Criminal Law: Committing Violence against an Inmate-Post-Conviction-Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

Staff Report//March 25, 2019//

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Defendant appealed from the judgment denying his Rule 29.15 motion, after he was convicted of committing violence against a fellow inmate. Defendant argued that the trial court erred in denying him post-conviction relief based on trial counsel’s ineffectiveness for failing to object to the verdict director for failing to reference his defense of another instruction and failing to present testimony of other inmates.

Where defendant failed to show the jury had failed to use the defense of another instruction in its deliberations and where the trial court charged the jury that it had to find beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant did not act in lawful defense of another person, trial counsel did not err in failing to object to the verdict director.

Judgment is affirmed.

Patterson v. State (MLW No. 72946/Case No. WD81087 – 15 pages) (Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, Hardwick, J.) Appealed from Circuit Court, Dekalb County, Elliott, J. (Laura G. Martin for appellant) (Gregory L. Barnes for respondent)