Ramirez v. State

JUSTICE HEARN:

The issue before us is whether a severely mentally retarded individual should be afforded post-conviction relief (PCR) where his plea counsel failed to request an independent competency evaluation prior to his guilty plea. The PCR court denied relief, finding plea counsel was not deficient nor was Ramirez prejudiced by counsel’s representation. Although the court of appeals disagreed that plea counsel was not deficient, the court affirmed based on its application of the “any evidence” standard to the PCR court’s prejudice finding. We now affirm in part and reverse in part,…