Linton v. State

OPINION

MANNHEIMER, Judge.

Lance D. Linton is pursuing a petition for post-conviction relief, alleging that he received incompetent representation from his trial attorney. When a defendant makes such a claim, Alaska law normally requires the defendant to obtain an affidavit from their trial attorney (an affidavit discussing the various allegations of incompetence). If such an affidavit can not be obtained, the defendant must explain the efforts that were made to procure the affidavit and why these efforts proved unsuccessful.

In Linton's case, a dispute developed as to whether Linton had tried…