Court Opinion

ID: 9553498
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 19:30:27.685065+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:31:19.167000
License: Public Domain

BAKES, Chief Justice,
concurring in part and dissenting in part:
I concur in all of the Court’s opinion except Part 4 dealing with Matthews’ claim of ineffective assistance of trial and appellate counsel. The Court’s opinion concludes that the trial court erred in taking judicial notice of the trial proceedings and concluding that, “The case was vigorously defended and the issues appropriate for consideration were raised.”
To a certain extent I agree with this Court’s opinion that judicial notice may not have been sufficient reason to dismiss where there has been no response by the State because ineffective assistance of counsel can occur as a result of proceedings outside the courtroom. Thus, even if the trial court takes judicial notice of all of the proceedings before it, there could be a lingering ineffective assistance of counsel claim as a.result of proceedings which occurred outside the court’s presence.
However, here the amended petition for post conviction relief asserts fourteen separate factual claims unrelated to ineffective assistance of counsel, none of which have any merit. As to the two remaining claims relating to ineffective assistance of counsel, those claims only state the conclusion that, “The petitioner was not afforded adequate and competent representation during trial in violation of the ... Constitution of the United States ... [and] the Idaho State Constitution.” The petitioner, having asserted fourteen factual but meritless claims, cannot simply rely on conclusory allegations that he was denied effective assistance of counsel at trial and on appeal, without alleging any other factual allegations than those contained in the fourteen meritless claims. Those conclusory allegations do not constitute sufficient grounds for requiring the trial court to hold a hearing. Accordingly, I would affirm the trial court’s dismissal of the post conviction proceeding in its entirety.