Rosenthal v. O'Brien, No. 11-2210 (1st Cir. 2013)
Annotate this CaseAfter a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of first degree murder based on extreme atrocity or cruelty. The jury rejected Defendant's insanity defense. After unsuccessfully filing a motion for a new trial and a motion to consider, Defendant filed this habeas corpus petition, alleging several errors on the part of the motion judge. The district court denied the petition. The First Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that the motion judge did not err in ruling (1) the trial court did not need to hold a competence hearing sua sponte; (2) trial counsel was not constitutionally deficient; (3) the trial court did not need to inquire into Defendant's waiver of his right to testify; and (4) appellate counsel was not constitutionally deficient.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on April 30, 2013.
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