Porter v. State
| Docket Number: | 2005-CP-01795-COA Linked Case(s): 2005-CP-01795-COA |
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| Court of Appeals: |
Opinion Link Opinion Date: 05-08-2007 Opinion Author: KING, C.J. Holding: Affirmed |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Post-conviction relief - Ineffective assistance of counsel - Evidentiary hearing Judge(s) Concurring: LEE AND MYERS, P.JJ., CHANDLER, GRIFFIS, BARNES, ISHEE, ROBERTS AND CARLTON, JJ. Concurs in Result Only: IRVING, J. Procedural History: PCR Nature of the Case: CIVIL - POST-CONVICTION RELIEF |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 08-05-2005 Appealed from: MARSHALL COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT Judge: Andrew K. Howorth Disposition: MOTION FOR POST-CONVICTION RELIEF DENIED Case Number: M2005-382 |
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| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | |||
| Appellant: | LAJUANE PORTER |
LAJUANE PORTER (PRO SE) |
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| Appellee: | STATE OF MISSISSIPPI | OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: JEFFREY A. KLINGFUSS |
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Synopsis provided by:  If you are interested in subscribing to the weekly synopses of all Mississippi Supreme Court and Court of Appeals hand downs please contact Tammy Upton in the MLI Press office. |
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| Topic: | Post-conviction relief - Ineffective assistance of counsel - Evidentiary hearing |
| Summary of the Facts: | Lajuane Porter was convicted of aggravated assault and was sentenced to twenty years. He appealed, and the Court of Appeals affirmed. Porter sought relief through the supreme court by submitting an Application for Leave to File Motion for Post Conviction Collateral Relief. The court granted Porter leave to file his post-conviction relief motion on the sole issue of ineffective assistance of counsel but denied his claim of an excessive sentence. Porter filed his motion for post-conviction relief which the court denied. He appeals. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | Porter argues that the supreme court’s decision, granting him leave to file his post-conviction motion in the trial court, automatically entitled him to an evidentiary hearing. Although the trial court followed the incorrect procedure in denying Porter’s motion without granting an evidentiary hearing, the error is harmless. In order to obtain an evidentiary hearing on the basis of ineffective assistance of counsel, the petitioner must state a prima facie claim in his petition. Porter alleges his attorney failed to properly a perform pre-trial investigation to determine which witnesses would aid in Porter’s defense. Porter does not provide any information regarding the witnesses he claims could have aided in his defense, but were not called by counsel. In fact, the record reveals that the defense attorney did attempt to interview a possible rebuttal witness. Porter does not suggest any information that would have been discovered through examination of the potential witness that was not previously addressed in the trial. Porter’s defense attorney took advantage of the opportunity to cross- examine all available witnesses in the trial. Porter has not demonstrated that his defense was prejudiced by his attorney’s alleged deficiencies. Porter argues that his counsel failed to provide a sufficient defense by allowing the State to bring his prior misdemeanor simple assault charge before the jury. Porter fails to show that, had the State not introduced his assault charge and his counsel failed to make a contemporaneous objection, the results would have been different. Therefore, Porter’s ineffective assistance of counsel claim did not merit an evidentiary hearing. |
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