context: While refusing to identify specific prejudicial attorney behavior, the Supreme Court acknowledged that some attorney errors will have only an "isolated, trivial effect," while others will have a "pervasive effect ... altering the entire evidentiary picture." Numerous lower courts have found prejudice in cases where attorney error resulted in a significantly skewed "evidentiary picture," leaving the defendant with no effective defense.
citation_a.signal: see
citation_a.parenthetical: counsel's failure to interview and subpoena alibi witnesses left defendant's alibi uncorroborated, prejudicing the outcome of the trial
citation_a.sentence: See Luna v. Cambra^ 306 F.3d 954, 961, 966 (9th Cir.2002), amended by Luna v. Cambra, 311 F.3d 928 (9th Cir. 2002) (counsel’s failure to interview and subpoena alibi witnesses left defendant’s alibi uncorroborated, prejudicing the outcome of the trial); Brown v. Myers, 137 F.3d 1154, 1157 (9th Cir.1998) (missing alibi witness testimony would have “altered significantly the evidentiary posture of the case ... [and] the jury would have had to balance more evenly divided evidence to reach its verdict”); Sanders v. Ratelle, 21 F.3d 1446, 1461 (9th Cir.1994) (defense counsel’s failure to investigate and present confession of third party “must certainly undermine one’s confidence in the murder conviction ... [and] served to deprive [the defendant] of the most critical evidence supporting his best defense”); see also Goodman v. Bertrand, 467 F.3d 1022, 1024, 1030 (7th Cir.2006) (testimony from a disinterested eyewitness, who defense counsel failed to subpoena, was “undoubtedly important to creating reasonable doubt in the state’s case” against the defendant).
citation_b.signal: see also
citation_b.identifier: 467 F.3d 1022, 1024, 1030
citation_b.parenthetical: testimony from a disinterested eyewitness, who defense counsel failed to subpoena, was "undoubtedly important to creating reasonable doubt in the state's case" against the defendant
citation_b.sentence: See Luna v. Cambra^ 306 F.3d 954, 961, 966 (9th Cir.2002), amended by Luna v. Cambra, 311 F.3d 928 (9th Cir. 2002) (counsel’s failure to interview and subpoena alibi witnesses left defendant’s alibi uncorroborated, prejudicing the outcome of the trial); Brown v. Myers, 137 F.3d 1154, 1157 (9th Cir.1998) (missing alibi witness testimony would have “altered significantly the evidentiary posture of the case ... [and] the jury would have had to balance more evenly divided evidence to reach its verdict”); Sanders v. Ratelle, 21 F.3d 1446, 1461 (9th Cir.1994) (defense counsel’s failure to investigate and present confession of third party “must certainly undermine one’s confidence in the murder conviction ... [and] served to deprive [the defendant] of the most critical evidence supporting his best defense”); see also Goodman v. Bertrand, 467 F.3d 1022, 1024, 1030 (7th Cir.2006) (testimony from a disinterested eyewitness, who defense counsel failed to subpoena, was “undoubtedly important to creating reasonable doubt in the state’s case” against the defendant).