Paul McKernan v. Superintendent Smithfield SCI

OPINION OF THE COURT

ROTH, Circuit Judge:

In this appeal, Paul McKernan contends that, because of the egregious advice given him by his counsel, he was deprived of the right to a fair trial before an impartial tribunal. He asserts that the judge in his murder trial was so concerned over what she considered to be “slanderous,” “hurtful,” and “terrible things” written about her on a website that she lost her ability to be impartial. He farther asserts that his counsel, unlike any competent counsel, failed to recognize this loss of impartiality and, in doing so, deprived him of the effective…