Clemons v. Pfister, No. 14-3797 (7th Cir. 2017)
Annotate this CaseSmith's attacker chased her down an alley and onto the street, firing shots as she fled, screaming. Clemons was the father of Smith’s infant son. Several eyewitnesses identified him as the shooter. Clemons was convicted of Smith’s murder and of using a firearm to commit that crime and sentenced to 45 years in prison. After an unsuccessful direct appeal, Clemons filed a pro se post-conviction petition, including an argument that his trial counsel was constitutionally ineffective in violation of Strickland v. Washington for failing to call his friend, Smith, as an alibi witness. Clemons submitted an affidavit from Smith, which ended abruptly, as if something covered the bottom of the page while it was being photocopied. The judge held that Clemons had not made the required factual showing. Clemons moved for reconsideration, attaching a legible version of Smith’s affidavit. The judge construed this filing as an improper successive petition and denied it. Clemons’s counsel on appeal briefed a single claim regarding an evidentiary error. Clemons filed a pro se motion, seeking to add the Strickland claim and tendering a pro se brief. The court addressed only Clemons’s counseled briefs, affirming the denial of relief. Clemons sought federal habeas review. The district judge held that Clemons had procedurally defaulted the Strickland claim by failing to submit appropriate affidavits and that the claim “would … fail on the merits because Clemons cannot meet either of the Strickland requirements.” The Seventh Circuit affirmed on the ground of procedural default.
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