An attorney’s failure to investigate alibi witnesses did not amount to ineffective assistance where the accused made incriminating statements concerning guilt. The appellate court reversed a trial court order granting habeas relief in a case in which the defendant argued that his trial counsel had failed to attack the reliability of his confession and had failed to investigate exculpatory evidence. The appellate court found that, in light of the overwhelming evidence of defendants guilt, trial counsel was not required to conduct a “limitless investigation” or to “forag[e] the countryside for alibi witnesses.”
Case Summaries