Randall S. Whitmore v. David Avery, Superintendent, Community Corrections Center

Randall Whitmore was not well served by the Nebraska bar in this case. Trial counsel labored under a patent conflict of interest, the trial judge failed to inquire of Whitmore about this conflict, appellate counsel failed to raise the trial judge’s failure to inquire as error, and postconviction counsel failed to raise appellate counsel’s failure. Again and again Whitmore’s various counsel have fallen below acceptable levels of representation in their work on his behalf. The failures, however, did not end there. When trial counsel’s constitutionally deficient performance was raised to the…