Gary Hanks v. State of Indiana

Mathias, Judge.

Gary Hanks (“Hanks”) pleaded guilty in Clark Circuit Court to one count of Class A felony child molesting. Hanks collaterally attacks his plea as the product of the ineffective assistance of his trial counsel and as not knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily made. Hanks’s petition for post-conviction relief on those grounds was denied by the court below.

When a defendant is deciding whether to expose himself to a sentencing judge’s absolute discretion, is local defense counsel constitutionally required to advise his client of the local judge’s sentencing practices in cases…