misconduct can't be ruled an J? 2. Can all the Courts in the State ignore the Law…
19-8903 William Clyde Gibson, III v. Indiana Indiana 2020-07-06 Denied IFP conflict-of-interest constitutional-claim criminal-appeal culyer-v-sullivan due-process ineffective-assistance-counsel post-conviction-proceedings public-defender strickland-standard strickland-v-washington Whether the Indiana Supreme Court erred in determining Gibson's conflict of interest claim should be analyzed under Strickland v. Washington rather th…
19-8388 Terrence Jamal Williams v. Sherry L. Burt, Warden Sixth Circuit 2020-05-04 Denied IFP constitutional-error courtroom-closure due-process fundamental-fairness fundamental-unfairness ineffective-assistance-counsel ineffective-assistance-of-counsel judicial-discretion sixth-amendment waiver-doctrine weaver-v-massachusetts Whether counsel's failure to object to the closure of the courtroom because he did not want to draw attention to his conduct meets the Weaver v Massac…
19-7564 In Re Michael Dewayne Seibert 2020-02-06 Denied IFP criminal-procedure death-penalty-case due-process fraud-on-court fraud-on-the-court habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance-counsel ineffective-assistance-of-counsel jurisdiction jurisdiction-challenge pro-se-representation resentencing resentencing-hearing void-judgment When a defendant is represented by counsel, who refuses to raise a substantial meritorious claim of fraud on the court, and therefore defendant's conv…
19-7503 Michael Bernard Bell v. Florida Florida 2020-01-31 Denied IFP buck-v-davis constitutional-right constitutional-rights criminal-trial ineffective-assistance-counsel ineffective-assistance-of-counsel racial-animus racial-bias retroactive-application strickland-standard strickland-v-washington Does the decision in Buck v. Davis, 137 S.Ct. 759 (2017), which rejected the improper injection of racial animus, bias, or prejudice into a criminal t…
19-6270 Darren Paul Odell v. Minnesota Minnesota 2019-10-15 Denied Response WaivedIFP civil-rights constitutional-rights due-process expert-witness ineffective-assistance-counsel ineffective-assistance-of-counsel interests-of-justice mental-illness newly-discovered-evidence post-conviction-relief professional-ethics prosecutorial-misconduct standing time-bar-exception (1)Article from Summer 2016 issue in Cure-Sort News Vol. 25, Issue 3 under heading, Letters From Across the Nation, which are damaging. Info found at …
19-5390 In Re Francisco Narvaez 2019-07-30 Denied Response WaivedIFP adequate-representation civil-rights constitutional-rights due-process effective-assistance-of-counsel fifth-amendment ineffective-assistance-counsel legal-representation procedural-error professional-conduct sixth-amendment speedy-trial Therefore, my concerns or questins it's plenty, first of all I am a poor man without schooled in any Laws, then I even had much school in Spanish nor …
19-5291 Tyrone Jordan v. Charles L. Ryan, Director, Arizona Department of Corrections, et al. Ninth Circuit 2019-07-23 Denied Response WaivedIFP burden-of-proof constitutional-review habeas-corpus habeas-proceeding iac-claim ineffective-assistance-counsel ineffective-assistance-of-counsel martinez-standard martinez-v-ryan post-conviction-counsel procedural-default standard-of-review trial-counsel What is the District Court's duty and what standard is the Court to apply to a habeas proceeding presenting a substantial and meritorious IAC claim of…
19-5220 Hernardo Medina-Villegas v. United States First Circuit 2019-07-19 Denied Response WaivedIFP constitutional-claims due-process prejudice reasonableness sixth-amendment constitutional-rights due-process habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance-counsel ineffective-assistance-of-counsel legal-standard prejudice reasonableness-standard sixth-amendment standard-of-reasonableness This Case involves the Trial and Appellate Counsels Performance falling Below an objective Standard of Reasonableness, that prejudice the Petitioner. …
18-8623 Justin Cole Milam v. United States Fourth Circuit 2019-03-29 Denied Response WaivedIFP appeal-waiver constitutional-review criminal-procedure due-process fifth-amendment fourteenth-amendment ineffective-assistance-counsel ineffective-assistance-of-counsel plea-agreement plea-bargaining sentencing standard-of-review I. Are appeal waivers presented in federal criminal plea agreements an unconstitutional overreach by the Government preventing review of constitutiona…
18-8586 Roderick Black v. United States Fourth Circuit 2019-03-27 Denied Response WaivedIFP attorney-licensing constitutional-law constitutional-violation criminal-procedure due-process habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance-counsel ineffective-assistance-of-counsel right-to-counsel sixth-amendment standing IN LIGHT OF HIS TRIAL ATTORNEY NOT BEING DULY LICENSED TO PRACTICE LAW IN VIOLATION OF HIS SIXTH AMENDMENT RIGHTS UNDER THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION?
