John Walters v. Michael Martin, Warden
HabeasCorpus
Under the prejudice analysis in Missouri v. Frye and Strickland v. Washington, does the acceptance of a later, less favorable plea show prejudice even if the defendant previously made statements, when the other offer was active and he had no counsel, indicating an unwillingness to accept a plea?
Question Presented Mr. Walters lost an opportunity for a favorable plea because his counsel failed to tell him about it. As a result, Mr. Walters entered a guilty plea that resulted in a sentence more than double the one in the original plea offer. His case presents the following question regarding ineffective assistance of counsel during plea bargaining: Under the prejudice analysis in Missouri v. Frye, 566 U.S. 134 (2012) and Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984), does the acceptance of a later, less favorable plea show prejudice even if the defendant previously made statements, when the other offer was active and he had no counsel, indicating an unwillingness to accept a plea? i