People v. Jones

Following his conviction for murder, an appeal affirming that conviction, and an appeal reversing the dismissal of his post-conviction petition and remanding it for further proceedings, petitioner filed an amended post-conviction petition alleging ineffective assistance of trial counsel and prosecutorial misconduct at trial. When the petitioner came before the trial court in June 1985, the court did not appoint counsel to represent Jones but rather reviewed the petition to decide whether the appointment of counsel was necessary. The next day, the trial court dismissed Jones’ petition, stating…