Opinion ID: 901364
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Failure of Blue to pursue an appeal

Text: [¶ 14.] In Crutchfield's first habeas action the issue regarding Blue's alleged failure to pursue a direct appeal was never raised. Crutchfield now asserts that Pollard was ineffective for failing to prove that Blue had rendered ineffective assistance of counsel for his alleged failure to pursue a direct appeal. [¶ 15.] In making this claim, Crutchfield relies heavily on Loop v. Solem, 398 NW2d 140 (SD 1986). In Loop, the defendant was charged with the offense of sexual contact with a child under fifteen years of age and was convicted by a jury. His attorney filed a timely Notice of Appeal but after reviewing the trial file he determined that there were no meritorious grounds for an appeal and did not file an appellate brief. The appeal was eventually dismissed for this reason. Loop then filed a writ of habeas corpus claiming ineffective assistance of counsel and we reinstated the direct appeal. Id. at 141. [¶ 16.] Here, Crutchfield was not convicted by a jury, he pleaded guilty. Blue testified that after he found out that Crutchfield filed a Notice of Appeal himself, he asked Crutchfield to identify the issues that he wanted to appeal and then never heard back from him. [2] Therefore, the facts are distinguishable and Crutchfield has not shown that he was prejudiced by Pollard's failure to prove that Blue was ineffective for his failure to pursue a direct appeal.