Criminal
Habeas Corpus

Ineffective assistance

A state court did not unreasonably find that defense counsel was not ineffective for failing to investigate and question a witness about matters peripheral to the central facts of the crime.

"Jones's proposed impeachment evidence is peripheral to the central facts of the crime and does not rise to the level of other cases in which this court found ineffective assistance for failure to investigate and impeach. For instance, in Davis, the defendant's attorney failed to investigate or present any eyewitnesses to support the defendant's theory of self-defense, including the only sober eyewitness to the altercation in question.

Davis, 388 F.3d at 1056, 1062-64. Similarly, in Harris, the defendant's attorney did not investigate a toxicology report which showed that the victim was under the influence of cocaine and alcohol, evidence that would have significantly strengthened the defendant's claim of self-defense. Harris, 365 F.3d at 554, 556-57. In Washington, counsel did not investigate or present several eyewitnesses who corroborated the defendant's alibi as well as his argument that the murder weapon did not belong to him. Washington, 219 F.3d at 629-31. Lastly, in Dixon, the defendant was charged with murder, but the only eyewitness recanted his statement to police that incriminated the defendant. Dixon, 266 F.3d at 696, 704. Counsel did not impeach the earlier statement by cross-examining the witness with the later recantations. Id. at 704. The unifying theme in these cases is that the overlooked evidence or impeachment involved facts central to the actual crime."

Affirmed.

07-1470 Jones v. Wallace

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Goodstein, Mag. J., Per Curiam.

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