Mark Wilkinson v. Roger D. Cowan, Warden

ILANA DIAMOND ROVNER, Circuit Judge.

Convicted of murdering his estranged wife, Mark Wilkinson sought post-conviction relief in Illinois state court. Among other things, he argued that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to investigate (or to provide him with a copy of) the coroner’s autopsy report, which contained certain obvious discrepancies. After the circuit court summarily dismissed Wilkinson’s petition, his appellate counsel sought leave to withdraw, asserting that his case presented no issue of arguable merit. The Illinois appellate court, upon review of the record, agreed.…