King v. Pfister

Dist. Ct. did not err in denying defendant’s habeas petition challenging his murder conviction on ground that his trial and appellate counsel were ineffective for failing to seek under Illinois statute substitution of his trial judge on grounds of bias, where trial court had represented defendant as assistant public defender in unrelated criminal matter 15 years prior to instant murder trial. Habeas petition is not appropriate means to challenge state appellate court decision that found, as matter of state law, that defendant had failed to establish that trial court had harbored animosity towards him so as to require trial court’s recusal. Moreover, defendant procedurally defaulted his claim that his trial and appellate counsel were ineffective for failing to raise challenge to trial court based on federal due process grounds, where defendant had failed to assert such claim in his state court proceedings, i.e., his appellate court brief or his petition for leave to appeal to Illinois Supreme Court, prior to seeking instant habeas relief.