No. 20-5629

Lester Waller v. Vance Laughlin, Warden

Lower Court: Georgia
Docketed: 2020-09-09
Status: Denied
Type: IFP
Response WaivedIFP
Tags: due-process expert-witness-testimony fourteenth-amendment ineffective-assistance prosecutorial-misconduct right-to-counsel sixth-amendment trial-court-error waiver-of-counsel
Key Terms:
DueProcess HabeasCorpus JusticiabilityDoctri
Latest Conference: 2020-10-30
Question Presented (AI Summary)

Did the Trial Court err when it determined Defendant's waiver of counsel was valid thus , violating his Sixth Amendment Right to Counsel and his Fourteenth Amendment Right to Due Process of Law?

Question Presented (OCR Extract)

QUESTION(S) PRESENTED Did the Trial Court err when it determined Defendant's waiver of counsel was valid thus , violating his Sixth Amendment Right to Counsel and his Fourteenth Amendment Right to Due Process of Law? Did the Trial Court err by denying Defendant's right to counsel as guaranteed by the United States Constitution (Sixth Amendment) and the Georgia State Constitution (Article I, Section I, Paragraphs XIV, Benefit of Counsel)? Did the Trial Court's colloquy to Defendant meet the Faretta Standard? Did the Trial Court err in failing to require the recording of bench conferences? Was Trial Counsel ineffective in failing to object to prosecutorial misconduct during the State's opening and closing arguments? Did the Trial Court err in failing to grant Defendant's Motion to Suppress Tapes? Did the Trial Court improperly admit the State's witness testimony without properly establishing a foundation for it? Did the Trial Court err in allowing evidence in the form of a telephone conversation without first : authenticating the parties involved? Did the Trial Court fail to determine that the State withheld scientific evidence from the crime scene favorable to Defendant thus violating his Fourteenth Amendment Right to Due Process of Law? Did the Trial Court err in failing to determine that the admission of photos of the victim's autopsy was highly prejudicial? Did the Trial Court abuse its discretion in allowing Angela Whitmore to testify as an expert witness in violation of his due process rights by failing to disclose to Defendant prior to trial that Whitmore would be called to testify as an expert witness? Whitmore was not on the witness list. in violation of Georgia statutes 17-16-3, 17-16-6, and 17-16-8(a). a " Did the Trial Court err in failing to honor the mailbox rule in the filing nature of an appeal? Is att one-day delay not resulting from fault or negligence of Defendant, mailroom personnel, or court personnel sufficient for Defendant to lose his right to direct appeal or any appeal particularly when the merits of the case outweigh the finality of the case? Did the Trial Court convict based on insufficient evidence? ; : a es

Docket Entries

2020-11-02
Petition DENIED. Justice Barrett took no part in the consideration or decision of this petition.
2020-10-08
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/30/2020.
2020-10-06
Waiver of right of respondent Georgia to respond filed.
2020-07-07
Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due October 9, 2020)

Attorneys

Georgia
Andrew Alan PinsonOffice of the Georgia Attorney General, Respondent
Lester Waller
Lester Waller — Petitioner