DISCLAIMER: The following unofficial case summaries are prepared by the clerk's office
as a courtesy to the reader. They are not part of the opinion of the court.
153849P.pdf 05/16/2019 Timothy Kemp v. Wendy Kelley
U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 15-3849
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas - Pine Bluff
[PUBLISHED] [Wollman, Author, with Melloy and Gruender, Circuit Judges]
Prisoner case - Habeas. Death Penalty Matter. The district court did not
err in denying Kemp's Section 2254 petition which alleged that trial
counsel was constitutionally ineffective for failing to adequately
investigate and present mitigating evidence related to Kemp's childhood
abuse, fetal-alcohol exposure and post-traumatic stress disorder;
counsel's investigation of Kemp's background satisfied his Strickland
obligation and his decision to complete the investigation himself was
reasonable; decision not to interview distant family members was
reasonable; decision to hire a psychologist to evaluate the effect of
Kemp's abusive childhood on his mental health was reasonable in the
circumstances; decision not to seek additional mitigating evidence in
addition to that already gathered was within the realm of professionally
reasonable judgment; issues not included in the certificate of
appealability would not be considered.