Opinion ID: 2062476
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Post Conviction Judge Relied on Facts Outside the Record

Text: Gilliam contends that the post conviction judge improperly relied upon extrinsic facts outside of the record in denying post conviction relief. In particular, he refers to the post conviction judge's written opinion, in which the judge stated: This Court knew defense counsel as an active practitioner, well before being appointed to the bench, and during the past six years has had Mr. Daneman before this Court for many cases, both pleas and trials. Gilliam argues that there was no evidence in the record to support this statement and, therefore, that the court was incorrect in relying upon it in assessing Daneman's competence. It is clear that the judge did not rely on his prior contacts with Daneman as a basis for the finding that Daneman was competent. The post conviction judge, in his opinion, took note of the testimony at the post conviction hearing that Mr. Daneman had been admitted to the Maryland bar in 1961 and had actively been engaged in the practice of criminal law since then; that Mr. Daneman had been involved in thousands of cases and had lectured for the Department of Justice; that Mr. Daneman kept updated on the latest cases; that he was assisted by a law clerk, an associate, and Jerome Deise, the Chief of the Capital Litigation Unit of the Public Defender's Office; that he had consulted with an array of experts in preparing the case; and that he had previous experience in death penalty litigation. The court then concluded, [b]ased upon all of the evidence and testimony this Court finds as a fact that defense counsel was experienced and more than competent to handle a capital case. (Emphasis added). It is obvious that all of the evidence and testimony adduced regarding Daneman's experience and competence was what the judge relied on. We must also keep in mind that whether Mr. Daneman was generally experienced and competent has very little to do with Gilliam's specific claim of ineffective assistance. A claim of ineffective assistance of counsel succeeds or fails depending not on the overall qualifications of the attorney, but rather on careful examination of particular allegations of error that supposedly affected the result of the proceeding at issue. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 690, 104 S.Ct. at 2066, 80 L.Ed.2d at 695.