Mata v. Baker

Dist. Ct. did not err in denying defendant’s habeas petition that challenged his murder and firearm convictions on grounds that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to pursue in trial court pending motion to suppress his videotaped confession. While defendant raised issue in his post-conviction petition, Illinois Appellate Court, in appeal of denial of said petition, found that defendant had waived said issue by failing to raise it in his direct appeal when facts supporting his claim were already in record. As such, defendant had procedurally defaulted said issue in his habeas petition, because Illinois Appellate Court’s conclusion that defendant had waived said issue constituted adequate, independent state-law ground for claim’s dismissal, which, in turn, precluded federal habeas review. Ct. of Appeals rejected defendant’s claim that Illinois Appellate Court’s finding of waiver departed from established state practice, especially where defendant failed to allege in his post-conviction petition any new facts about voluntariness of his video-taped confession.