Courtney Bishop v. State of Tennessee, W2015-02064-CCA-R3-PC

On Aug. 19, 2008 Maurice Taylor was shot and killed; investigators tied the offense to a light-colored sedan and to co-defendant Marlon McKay, who told police Bishop shot the victim.
Bishop was arrested, held on a 48-hour magistrate hold, and gave multiple confessions admitting participation and that the gun discharged during a struggle.
Indicted for first-degree felony murder and attempted aggravated robbery, Bishop was convicted by a jury and received an effective sentence of life plus three years.
On direct appeal this Court initially found suppression and corpus delicti errors and a Gerstein-related holding-period problem, but the Tennessee Supreme Court reversed, holding police had probable cause and that plain-error review would not warrant relief; convictions were reinstated.
Bishop filed a post-conviction petition alleging ineffective assistance of trial and appellate counsel (failure to investigate/hire investigator, inadequate preparation/advice about testifying, failure to argue coerced confession, and failure to raise a Gerstein claim). The post-conviction court denied relief, and this appeal followed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Ineffective assistance — inadequate investigation / preparation / advice about testifying	Bishop: counsel met only 3–4 times, did not hire an investigator or adequately prepare him to testify facing life in prison, causing prejudice	State: counsel met with Bishop, reviewed discovery, advised and prepared him to testify; petitioner failed to show what additional work should have been done or resulting prejudice	Denied — court found counsel acted within reasonable competence, petitioner failed to prove prejudice
Ineffective assistance — failure to raise Gerstein/illegal-hold issue on motion for new trial	Bishop: counsel should have preserved Gerstein claim, and failing to do so waived the issue on appeal, causing prejudice	State: Tennessee Supreme Court reviewed waiver/plain-error and held petitioner not entitled to relief because police had probable cause and plain error would not change outcome	Denied — because supreme court already determined Gerstein claim would not have produced relief, petitioner cannot show prejudice

Gerstein v. Pugh, 420 U.S. 103 (requirement of prompt judicial determination of probable cause)
County of Riverside v. McLaughlin, 500 U.S. 44 (48-hour rule and exceptions for delays to gather evidence or other extraordinary circumstances)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (two-prong ineffective-assistance standard: deficient performance and prejudice)
State v. Bishop, 431 S.W.3d 22 (Tenn. 2014) (Tennessee Supreme Court’s review of probable cause, Gerstein waiver/plain-error, and reinstatement of convictions)
Goad v. State, 938 S.W.2d 363 (Tenn. 1996) (explaining Strickland framework in Tennessee post-conviction context)