Criminal Law-Post-Conviction Relief-Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

Defendant appealed the denial of her motion for post-conviction relief alleging ineffective assistance of counsel, arguing that counsel provided legally inaccurate advice regarding the applicability of a battered spouse defense and failed to seek an in limine ruling on the applicability of the defense. The state cross-appealed, challenging the trial court’s decision upholding defendant’s claim that appellate counsel was ineffective for failing to raise a sufficiency-of-evidence challenge.  

Where the record demonstrated that trial counsel advised defendant that a battered spouse defense might not be successful and where it was reasonable trial strategy to present such a defense to admit evidence of the abuse defendant suffered at the hands of her husband who also participated in the charged offense, trial counsel did not provide ineffective assistance, but the trial court erred in concluding that defendant would have had a viable sufficiency-of-evidence claim on direct appeal.  

Judgment is affirmed in part, reversed in part.  

Colby v. State (MLW No. 84768/Case No. WD87781 & WD87828 – 27 pages) (Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, Thomson, J.) Appealed from circuit court, Henry County, Kjar, J. (Damien Sepher Bhakti De Loyola, Kansas City for appellant) (Kristen Shively Johnson, Jefferson City and LaChrisha Gray, Clinton for respondent)