Case Summaries: Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (May 2022)

This post summarizes published criminal and related decisions released by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals during May 2022. Decisions that may be of interest to state practitioners are summarized monthly. Previous Fourth Circuit case summaries are available here. Claim of ineffective assistance based on failure to seek discretionary review following unsuccessful direct appeal properly denied; district court erred by improperly interpreting a failure to file claim as a failure to consult claim; grant of habeas relief reversed Folkes v. Nelsen, 34 F. 4th 258 (May 10, 2022). The petitioner was convicted in South Carolina state court of assault and battery with intent to kill and received a life sentence. Court-appointed appellate counsel filed a direct appeal but quit her job prior to a decision in the case. The state intermediate appellate court affirmed the conviction. The petitioner then received a letter incorrectly informing him that his petition for writ of certiorari had been denied and that his state appellate remedies were exhausted. Under South Carolina law, appellate counsel is required to petition the intermediate appellate court for rehearing in order to preserve the right to seek discretionary review at the state supreme court. Appellate counsel here failed to do so. The petitioner sought state post-conviction relief, arguing that appellate counsel was ineffective for failing to seek rehearing. Appellate counsel testified at an evidentiary hearing that she would have filed the petition for rehearing had she not left her employment. The state post-conviction court denied relief on the grounds that there [...]