Davis v. Greiner, Docket No. 04-4087-pr (2d Cir. Oct. 11, 2005) (Calabresi, Cabranes, Pooler): The Circuit affirms the district court’s denial of Davis’s § 2254 petition, based on a Sixth Amendment IAC claim that Davis’s attorney failed to warn him that statements he made during proffer sessions with prosecutors could be used against him at trial if the plea deal collapsed. Although the Court agreed with Davis that his attorney’s conduct fell below professional norms, it upheld (with some reservations) the district court’s largely factual finding that Strickland‘s prejudice prong was not satisfied because Davis would have participated in the proffer sessions even if his lawyer had told him that his statements could eventually be used against him.
The essential facts are sad and simple. Sixteen-year-old Davis and his half-brother were recruited by their foster sister to attack the sister’s ex-boyfriend, who died as a result. All …