18-8565 Evender Gene Jackson v. Texas Texas 2019-03-26 Denied IFP burden-of-proof constitutional-error direct-appeal harmless-error ineffective-assistance-counsel ineffective-assistance-of-counsel jury-instruction jury-instructions standard-of-review strickland-standard strickland-test strickland-v-washington IF A TRIAL ATTORNEY'S FAILURE TO OBJECT TO THE OMMISION OF A REQUIRED INSTRUCTION FROM THE JURY CHARGE RAISES THE BURDEN OF PROOF ON DIRECT APPEAL, WH…
18-6898 Joseph C. Garcia v. Lorie Davis, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division Fifth Circuit 2018-12-04 Denied IFP 18-u.s.c.-§-3599 18-usc-3599 certificate-of-appealability death-penalty federal-habeas-corpus habeas-corpus indigent-defendant ineffective-assistance-counsel ineffective-assistance-of-counsel rule-60(b)(6) rule-60b 1. Whether the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit imposed an improper and unduly burdensome Certificate of Appealability (COA) stand…
18-6762 Edward Louis Thomas v. Texas Texas 2018-11-20 Denied IFP criminal-procedure cumulative-error due-process habeas-corpus harrington-v-richter hinton-v-alabama ineffective-assistance-counsel ineffective-assistance-of-counsel prejudice standard-of-review strickland-standard strickland-v-washington DID THE TEXAS COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS APPLY THE WRONG STANDARD OF REVIEW IN ANALYZING THE CLAIM OF DEFICIENT PERFORMANCE BY TRIAL COUNSEL? DID THE …
18-640 Nicholas Bernard Acklin v. Alabama Alabama 2018-11-16 Denied Amici (2) attorney-client-relationship conflict-of-interest criminal-defense death-penalty fourteenth-amendment ineffective-assistance-counsel ineffective-assistance-of-counsel sixth-amendment third-party-payment Whether a criminal defendant is deprived of his Sixth and Fourteenth Amendment rights to conflict-free counsel when his lawyer is paid by a third part…
18-6506 Guy Boudreaux, Jr. v. Timothy Hooper, Warden Fifth Circuit 2018-10-30 Denied Response WaivedIFP access-to-courts access-to-justice civil-rights constitutional-rights due-process habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance-counsel judicial-procedure legal-education legal-mail legal-representation pro-se pro-se-litigants pro-se-litigation procedural-error right-of-access-to-courts Is our system of justice truly just when it requires an attorney to attend six years of college prior to being permitted to practice law, but requires…
18-6362 Edwin Darrell Lett v. Mississippi Mississippi 2018-10-17 Denied Response WaivedIFP 14th-amendment 6th-amendment civil-rights continuance counsel criminal-procedure death-penalty due-process fair-trial fourteenth-amendment ineffective-assistance-counsel sixth-amendment state-procedure trial WHETHER THE MISSISSIPPI SUPREME COURT'S DECISIONS AND JUDGMENTS ARE FINAL UNDER 28 U.S.C. SECTION 1257. WHETHER CONSTRUCTIVE AMENDMENT OF THE INDICTM…
18-6258 Steven Lazar v. Mark Capozza, Superintendent, State Correctional Institution at Fayette, et al. Third Circuit 2018-10-09 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP aedpa aedpa-standard confession confession-voluntariness criminal-procedure due-process habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance-counsel ineffective-assistance-of-counsel merits-adjudication reliability standard-of-review third-circuit-review voluntariness Did not the Pennsylvania state courts and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals convolute the difference between a confession's voluntariness and its rel…
