St. Germain v. State
2012 MT 86
| Mont. | 2012Background
- St. Germain was convicted by jury in 2004 of four counts of incest and four counts of sexual intercourse without consent for abusing H.M., his stepdaughter, from ages 11 to 19.
- He appealed conviction in 2004; this Court affirmed the first two issues and left ineffectiveness claims for postconviction relief.
- St. Germain filed a 2008 postconviction petition asserting nine trial-counsel ineffectiveness claims and one appellate-counsel claim.
- An evidentiary hearing was held on April 2, 2009; in March 2011 the District Court dismissed the petition as presenting no ineffective assistance.
- On appeal, St. Germain challenges only the denial of postconviction relief on trial-counsel and appellate-counsel grounds.
- The Court affirms dismissal of the postconviction petition.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Was trial counsel ineffective under Strickland for four claimed acts or omissions? | St. Germain throughout asserts specific acts were deficient. | Sather's decisions were reasonable and not prejudicial. | No reversible error; Strickland satisfied, no prejudice. |
| Was appellate counsel ineffective for not pursuing juror for-cause dismissal on Charlton? | St. Germain argues failure to appeal was ineffective. | Discretion to deny for-cause dismissal was reasonable. | No prejudice; failure not shown to be outcome-determinative. |
Key Cases Cited
- State v. St. Germain, 336 Mont. 17, 153 P.3d 591 (Mont. 2007) (review of ineffective-assistance claims on direct appeal)
- Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (U.S. Supreme Court 1984) (two-prong standard for ineffective assistance of counsel)
- Harrington v. Richter, 131 S. Ct. 770 (S. Ct. 2011) (defense failure to consult experts not per se unreasonable; prejudice required")
- Gersten v. Senkowski, 426 F.3d 588 (2d Cir. 2005) (defense failure to consult medical experts can be ineffective when experts would aid defense (contextual)")
- State v. Guill, 2010 MT 69, 355 Mont. 490, 228 P.3d 1152 (Mont. 2010) (limits on applying the transaction rule to 404(b) evidence")
- State v. Dist. Ct. of the Eighteenth Jud. Dist., 2010 MT 263, 358 Mont. 325, 246 P.3d 415 (Mont. 2010) (restated procedural requirements for admitting other-bad-acts evidence")
- Mazurek v. Dist. Ct. of Mont., Mont. 277, 277 Mont. 349, 922 P.2d 474 (Mont. 1996) (Mazурak framework for admissibility of prior false allegations)