United States Ninth Circuit

Defense counsel renders ineffective assistance by selecting a defense theory that he admits had no merit while bypassing another defense theory without conducting any investigation into the second theory.

Appellate Information

• Argued 03/21/2000
• Decided 10/15/2001
• Published 10/16/2001

Judges

• Before:  B. FLETCHER, REINHARDT, and KLEINFELD, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Richard Louis Arnold Phillips, pro se, San Quentin State Prison, San Quentin California, and Donald J. Horvath, Advisory Counsel, Coarsegold, California, for the petitioner-appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• Robert Todd Marshall, Deputy Attorney General, Sacramento, California, for the respondent-appellee.