18-6032 D. L. v. Wisconsin Wisconsin 2018-09-19 Denied Response WaivedIFP does-wisconsin's-sentencing-scheme-apply-to-juveni federal-habeas-proceedings habeas-corpus-review ineffective-assistance-counsel ineffective-assistance-of-counsel juvenile-sentencing mandatory-life-sentence martinez-trevino-doctrine martinez-v-ryan miller-v-alabama procedural-default state-habeas state-habeas-proceedings trevino-v-thaler (1) Can the exceptions excusing procedural default of ineffective assistance of trial counsel claims in the Martinez/Trevino doctrine apply to State H…
18-5597 David E. Miller v. Tony Mays, Warden Sixth Circuit 2018-08-15 Denied IFP buck-v-davis capital-punishment civil-rights due-process federal-civil-procedure ineffective-assistance-counsel ineffective-assistance-of-counsel martinez-v-ryan rule-60b6 trevino-v-thaler Under Buell v. Davis, does the change in law announced in Martinez and Trevino, when coupled with a particularly substantial deprivation of a capital …
18-185 Connecticut v. Michael Skakel Connecticut 2018-08-10 Denied Amici (1)Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2) circuit-split constitutional-deficiency due-process ineffective-assistance-counsel ineffective-assistance-of-counsel legal-representation overall-performance performance-evaluation single-error sixth-amendment strickland-standard strickland-v-washington Under the first prong of Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984), must a court evaluate counsel's overall performance in determining whether a s…
18-5450 Amilcar Rivas-Rivera v. Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 2018-08-07 Denied Relisted (2)IFP civil-procedure constitutional-rights due-process habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance-counsel ineffective-assistance-of-counsel pcra plea-agreement post-conviction-relief prison-mailbox-rule standing state-law timeliness WHETHER THE PENNSYLVANIA LOWER COURT AND APPELLATE COURTS DECISION DISMISSING PETITIONER'S SECOND PRO SE PCRA PETITION AS UNTIMELY IS CONTRARY TO PENN…
18-5389 Torrick Johntrelle Rodgers v. United States Fourth Circuit 2018-07-30 Denied Response WaivedIFP exclusionary-rule fourth-amendment fruit-of-the-poisonous-tree fruits-of-poisonous-tree ineffective-assistance-counsel ineffective-assistance-of-counsel plea-bargaining probable-cause prosecutorial-misconduct search-and-seizure search-warrant sentencing warrant WHETHER: THE DISTRICT COURT SHOULD HAVE SUPPRESSED ALL OF THE FRUITS OF THE POISONOUS TREE BASED UPON THE FOUND TO BE CORRUPTED OFFICIALS AND THE ILLE…
18-5068 Taliyah Taylor v. Amy Lamanna, Acting Superintendent, Bedford Hills Correctional Facility Second Circuit 2018-07-02 Denied IFP 28-usc-2254 compulsory-process criminal-defense criminal-procedure-ineffective-assistance-of-couns depraved-indifference due-process habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-counsel mental-disease-defect mental-disease-or-defect mental-health post-conviction-relief strickland-standard strickland-v-washington wiggins-v-smith Does defense counsel in a second degree depraved indifference murder case violate the requirements of Strickland v. Washington by failing to investiga…