From Casetext: Smarter Legal Research

Motley v. Reyes

Court of Appeals of Oregon
Feb 22, 2024
331 Or. App. 156 (Or. Ct. App. 2024)

Opinion

A178452

02-22-2024

DESHATIN NAJHEE MOTLEY, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Erin REYES, Superintendent,Two Rivers Correctional Institution, Defendant-Respondent.

Jedediah Peterson and O'Connor Weber, LLC, filed the brief for appellant. Ellen F. Rosenblum, Attorney General, Benjamin Gutman, Solicitor General, and David B. Thompson, Assistant Attorney General, filed the brief for respondent.


This is a nonprecedential memorandum opinion pursuant to ORAP 10.30 and may not be cited except as provided in ORAP 10.30(1).

Submitted January 30, 2024

Umatilla County Circuit Court 19CV14384 J. Burdette Pratt, Judge.

Jedediah Peterson and O'Connor Weber, LLC, filed the brief for appellant.

Ellen F. Rosenblum, Attorney General, Benjamin Gutman, Solicitor General, and David B. Thompson, Assistant Attorney General, filed the brief for respondent.

Before Lagesen, Chief Judge, Hellman, Judge, and DeVore, Senior Judge.

Affirmed.

HELLMAN, J.

Petitioner appeals from a judgment that denied his petition for post-conviction relief. In his sole assignment of error, he claims that the post-conviction court erred when it denied his claim that counsel provided inadequate and ineffective assistance of counsel under both the Oregon and United States Constitutions when counsel failed to use a mental health evaluation to assist in the resolution of his case, thereby foregoing the likelihood of a more favorable resolution for petitioner. For the reasons below, we affirm.

A petitioner claiming inadequate assistance of counsel under Article I, section 11, of the Oregon Constitution has the burden "to show, by a preponderance of the evidence, facts demonstrating that trial counsel failed to exercise reasonable professional skill and judgment and that petitioner suffered prejudice as a result." Trujillo v. Maass, 312 Or. 431, 435, 822 P.2d 703 (1991). Under the federal standard, a petitioner is required to show that counsel's representation fell below an objective standard of reasonableness and that, as a result, petitioner was prejudiced. Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 689-90, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984). As the Supreme Court has recognized, those standards are "functionally equivalent." Montez v. Czerniak, 355 Or. 1, 6-7, 322 P.3d 487 (2014).

We review the post-conviction court's decision for legal error. Green v. Franke, 357 Or. 301, 312, 350 P.3d 188 (2015). "A post-conviction court's findings of historical fact are binding on this court if there is evidence in the record to support them." Id.

Although petitioner and the superintendent disagree about whether the post-conviction court applied the wrong standard for prejudice, we do not resolve that issue. That is because petitioner's claim fails under the first part of the test: The record does not establish that, when representing petitioner, counsel failed to exercise reasonable professional skill and judgment, or that the representation fell below objective standards of reasonable representation. Trujillo, 312 Or at 435; Strickland, 466 U.S. at 689-90. In his petition for post-conviction relief, petitioner claimed that counsel failed to use a mental health evaluation and that, had counsel used it, the outcome would have been more favorable to petitioner. However, relying on counsel's affidavit and supporting evidence in the record, the post-conviction court found that counsel did use the mental health evaluation and did obtain a more favorable result because of it. Specifically, in negotiations, counsel provided the mental health evaluation to the prosecution and obtained a plea offer that was for 10 months less than the original offer as a result. Because counsel took the action that petitioner faulted him for not taking, petitioner has not established that counsel provided inadequate or ineffective assistance of counsel.

Affirmed.


Summaries of

Motley v. Reyes

Court of Appeals of Oregon
Feb 22, 2024
331 Or. App. 156 (Or. Ct. App. 2024)
Case details for

Motley v. Reyes

Case Details

Full title:DESHATIN NAJHEE MOTLEY, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Erin REYES…

Court:Court of Appeals of Oregon

Date published: Feb 22, 2024

Citations

331 Or. App. 156 (Or. Ct. App. 2024)

Citing Cases

Motley v. Reyes

07-18-2024 MOTLEY, Deshatin Najhee v. REYES (331 Or App 156) Review…

Motley v. Reyes

07-18-2024 Motley, Deshatin Najhee v. Reyes (A178452) (331 Or.App. 156) PETITION FOR REVIEW…