Johiney Jesus Acuna-Hinojosa v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
49A05-1605-CR-1096
| Ind. Ct. App. | Feb 24, 2017Background
- On May 12, 2009, police stopped Acuna-Hinojosa for a fake temporary tag; officer observed signs of furtive movement, a broken steering column (towel covering), and a handgun visible between the front seats.
- Officer handcuffed and arrested Acuna-Hinojosa after discovering inconsistent identification and determining he had no driver’s license or permit for the handgun.
- Charged with Class A misdemeanor carrying a handgun without a license and Class C misdemeanor driving without a license; convicted following a September 2, 2009 bench trial; sentenced to 365 days with most time suspended.
- Acuna-Hinojosa filed a petition for post-conviction relief (PCR) in December 2014 alleging ineffective assistance of trial counsel; a fact-finding hearing was held February 12, 2016.
- The post-conviction court denied relief on April 22, 2016; Acuna-Hinojosa appealed, arguing (1) a Cronic violation (complete denial of counsel) and (2) ineffective assistance under Strickland.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether a Cronic violation occurred (constructive denial of counsel) | Acuna-Hinojosa: counsel met only once on trial day, did not use an interpreter, so he was effectively denied counsel | State: counsel appeared at pretrial, a supervised certified legal intern represented him at trial, adversarial testing occurred (suppression motion, objections) | Waived at PCR and meritless; no Cronic violation found |
| Whether trial counsel provided ineffective assistance (performance) | Acuna-Hinojosa: counsel failed to meet and investigate, preventing adequate defense | State: presumption of adequate representation; petitioner offered only self-serving assertions and no testimony from counsel | Court found no deficient performance; presumption of competence not overcome |
| Whether petitioner was prejudiced by counsel’s performance (Strickland prejudice) | Acuna-Hinojosa: lack of counsel communication affected outcome | State: strong evidence of guilt (handgun in plain view, sole occupant, admission of no license) | No reasonable probability of different outcome; prejudice not established |
| Procedural default / waiver of issues | Acuna-Hinojosa raised Cronic on appeal though not in original PCR petition | State: issues not raised below are waived under Post-Conviction Rule 1(8) | Cronic claim waived for appellate review; court alternatively rejected it on merits |
Key Cases Cited
- Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (establishes two-prong ineffective assistance standard: performance and prejudice)
- United States v. Cronic, 466 U.S. 648 (presumption of prejudice where counsel completely denied or adversarial testing wholly absent)
- Bethea v. State, 983 N.E.2d 1134 (burden and review standards in post-conviction proceedings)
- Kubsch v. State, 934 N.E.2d 1138 (defines reasonable probability for Strickland prejudice)
- Conner v. State, 711 N.E.2d 1238 (describes Cronic circumstances where presumed prejudice applies)
- Hernandez v. State, 761 N.E.2d 845 (presumption of prejudice when assistance of counsel is actually or constructively denied)