Federal 7th Circuit Court
Criminal Court
Federal Habeas Relief
Plaintiff was convicted in state court and sentenced to 14 years in prison for aggravated criminal sexual assault, home invasion, aggravated kidnapping, and aggravated domestic battery. After exhausting the state court appellate process, plaintiff filed a habeas petition renewing claims of ineffective assistance of counsel. The district court denied the petition, concluding that the Illinois appellate court did not unreasonably apply federal law in finding that plaintiff failed to show that he was prejudiced by his counsel’s alleged deficient performance in advising plaintiff regarding the potential sentence he faced and realistic likelihood of prevailing at trial. The Seventh Circuit agreed and affirmed. (RIPPLE and KOLAR, concurring)