7th circuit court of appeals decision Habeas – Miranda Waiver Viewed through the deferential lens of 2254 habeas review, a state court finding that the severely mentally impaired Collins knowingly and intelligently waived his Miranda rights an incriminatory statement was not unreasonable. Collins had a Wechsler-scale IQ in the low- to mid-60s, exacerbated by a… Read more
22. Habeas corpus
Freddie L. Byers, Jr., v. Basinger, 7th Cir No. 09-1833, 7/9/10 7th Circuit decision Habeas – Exhaustion To exhaust a federal claim, a 2254 petitioner must have “fairly presented” it to the state court. … We use four factors to evaluate whether a petitioner has “fairly presented” his claim: “1) whether the petitioner relied on… Read more
7th Circuit decision Abstention – SVP Proceeding The Younger v. Harris abstention doctrine applies to pending ch. 980 proceedings. What is true is that a person who is in state custody awaiting a determination by the state courts of the legality of his custody may seek federal habeas corpus to challenge that custody without being… Read more
Issue: Whether, in federal habeas corpus proceedings, a state law under which a prisoner may be barred from collaterally attacking his conviction when the prisoner “substantially delayed” filing his habeas petition is “inadequate” to support a procedural bar because (1) the federal court believes that the rule is vague and (2) the state failed to prove that its courts “consistently” exercised their discretion when applying… Read more
Magwood v. Patterson, USSC No. 09-158, 6/24/10 After a defendant has been resentenced in state court pursuant to relief granted on a federal habeas petition, a second federal habeas petition challenging the new sentence will be treated as a first petition (vs. a “2nd or successive” petition), even if raising grounds that could have been raised… Read more
John Ebert v. Gaetz, 7th Circuit No. 09-1627, 6/23/10 7th circuit court of appeals decision When the ineffective assistance claim is based on counsel’s failure to file a motion to suppress, as it is here, the defendant must also prove “that his Fourth Amendment claim is meritorious and that there is a reasonable probability that… Read more
seventh circuit court of appeals decision Ineffective Assistance – NGI Defense – Habeas Review Counsel performed deficiently by failing to: adequately prep his NGI expert witness, who had performed only a competency evaluation of Wilson and wasn’t given the opportunity for a reinterview with the distinct purpose of an NGI evaluation; present testimony of family… Read more
Issues: (1) Whether it is appropriate under § 2254 for a federal court to conclude that a state court’s rejection of a claim was unreasonable in light of facts that an applicant could have but never alleged in state court; and (2) what standard of review is applicable to claims of ineffective assistance of counsel… Read more
