Ploof v. Delaware
Annotate this CaseThe issue on appeal before the Supreme Court in this case was the denial of a postconviction relief motion. Specifically, the issue was whether defense counsel were ineffective during a defendant's first-degree murder trial. Upon review, the Court held that the attorneys' alleged failure to consult with a forensic pathologist or toxicologist, to present more evidence regarding the victim's dominant hand, to investigate ballistics issues, appeal certain issues, and to object to the dismissal of jurors who indicated that they could not impose the death penalty did not prejudice the defendant during his trial's guilt phase. During the penalty phase, however, the postconviction hearing judge failed to reweigh the aggravating evidence against the total mix of mitigating evidence in determining whether the attorneys' failure to present additional evidence during the penalty phase prejudiced the defendant. Accordingly, the Court affirmed in part, and remanded in part so that the postconviction judge could supplement his opinion for further review.
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