Hardy v. United States

REID, Associate Judge:

This case has a long, unique, and convoluted history. Approximately fifteen years ago, appellant John Hardy was convicted by a jury of several felony charges that arose from a shooting incident. Mr. Hardy believed the performance of his court-appointed trial attorney was inadequate; he therefore retained new counsel for his appeal. Although his retained appellate counsel accepted payment and knew that Mr. Hardy wished to claim ineffective assistance of trial counsel, she inexplicably abandoned his appeal without ever entering an appearance. Consequently, Mr. Hardy’s…