Where, under state law, IAC claims must be raised in an initial-review collateral proceedings, a procedural default will not bar a federal habeas court from hearing those claims if, in the initial-review collateral proceeding, there was either no counsel or counsel in that proceeding was ineffective. [Note: Companion case is Lopez v. Ryan, 12-99001, 12 DAR 6291] Both cases here dealt with claims of ineffective assistance of trial and post-conviction counsel, where petitioner failed to meet procedural requirements. Under Martinez v. Ryan, 132 S.Ct. 1309, decided March 20, 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court held that where, under state law, claims of ineffective assistance of trial counsel had to be raised in an initial-review collateral proceeding, a procedural default would not bar a federal habeas court from hearing a substantial claim of ineffective assistance of counsel if, in the initial-review collateral proceeding, there was no counsel or counsel in that proceeding was ineffective. In both cases here the court found that the claims were not substantial and declined to grant relief.
Case Summaries