United States Tenth Circuit

Denial of a habeas petition in a capital murder case is reversed where: 1) under the circumstances of the case, a state court rule was not adequate to bar federal habeas review of a properly exhausted ineffective assistance claim; and 2) petitioner demonstrated he received constitutionally ineffective assistance of counsel during the penalty phase of his trial, and suffered prejudice as a result thereof.

Appellate Information

• Decided 02/21/2007
• Published 02/22/2007

Judges

• MURPHY, Circuit Judge., Before LUCERO, EBEL, and MURPHY, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Tenth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Lisa S. McCalmont (Randy Bauman with her on the briefs), Assistant Federal Public Defenders, Oklahoma City, OK, for Appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• Robert Whittaker, Assistant Attorney General (W.A. Drew Edmondson, Attorney General of Oklahoma, with him on the brief), Oklahoma City, OK, for Appellee.