Ineffective-assistance-of-counsel

QUESTIONS PRESENTED 1. Did the Fifth Circuit err in considering the totality of three different trials, and excusing the District Court’s erroneous conclusion regarding the proper standard, in considering the claim that Mr. Howard receive the ineffective assistance of counsel when his attorney failed to conduct a reasonable investigation of his life history and to have a mental health evaluation conducted in light of that history? 2. Did the Fifth Circuit err in considering the totality of three different trials and the District Court’s erroneous legal conclusion when they denied Mr. Howard’s claim that he was denied his Sixth & Fourteenth Amendment rights to effective assistance of counsel when his attorney failed to investigate Mr. Howard’s psychosocial history thoroughly and failed to seek timely and relevant evaluations of the mental condition of Mr. Howard regarding: a. his competence to stand trial and whether his waiver of Miranda rights and subsequent confession were knowing and intelligent?