United States Fourth Circuit

Rejection of a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, pursuant to 28 U.S.C.A. section 2254, is affirmed over claims 1) of ineffective assistance of counsel, 2) that an Alford plea was not knowing and voluntary, and 3) that trial court's comments indicate that it failed to consider defendant's mitigating evidence during the sentencing.

Appellate Information

• Decided 10/08/2003
• Published 10/08/2003

Judges

• Before WILKINS, Chief Judge, and GREGORY and SHEDD, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Fourth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• ARGUED: Marie Frances Donnelly, Midwest Center for Justice, Evanston, Illinois, for Appellant.  Katherine P. Baldwin, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellees.   ON BRIEF: Clifford L. Harrison, James C. Turk, Jr., Stone, Harrison & Turk, P.C., Radford, Virginia, for Appellant.  Jerry W. Kilgore, Attorney General of Virginia, Office of the Attorney General, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellees.