No Alibi

The Maryland Court of Appeals affirmed a finding of ineffective assistance of counsel where an alibi defense was presented through multiple witnesses but no instruction was sought

In his post-conviction petition, Mann alleged, among other things, that his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance of counsel by failing to request an alibi jury instruction. At the hearing on Mann’s post-conviction petition, Mann’s trial counsel conceded that there was no reason not to request the alibi instruction. Indeed, as the State concedes in its brief, “there is no dispute of material fact. [Mann’s] counsel simply overlooked requesting the ‘alibi’ jury instruction, notwithstanding his presentation of an alibi defense.” As noted, the post-conviction court found that trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance by failing to request an alibi instruction and ordered a new trial…

Given the heightened sensitivity expressed by Maryland courts concerning the importance of the alibi instruction, we hold that the failure (not the disinclination but the failure) of trial counsel to request the instruction in this case constituted ineffective assistance of counsel. We therefore affirm the post-conviction court’s judgment.

(Mike Frisch)