Merzbacher v. Shearin, et al, No. 10-7118 (4th Cir. 2013)
Annotate this CasePetitioner, convicted of child rape and other related crimes, sought state post-conviction relief, alleging that his trial lawyers denied him effective assistance of counsel in failing to notify him of, or counsel him about, a pre-trial plea offer. After conducting evidentiary hearings, the state court refused to grant him post-conviction relief. Petitioner then petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus in federal court and that court granted the petition. Under the deferential standard the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA), 28 U.S.C. 2254, required, the court was unable to disrupt the state court's finding that it was not reasonably probable that such a plea would have been entered here. Accordingly, the court reversed the judgment of the district court.
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