Trotter v. Santos

Petitioner appeals from a judgment denying his petition for post-conviction relief, arguing that his criminal trial counsel was constitutionally inadequate because counsel improperly precluded him from testifying and failed to request a jury instruction on lesser-included offenses. We do not address petitioner’s contention that counsel precluded him from testifying, because we conclude that petitioner is entitled to relief based on counsel's failure to request the “lesser-included offense” jury instruction. We reverse and remand.

The facts are not in dispute. Evidence at petitioner’s criminal…