Toliver v. Pollard

Dist. Ct. did not err in granting defendant’s habeas petition challenging his murder conviction on grounds that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to call two exculpatory witnesses, who would have testified that third-party acted alone in killing victim. Said witnesses were crucial to defendant’s theory of case, and trial counsel’s explanation that he did not call said witnesses to testify because jury might believe that said witnesses were biased due to fact that they were related to defendant was not legitimate reason for failing to call said witnesses to testify, especially where counsel failed to call any other witnesses on behalf of defendant.