Pierotti v. Walsh

Petitioner suffers from a hearing impairment that requires him to use hearing aids, but those aids were broken during petitioner's trial for murder. Although petitioner told his trial counsel that he could not hear during his trial, counsel never requested an accommodation. Petitioner filed a petition for habeas relief under 28 U.S.C. 2254, contending that he received ineffective assistance of counsel. The district court declined to address the merits, concluding that the claim was procedurally barred because petitioner could have brought it on direct appeal. The court held, however, that this falls within the limited category of exceptional cases where the “exorbitant application of a generally sound rule renders the state ground inadequate to stop consideration of a federal question.” Therefore, the district court was not precluded from reviewing the merits of petitioner's ineffective assistance of counsel claim. The court vacated the judgment and remanded for the district court to consider the claim on the merits. View "Pierotti v. Walsh" on Justia Law