Hardaway v. Robinson, No. 08-1156 (6th Cir. 2011)
Annotate this CaseThe defendant was convicted of second-degree murder and possession of a firearm during commission of a felony for the 1993 shooting death of an undercover Detroit police officer who had been investigating another murder near the body shop where the defendant worked. He was sentenced to 40-80 years as a habitual offender. State courts rejected direct appeal for failure to timely file a brief. The state supreme court declined to review denial of motions for post-trial relief. The federal district court first dismissed a habeas corpus petition as untimely, then rejected it on the merits. The Sixth Circuit reversed and remanded. The defense lawyer's failure to timely file an appellate brief constituted deficient performance and prejudiced the defendant's rights; the state court's one-line rejection of the denial of collateral relief was not a sufficient substitute. The defendant had no right to oral argument or to appointed counsel and the court did not explain the basis of its decision. The state court made a ruling that was reasonable under federal law on a jury coercion claim, based on the judge's encouragement to continue deliberations after the jury stated that it was deadlocked.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on May 19, 2011.
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