Pierre James v. Mike Atchison

ORDER

Pierre James, a member of the Gangster Disciples, was tried and convicted of murdering Cory Boston, who James believed was a member of the Black Disciples. At trial three eyewitnesses identified James as the shooter, but James’s alibi witnesses — the heart of his defense — never made it to court. In this appeal from the district court’s denial of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus, James argues that he would not have been convicted but for his lawyer’s ineffective assistance — specifically, her failure to tell his alibi witnesses to be in court that morning at 10:45. Because…