Hill v. State

HAROLD L. LOWENSTEIN, Judge.

The issue in this case is whether a defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel was violated when his counsel failed to object to a jury instruction that erroneously omitted the mens rea element where the defendant’s sole defense is one of mistaken identity and where the defendant was convicted of a different crime that necessarily required a finding of the missing element. This court holds that there was no Sixth Amendment violation. Accordingly, this court affirms the circuit court’s denial of appellant’s Rule 29.15 motion.

Tyrone L. Hill…