Summary
The Louisiana Supreme Court denied Russell Gene Ware, Jr.’s supervisory-writ application concerning his post-conviction claims arising from convictions for aggravated rape and sexual battery. The court held that Ware failed to establish ineffective assistance of counsel, that several claims were repetitive, and that he failed to satisfy his post-conviction burden on the remaining claims. The court stated that Ware had fully litigated his state collateral review and that further applications would be subject to the narrow exceptions for successive filings.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether Ware established ineffective assistance of counsel under Strickland v. Washington.
- Whether Ware's claims concerning sufficiency of the evidence, admission of other-crimes evidence, and prosecutorial misconduct were barred as repetitive.
- Whether Ware satisfied his burden of proof on the remaining post-conviction claims.
- Whether the denial of the application was final and exhausted Ware's right to state collateral review absent a statutory exception permitting a successive application.
Holdings
- Ware failed to establish ineffective assistance of counsel under the standard stated in Strickland v. Washington.
- Ware's claims concerning sufficiency of the evidence, admission of other-crimes evidence, and prosecutorial misconduct were repetitive and therefore barred under Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure article 930.4.
- Ware was not entitled to relief on his remaining claims because he failed to satisfy his post-conviction burden of proof.
- The denial was final, and Ware exhausted his right to state collateral review unless he could demonstrate a narrow statutory exception authorizing a successive application.
Key quotations
“Hereafter, unless he can show that one of the narrow exceptions authorizing the filing of a successive application applies, relator has exhausted his right to state collateral review.” (449)
Factual background
Ware was indicted in Rapides Parish for aggravated rape and sexual battery involving an eleven-year-old victim. He was convicted on both counts after a bench trial and sentenced to life imprisonment without benefits for aggravated rape and twenty-five years at hard labor without benefits for sexual battery. In post-conviction proceedings, he asserted ineffective assistance of counsel, insufficient evidence, admission of other-crimes evidence, prosecutorial misconduct, and additional claims.
Procedural history
Ware was convicted in the Ninth Judicial District Court, Parish of Rapides, of aggravated rape and sexual battery and received life imprisonment for aggravated rape and twenty-five years at hard labor for sexual battery. After the district court denied post-conviction relief, the Louisiana Court of Appeal denied writ review. The Louisiana Supreme Court denied supervisory relief, holding that the ineffective-assistance claim failed under Strickland, several other claims were repetitive, and the remaining claims did not satisfy the post-conviction burden of proof.
Remand instructions
The district court was ordered to record a minute entry consistent with the per curiam opinion.