Long v. FhuereLong v. Fhuere
Jason Weber and Equal Justice Law filed the brief for appellant.
Ryan Kahn, Assistant Attorney General, waived appearance for respondent.
LAGESEN, C. J.
Affirmed.
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* Determined by a two-judge department as authorized by
Petitioner appeals a judgment denying post-conviction relief. Appointed counsel filed a brief pursuant to
In the underlying criminal cases, which took place in 2015, petitioner pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree rape,
Petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief alleging that his trial counsel rendered inadequate and ineffective assistance when he (1) failed to advise petitioner that “Oregon‘s non-unanimous jury verdict rule was likely to be found unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court” and (2) advised petitioner that “he could be convicted by a non-unanimous jury verdict.”
The post-conviction court denied relief. Among other points, the post-conviction court determined that petitioner‘s trial counsel “provided correct legal advice regarding the law at the time of Petitioner‘s trial” and that “Petitioner did not suffer prejudice as a result of anything” petitioner‘s trial counsel “did or failed to do.” As to the latter, the post-conviction court specifically found that the case against petitioner was “strong“; that petitioner received a “significant benefit as a result of his plea” because it resulted in “a reduction of possible time in custody“; and that petitioner was “not credible that but for Trial Counsel‘s not advising him in 2015 that sometime in the future Oregon‘s rule [concerning] nonunanimous verdicts might be reversed by the [United States] Supreme Court, and if he had been convicted by a nonunanimous verdict he might then be entitled to a new trial, he would have not entered a plea but gone to trial.”
Having reviewed the record, including the post-conviction court file and the transcript of the hearings, and having reviewed the Balfour brief, we have identified no arguably meritorious issues. See Newmann v. Highberger, 330 Or App 229, 234, 543 P3d 172 (2024), rev den, 372 Or 588 (2024)
Affirmed.