Opinion
CIVIL ACTION NO. 10-5950
08-01-2012
RODNEY COLLINS, Petitioner, v. JEFFREY BEARD, et al., Respondents.
ORDER
AND NOW, this 1 day August, 2012, upon careful and independent consideration of the petition for writ of habeas corpus, the parties' briefs, United States Magistrate Judge David R. Strawbridge's Report and Recommendation, and petitioner's objections to the Report and Recommendation, it is ORDERED that:
(1) The Report and Recommendation is APPROVED and ADOPTED as to the outcome and analysis of each claim. Therefore, the petition for writ of habeas corpus is DENIED without an evidentiary hearing.
(2) Further, as to the certificate of appealability, the certificate SHALL ISSUE on claims one and eight.
Although the outcome of counsel's representation is not reversible error under AEDPA, it was clearly inadequate. It was particularly inadequate given that this case began as a capital case, and that Rodney Collins faces a lifetime of incarceration.
In claim one, Petitioner alleges that he was deprived of his Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel because his attorney inadequately prepared for trial and completely failed to conduct any investigation, including into the ballistics evidence. This was a very close issue. In addition, in claim eight, Petitioner seeks relief based on the cumulative prejudice resulting from various errors asserted in his petition. On claims one and eight, Petitioner has made "a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right." 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c). Therefore, a certificate of appealability SHALL ISSUE for claims one and eight.
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ANITA B. BRODY, J.
Copies VIA ECF on __ to: Copies MAILED on ___ to: O:\ABB 2012VA - K\Collins v. Beard Habeas Order.wpd