Brief_a_Case

Criminal Law Week 2 Assign: Brief a Case Heather Matthiesen March 21st, 2011 Johnson v. State Facts: There many facts that you need to know about this case in order to understand. First I think it is important that we need what happened in the first trial. Nancy Whitemen went to Florence Hoke’s apartment, where she discovered Hoke sitting in a chair holding her head. After paramedics arrived they observed that Hoke was disoriented and unable to communicate. Paramedic Richard Bourdon saw a small bruise and a bump on the back if Hoke’s head. At the hospital more bruises on her kneed and on one elbow. She was diagnosed as was suffering a subdural hematoma. She never regained consciousness, and died two months later from pneumonia and infection. Back at her apartment the plates were found but her purse was missing. Margaret Jackson resided with Homer Frison. Andre Johnson visited that morning and left with Frison. When they later met up with Jackson, they had a purse and a wallet containing credit cards that belonged to Hoke. Johnson says that his counsel failed to dismiss the robbery charge bases on three statutes and the case goes on and goes off the facts of the statues. Rule: The lawyers have to look at all angels of their client’s defense and did his counsel fail to dismiss the robbery charger based on the three statutes. Indiana Code sections 35-34-9(a) Issue: Johnson argues this his counsel was ineffective for falling to move to dismiss the robbery charge based on three statutes. Analysis: The facts in this case are whether or not the lawyers did the best job they could. With the facts given I do not see how the lawyers did not do all that they could. Even, though it was recognize that counsel may be ineffective to raise an issue of first impression where a plain reading of the statute. Conclusion: Counsel may have over looked the statues, so all counsel should make sure they give the best defense that they can and do all the research in the time frame they have. In this case I do not believe the counsel did anything but do what was best for their client.