Peoples v. Lafler, No. 11-2161 (6th Cir. 2013)
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Clark was shot and killed outside of his Detroit home. Months later, Peoples, Powell, and Harris, were arrested after leading police on a chase in a stolen Jaguar. According to the report written by an officer who witnessed the crash that ended the chase, Harris was the driver. Police found the gun used to kill Clark on the driver’s side floor of the Jaguar. Only Peoples was tried for murder. The only evidence connecting him to the crime was the gun and the testimony of Powell and Harris, that Peoples was the driver and was sitting closest to the gun, which Peoples owned, and that Peoples told them about killing Clark. Both received lower sentences on car theft charges because of their cooperation. Defense counsel did not cross-examine them on those points and did not call police officers to testify about who was driving the car. Peoples received a sentence of life imprisonment. He exhausted state remedies. The district court denied his habeas petition. The Sixth Circuit partially reversed, holding that trial counsel was constitutionally ineffective for failing to impeach the credibility of the witnesses based on known false testimony; the state court’s determination to the contrary was an objectively unreasonable application of clearly established Supreme Court precedent.
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