PAULA BENNETT v. SHAWN BREWER, Warden - Articles

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PAULA BENNETT v. SHAWN BREWER, Warden

Posted by: Tanja Trezise on Oct 8, 2019

Court: 6th Circuit Court (Published Opinions)

Attorneys 1:

ARGUED: Sinéad Redmond, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN LAW SCHOOL, Ann Arbor, Michigan, for Appellant. Linus Banghart-Linn, OFFICE OF THE MICHIGAN ATTORNEY GENERAL, Lansing, Michigan, for Appellee.

Attorneys 2:

ON BRIEF: Sinéad Redmond, Melissa M. Salinas, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN LAW SCHOOL, Ann Arbor, Michigan, for Appellant. Linus Banghart-Linn, Andrea M. Christensen-Brown, OFFICE OF THE MICHIGAN ATTORNEY GENERAL, Lansing, Michigan, for Appellee. Paula R. Bennett, Ypsilanti, Michigan, pro se.

Judge(s): DAUGHTREY, GIBBONS, and GRIFFIN, Circuit Judges

Court Appealed: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan at Ann Arbor

MARTHA CRAIG DAUGHTREY, CIRCUIT JUDGE. Petitioner Paula Bennett was convicted of aiding and abetting first-degree murder, in violation of Michigan Compiled Laws § 750.316(1)(a), for the shooting of Stephanie McClure, who was killed by Bennett’s then-boyfriend, Kyron Benson. Bennett is serving life in prison without the possibility of parole. She seeks a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254, arguing that her trial counsel rendered constitutionally ineffective assistance. Bennett also claims that she suffered from ineffective assistance of her appellate counsel, who failed to challenge trial counsel’s deficient performance on direct appeal. Respondent, Warden Shawn Brewer, opposes Bennett’s petition, primarily on procedural grounds. Relying on Michigan Court Rule 6.508(D), he contends that because Bennett did not initially raise her claim of ineffective assistance of trial counsel on direct appeal, she is barred from doing so now. Further, he argues that Bennett’s challenge to the competence of appellate counsel does not excuse her procedural default because the underlying claims lack merit. The district court ruled that Bennett could not meet the high standard required to establish constitutionally ineffective assistance and denied her a writ. Because our review is constrained by the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA), we affirm the district court's judgment.

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