Kustok v. Mitchell

Defendant was convicted of murdering his wife and was sentenced to 60 years in prison. Defendant brought a federal habeas corpus petition arguing ineffective assistance of counsel under Strickland. The district court found that defendant had waived this claim in state court and as a result had procedurally defaulted the claim for the purposes of federal court. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, finding that defendant’s claim was procedurally defaulted and that defendant did not qualify for any exceptions to the procedural default rules. (ELLIS and COBBS, concurring)