Steinbach v. State, 859 N.W.2d 1

Steinbach was convicted of murder and related offenses in 1997 and sentenced to life without parole, with prior appellate affirmation.
He sought post-conviction relief multiple times, including a 2012 application alleging ineffective assistance by his prior post-conviction counsel and by trial/appellate counsel.
A district court granted relief on a claim that the applicability of the physical obstruction statute was misapplied and granted a new trial on that count; other claims were denied.
The post-conviction court held Steinbach failed to prove ineffective assistance for other issues, and the court denied relief on those claims.
The Supreme Court affirmed in part and rejected Steinbach’s challenges to prior counsel, aligning with Strickland-based standards for ineffective assistance.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether prior post-conviction counsel was ineffective for not arguing trial/appellate ineffectiveness	Steinbach alleging ineffective prior counsel	State argues no ineffective assistance in prior post-conviction proceedings	Not established; no prejudicial ineffectiveness shown
Whether trial counsel was ineffective for admitting prior acts evidence	Steinbach claims improper 404(b) admission and lack of 403 balancing	Evidence admitted as pattern of activity, not improper character evidence	Evidence admissible; no prejudice shown; strategic decision supported
Whether there was insufficient evidence on the intent element of murder	Trial/appellate counsel should have challenged sufficiency of evidence on intent	Sufficiency previously affirmed; res judicata applies	Claim barred by res judicata; substantial evidence supported conviction
Whether prosecutorial misconduct during closing affected the outcome	Prosecutor improperly commented on credibility and vouched for witnesses	Objections and curative instructions could have cured prejudice	No reasonable probability the outcome would differ; counsel not ineffectiveness for failing to object

State v. Alvarado, 2008 ND 203, 757 N.W.2d 570 (N.D. 2008) (three-part Rule 404(b) test and balancing)
State v. Christensen, 1997 ND 57, 561 N.W.2d 631 (N.D. 1997) (prior-acts admissibility framework and context of crime)
State v. Paul, 2009 ND 120, 769 N.W.2d 416 (N.D. 2009) (permits propensity and related purposes for admissibility of prior acts)
State v. Rivet, 2008 ND 145, 752 N.W.2d 611 (N.D. 2008) (prosecutorial misconduct standard; need for curative instruction)
Noorlun v. State, 2007 ND 118, 736 N.W.2d 477 (N.D. 2007) (trial strategy not automatically ineffective assistance)
Coppage v. State, 2014 ND 42, 843 N.W.2d 291 (N.D. 2014) (Strickland prejudice and performance standard in post-conviction context)
State v. Steinbach, 1998 ND 18, 575 N.W.2d 193 (N.D. 1998) (sufficiency of evidence supporting murder conviction)
State v. Chacano, 2013 ND 8, 826 N.W.2d 294 (N.D. 2013) (presumption of jury following court instructions on credibility)