No. 18-8022

Leonicio Arias Coreas v. Harold W. Clarke, Director, Virginia Department of Corrections

Lower Court: Fourth Circuit
Docketed: 2019-02-20
Status: Denied
Type: IFP
Response WaivedRelisted (2)IFP
Tags: actual-innocence criminal-procedure dna-evidence due-process fourteenth-amendment fraud ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel prosecutorial-misconduct sixth-amendment
Key Terms:
DueProcess HabeasCorpus JusticiabilityDoctri
Latest Conference: 2019-06-13 (distributed 2 times)
Question Presented (AI Summary)

Did counsel fail to conduct a proper pre-trial investigation

Question Presented (OCR Extract)

QUESTION(S) PRESENTED (A) Did counsel fail to conduct a proper pre-trial investigation of the case, including discovery of the case, to discover that Commonwealth Attorney and its agents committed fraud upon the defendant and court which resulted in the conviction of Petitioner Arias who is actually innocent: When counsel did not learn that the Commonwealth’s claim that Petitioner Arias was arrested on May 7, 2002 by the Fairfax county Police for public intoxication after leaving the residence of a coworker, and taken to the Police Department where a uniformed Officer attempted to interview him regarding the allegation made from a 12 year old girl that he Raped, Sodomized, and Penetrated her with an Animate Object, was false; in violation of Petitioner’s Sixth Amendment Right to effective assistance of counsel and Fourteenth Amendment to Due Process, of the United States Constitution? (B) Counsel failed to conduct a proper pre-trial investigation of the case, including discovery of the case, to discover that Commonwealth Attomey and its agents committed fraud upon the defendant and . court which resulted in the conviction of Petitioner Arias who is actually innocent: When counsel did not learn that the Commonwealth’s claim that Petitioner Arias wrote out his confession to the crime when was questioned and interrogated about when arrested, was not true; in violation of Petitioner’s Sixth Amendment Right to effective assistance of counsel and Fourteenth Amendment to Due Process, of the United States Constitution? (C) Counsel failed to conduct a proper pre-trial investigation of the case, including discovery of the case, to discover that Commonwealth Attorney and its agents committed fraud upon the defendant and court which resulted in the conviction of Petitioner Arias who is actually innocent: When counsel did not learn that the Commonwealth’s claim that Petitioner Arias's DNA was recovered from the victim's panties and mattress, were tested, resulting in a positive match to Petitioner's DNA that was voluntarily collected from him during his arrest in 2002; which Petitioner clearly states is false because he is actually innocent of the crimes charged, and that he was never arrested or questioned, nor voluntarily 2 gave up his DNA, in 2002; in violation of Petitioner’s Sixth Amendment Right to effective assistance of counsel and Fourteenth Amendment to Due Process, of the United States Constitution? (D) Counsel failed to conduct a proper pre-trial investigation of the case, including discovery of the case, to discover that Commonwealth Attorney and its agents committed fraud upon the defendant and court which resulted in the conviction of Petitioner Arias who is actually innocent: When counsel did not learn that the Commonwealth discovered that Petitioner's DNA did not match that which was collected from the victim, and withheld that evidence; instead of informing defense that there was no evidence of DNA. Nor did they test Mr. Selso Antonio Romero Galdame's DNA against that which was recovered from the victim, or against the DNA voluntarily recovered from the arrest of Petitioner in 2002, when they discovered through the recantation letter from the victim, that it was her boyfriend who had been arrested in 2002 using Petitioner's name and identity; in violation of Petitioner’s Sixth Amendment Right to effective assistance of counsel and Fourteenth Amendment to Due Process, of the United States Constitution? (E) Counsel failed to conduct a proper pre-trial investigation of the case, including discovery of the case, to discover that Commonwealth Attorney and its agents committed fraud upon the defendant and court which resulted in the conviction of Petitioner Arias who is actually innocent: When counsel did not learn that the Commonwealth discovered through victim's recantation letter that victim was afraid of her parents discovering that she had been having con-sexual sex with her boyfriend, and when they found out, she made up

Docket Entries

2019-06-17
Rehearing DENIED.
2019-05-28
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/13/2019.
2019-04-22
Petition for Rehearing filed.
2019-04-01
Petition DENIED.
2019-03-14
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 3/29/2019.
2019-03-07
Waiver of right of respondent Clarke, Dir., VA DOC to respond filed.
2018-09-20
Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due March 22, 2019)

Attorneys

Clarke, Dir., VA DOC
Toby Jay HeytensOffice of the Attorney General, Respondent
Toby Jay HeytensOffice of the Attorney General, Respondent
Leonicio Arias Coreas
Leonicio Arias-Coreas — Petitioner
Leonicio Arias-Coreas — Petitioner