Abernathy v. State
Annotate this CaseAppellant Routy Abernathy was convicted of two counts of rape. Appellant subsequently filed a pro se petition for postconviction relief, raising a number of claims of ineffective assistance of counsel. The trial court denied the petition. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the trial court did not err in finding (1) trial counsel did not err by failing to investigate, consult with, or call a medical expert; (2) Appellant was not prejudiced from counsel's remarks during his opening statement; (3) Appellant did not demonstrate that he was sufficiently prejudiced by counsel's error in failing to object to a witness's testimony that she believed one victim's allegations to meet his burden of proof; and (4) a victim's claims about sexual abuse by her grandfather would not have been admissible and, therefore, counsel was not ineffective for failing to seek a ruling on introduction of the evidence.
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