Sotelo v. State

DeBRULER, Justice.

Appellant, Raul Rudi Sotelo, was convicted of murder in a 1974 trial by jury in the Superior Court of Lake County. He received a life sentence, and his conviction was affirmed on direct appeal to this Court. See Sotelo v. State, (1976) 264 Ind. 298, 342 N.E.2d 844.

Following a hearing upon a subsequently filed petition for post-conviction relief, the trial court below entered its findings of fact and conclusions of law for the State in 1979. Therein the trial court concluded that petitioner had not been denied the adequate assistance of counsel at his 1974 trial. From this…