White Bird v. State

Summary

The North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed the denial of Damon White Bird’s application for post-conviction relief based on alleged ineffective assistance of appellate counsel. The Court held that White Bird failed to show that appellate counsel’s performance was objectively unreasonable or that he was prejudiced, and it rejected his attempt to raise ineffective assistance based on his own self-representation at trial.

Holdings

1. White Bird was not entitled to post-conviction relief because he failed to prove that appellate counsel's performance was objectively unreasonable or defective and failed to show that the outcome of the appeal would have been different.
2. The district court did not err by limiting the claim to appellate counsel because a defendant who elects to represent himself cannot later claim that the quality of his own defense constituted ineffective assistance of counsel.

Questions Presented

1. Whether White Bird was entitled to post-conviction relief because his appellate counsel provided ineffective assistance.
2. Whether the district court erred by limiting the post-conviction claim to ineffective assistance of appellate counsel rather than permitting a claim based on ineffective assistance at trial when White Bird represented himself.

Disposition

affirmed