j. Appeals

Gregory L. Payne v. Basinger, 7th Cir No. 10-1869, 11/10/11 seventh circuit decision Ineffective Assistance of Counsel – Guilty Pleas – Prejudice  The state court erroneously concluded that, because Basinger would have been convicted anyway had he gone to trial, he suffered no prejudice from counsel’s erroneous advice as to the maximum sentence he faced… Read more

Bobby v. Archie Dixon, USSC No. 10-1540, 11/7/11 (per curiam), reversing Dixon v. Houk, 627 F.3d 553 (6th Cir 2010) Under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, a state prisoner seeking a writ of habeas corpus from a federal court “must show that the state court’s ruling on the claim being presented in federal… Read more

Matthew Steffes v. Thurmer, 7th Cir No. 09-3317, 11/4/11 seventh circuit decision, denying habeas relief on review of 2006AP1633-CR The “concurrent sentence doctrine” – which “allows appellate courts to decline to review a conviction carrying a concurrent sentence when one ‘concurrent’ conviction has been found valid,” Cheeks v. Gaetz, 571 F.3d 680, 684-85 (7th Cir.2009) – doesn’t… Read more

seventh circuit court of appeals decision Habeas – Ineffective Assistance, State Court Failure to Reach – Standard of Review  … When “no state court has squarely addressed the merits” of a habeas claim, however, we review the claim under the pre-AEDPA standard of 28 U.S.C. § 2243, under which we “ ‘dispose of the matter as… Read more

seventh circuit court of appeals decision, denying habeas relief on review of Wis. COA No. 2008AP1533-CR; prior history: 2001AP713-CR, 1995AP1856-CR Habeas – Exculpatory Evidence – Available to Defendant Jardine argues that the State suppressed exculpatory evidence, namely that post-conviction testing of the gun he admittedly possessed but denied using to club the victim didn’t reveal the presence of… Read more

seventh circuit court of appeals decision Habeas – Certificate of Appealability  Under § 2253(c)(2) of Title 28, “[a] certificate of appealability may issue . . . only if the applicant has made a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right.” The Supreme Court has observed that an applicant has made a “substantial showing” where “reasonable… Read more

seventh circuit court of appeals decision Habeas – Successive Petition – Rule 60(b) Motion A Rule 60 motion for relief from (habeas) judgment amounts to an impermissible successive petition – which the district court lacks jurisdiction to entertain – if it raises arguments forbidden by 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b)(1) or (2), Gonzales v. Crosby, 545 U.S… Read more