Taylor v. Metoyer, 299 Ga. 345

Background

In April 1998 several armed robberies occurred; Metoyer was convicted by a jury in May 1999 largely on testimony from two co-defendants (Daniels and Nichols) and two victim IDs; there was no physical evidence tying Metoyer to the crimes.
Daniels and Nichols pled guilty under plea agreements that contemplated future cooperation and possible sentence remolding; at trial both denied receiving special treatment when questioned by the prosecution.
Trial counsel McDaniel was alleged to be unprepared: minimal pretrial contact with Metoyer, failure to obtain Jackson-Denno interview transcripts, failure to cross-examine co-defendants about their plea deals, and failure to present a viable alibi witness.
On direct appeal, appellate counsel Claridge raised insufficiency and some ineffectiveness claims but presented weak arguments (e.g., a frivolous alibi claim, a one-sentence Jackson-Denno argument without transcripts, and an unsubstantiated preparation claim). The Court of Appeals affirmed.
Metoyer filed a habeas petition; the habeas court found appellate counsel ineffective for failing to raise a stronger, meritorious claim that trial counsel was ineffective for not using Jackson-Denno transcripts and for failing to cross-examine co-defendants about their plea agreements; habeas relief was granted.
The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed the habeas court, concluding appellate counsel’s performance was deficient and prejudicial because a properly presented claim would have required reversal or a new trial under Strickland principles.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether appellate counsel rendered ineffective assistance by raising weak or frivolous claims and omitting stronger ones	Metoyer: Claridge raised untenable claims and failed to raise trial counsel’s clear errors (failure to obtain Jackson-Denno transcripts; failure to cross-examine co-defendants about plea deals)	Warden: Habeas court’s findings were clearly erroneous; appellate litigation choices were reasonable tactical decisions	Held: Appellate counsel was ineffective; failures were deficient and prejudiced Metoyer’s appeal, warranting habeas relief
Whether trial counsel was ineffective for failing to procure and use Jackson-Denno transcripts for impeachment	Metoyer: Transcripts were available and would have impeached co-defendants’ testimony; counsel failed to procure them	Warden: Record did not establish what the transcripts would show; omission was tactical or waived	Held: Trial counsel’s failure to procure transcripts was deficient and not reasonable strategy; appellate counsel should have preserved/argued this claim
Whether trial counsel was ineffective for failing to cross-examine co-defendants about plea agreements and motive	Metoyer: Failure to cross-examine prevented jury from learning co-defendants’ motive and undisclosed deal terms, undermining ID and credibility	Warden: Cross-examination scope rarely supports ineffectiveness claims; no showing of prejudice	Held: Failure to cross-examine key witnesses was deficient and prejudicial given the weak, witness-driven case against Metoyer
Whether appellate counsel’s presentation of preparation/alibi claims was adequate on appeal	Metoyer: Claridge presented a weak alibi and unsupported preparation claim, lacking evidence of prejudice	Warden: Appellate treatment of those claims was within tactical judgment	Held: Those claims were untenable or frivolous; appellate counsel performed deficiently in how she presented them and omitted stronger issues

Key Cases Cited

Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (establishes standard for ineffective assistance of counsel)
Jackson v. Denno, 378 U.S. 368 (on admissibility and testing of confessions and related proceedings)
Shorter v. Waters, 275 Ga. 581 (appellate counsel performance judged by reasonableness of tactical choices)
Sloan v. Sanders, 271 Ga. 299 (requirement to show deficient performance and prejudice for appellate ineffective-assistance claims)
Higgins v. Renico, 470 F.3d 624 (failure to cross-examine key witness can be deficient performance)
Metoyer v. State, 282 Ga. App. 810 (direct-appeal decision affirming convictions)