Richard Brown, Warden v. Dentrell Brown

Under the Martinez-Trevino doctrine, a procedural default will not bar a federal habeas court from hearing a substantial claim of ineffective assistance of trial counsel if a state denies a meaningful opportunity to raise the claim on direct appeal. Indiana allows trial-counsel Strickland claims on direct appeal in one of two ways. First, if they choose to make no further record in support of their claims, defendants may simply assert them in their brief on appeal. Second, if they wish to develop a record supporting their claims, defendants may suspend their direct appeals while they develop the factual record in trial court in what is called the Davis/Hatton procedure. Any appeal of that claim will be combined with the direct appeal of the conviction. The Davis/Hatton procedure is optional, however, and prisoners may choose instead to raise their trial-counsel Strickland claims in a traditional post-conviction review proceeding after direct appeal. The question presented is whether the Indiana procedure satisfies Martinez-Trevino.