State v. Reed

The only issue to be decided at this stage of the case is whether the appellant has raised a “genuine issue” as to his claim that he was denied effective assistance of appellate counsel, according to the dictates of App.R. 26(B)(5). We express no judgment on appellant’s contention that he was denied his constitutional right to defend himself. Rather, we are concerned solely with the standard of review to be applied when assessing a defendant’s request for reopening an appeal under App.R. 26(B)(5).

In denying the application for reopening, the court of appeals applied the Strickland standard…