Higginbotham v. State of Louisiana, No. 14-30753 (5th Cir. 2016)
Annotate this CasePetitioner, convicted of malfeasance in office and felony theft, petitions this court for federal habeas relief pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 2254, contending that he was denied meaningful appellate review because of an incomplete trial transcript and that he was denied his right to counsel at trial. In this case, petitioner is not entitled to federal habeas relief on his claims based on an incomplete trial transcript where he failed to show how the missing portions of the transcript prejudiced his appeal as to either of his claims. The state appellate court held that petitioner implicitly had waived his right to counsel through his dilatory tactics. The court concluded that the state appellate court's holding was not contrary to or an unreasonable application of clearly established law and petitioner failed to show that the state appellate court’s finding of dilatory tactics was unreasonable. Therefore, the court affirmed the district court's denial of petitioner's section 2254 petition.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on April 15, 2016.
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