Correy James Dartez v. State of Mississippi, 177 So. 3d 420

Correy Dartez smothered his wife Victoria in their Biloxi apartment on Jan. 30, 2013; he then called 911 and confessed to police at the scene and during a later custodial interview.
Dartez and Victoria were both diagnosed with bipolar disorder; Victoria also had Down’s syndrome; Dartez admitted being off psychiatric medication for about a day before the killing.
Police read Dartez his Miranda rights; he repeatedly waived counsel and made detailed, remorseful statements to Officer Tim McKaig describing the killing and his motives.
Dartez was charged with murder, a competency evaluation was ordered (Dr. Beverly Smallwood), and the court found him competent to stand trial; the full evaluation was sealed.
No insanity defense was presented at trial; Dartez put on no defense and was convicted by a jury and sentenced to life imprisonment.
On appeal Dartez argued trial counsel was constitutionally ineffective for failing to (1) raise an insanity defense and (2) challenge the voluntariness/admissibility of his confession.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether counsel was ineffective for failing to raise an insanity defense	Dartez: counsel should have asserted insanity given mental-health history and medication lapse	State: record does not show deficient performance or prejudice; trial court found competence and report was sealed	Court: Declined to decide ineffectiveness on direct appeal—record insufficient; affirmed conviction and directed relief, if any, via PCR after leave of court
Whether counsel was ineffective for not suppressing Dartez’s confession as involuntary	Dartez: statements were not knowingly/voluntarily given and should have been challenged	State: Miranda warnings were given; Dartez repeatedly waived counsel and answered questions knowingly	Court: Did not resolve voluntariness on direct appeal due to incomplete record regarding counsel’s decisions; declined to address ineffectiveness claim here

Archer v. State, 986 So. 2d 951 (Miss. 2008) (ineffective-assistance claims generally resolved in post-conviction proceedings)
Read v. State, 430 So. 2d 832 (Miss. 1983) (preservation and appropriate procedure when the record is insufficient on direct appeal)
Holly v. State, 716 So. 2d 979 (Miss. 1998) (applying Strickland two-prong test in Mississippi)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (U.S. 1984) (standard for ineffective assistance of counsel)
Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (U.S. 1966) (custodial interrogation warnings requirement)