Court Opinion

ID: 9492795
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 14:50:40.341106+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:55:29.838780
License: Public Domain

E. GRADY JOLLY, Circuit Judge,
concurring specially:
I agree that the result we reach today is required by Penson’s holding that an irre-buttable presumption of prejudice arises when a defendant is effectively denied the right to counsel on appeal. I write separately, however, to point out that the net effect of the relief that we grant today is zero, where, over the several years this case has been percolating through the courts, neither anyone nor any court has identified an issue of the slightest arguable merit. Hughes will be granted an opportunity to file an out-of-time direct appeal of his conviction, competent appellate counsel will file an Anders brief in Mississippi state court, a habeas petition will be filed in federal district court, and after the passage of much time and expense, our court will be placed in an almost identical situation as we are today — considering the merits of an appeal that is meritless. However, because our court is bound by the Supreme Court’s holdings in Penson and Anders, I concur in this exercise.