Opinion

State v. Nicks

  • 831 N.W.2d 493
  • 2013 Minn. LEXIS 305
  • 2013 WL 2363234
Court
Supreme Court of Minnesota
Filed
May 31, 2013
Status
Published
Author
Dietzen
On the bench
Anderson, Dietzen, Gildea, Paul
Cited by
97 cases

concluding that counsel’s conduct was not unreviewable trial strategy when “it appears that the cellphone- 14 record evidence was not obtained because trial counsel did not follow up on information received and did not perform the necessary steps to successfully execute on his main theory of the case”

How later courts described this case

  • concluding that counsel’s conduct was not unreviewable trial strategy when “it appears that the cellphone- 14 record evidence was not obtained because trial counsel did not follow up on information received and did not perform the necessary steps to successfully execute on his main theory of the case”
  • concluding that defendant was entitled to postconviction evidentiary hearing on claim that he received ineffective assistance due to attorney’s inattention during trial preparation
  • noting that “almost any failing by a trial counsel contains components that could be articulated as a decision or a choice” and suggesting that trial strategy should be treated “as a factor that [appellate courts] use to assess ineffective assistance claims,” not as “an impregnable barrier to [such] claims”
  • stating that the extent of any investigation is a part of trial strategy, and includes whether to interview and call prospective witnesses, and should not be readily second-guessed

Written by the judges who cited it.

The opinion

DIETZEN, J.

(dissenting).

I join in the dissent of Chief Justice Lorie Gildea.

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

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