DISCLAIMER: Any unofficial case summaries below are prepared by the clerk's office
as a courtesy to the reader. They are not part of the opinion of the court.
011537P.pdf 04/07/2003 Joseph Whitfield v. Michael Bowersox
U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 01-1537
and No: 01-1538
Eastern District of Missouri
Habeas Case - Death Penalty. District court's grant of habeas corpus,
concluding state court had erred in determining Whitfield waived his
right to testify during the penalty phase, is reversed. The record supports
the state court's finding that Whitfield voluntarily waived the right
to testify. Counsel acted within range of competence when she advised
Whitfield not to testify and he did not demonstrate prejudice. State
court's determination that counsel was also not ineffective in her
treatment of two witnesses during the guilt phase, was not an
unreasonable applications of federal law. State court's decision to
deny new trial was not unreasonable; new evidence did not unquestionably
establish his innocence. Dissent by Judge Heaney on right to testify
and ineffective assistance claim.