James W. Chambers v. Bill Armontrout

I respectfully dissent.

The court today concludes that trial counsel Hager’s failure to interview Jones or to call him as a witness at trial constituted ineffective assistance of counsel under Strickland’s tests for reviewing claims of ineffective performance and prejudice. Because I conclude that neither element of the Strickland test is satisfied, I would affirm the judgment of the district court denying the writ.

The decision of the Missouri Supreme Court in its consideration of the facts in the case clearly indicates that evidence to support the self-defense instruction could have *1325come only…