Hicks v. Hepp

Dist. Ct. did not err in denying defendant’s habeas petition challenging his state-court conviction on sexual molestation charge on ground that his trial counsel was ineffective for failure to seek suppression of recorded telephone call in which defendant had confessed to said offense, but only after defendant had claimed that he was pressured to confess because alleged victim had threatened to inform defendant’s own son of said allegations. State court unreasonably found that trial counsel was more credible in his claim that he did not seek suppression because defendant had told him that he did not feel threatened during telephone call, where trial counsel’s testimony was refuted by trial transcript. However, any error was harmless given overwhelming nature of defendant’s guilt as established through other properly admitted evidence. Also, defendant had procedurally defaulted claim (by failing to properly present it to Wisc. Supreme Court) that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to object to prosecutor’s statement during rebuttal phase of closing argument that invited jury to consider whether it was “fair” for defendant to have been able to plead down to misdemeanor charge prior criminal case that contained allegations of similar misconduct.