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Shawn Grate v. Ohio

IFP petition · Supreme Court of Ohio, No. 2018-0968 · judgment December 10, 2020


Certiorari denied · October 4, 2021

Questions presented

  1. If a criminal defendant, charged with a death penalty-qualified offense, admit to murdering multiple women, and the only possible defense is a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI) and/or a mitigation case based on a mental health diagnosis, will the defendant be deprived of a the Constitutional right to effective assistance of counsel and procedural/substantive due process if trial counsel withdraws the NGRI plea before trial and fails to present a full mitigation case -- even if the evidence of defendant's guilt is overwhelming?

  2. If a trial court bars mitigation testimony from a defendant's family member, and rules that testimony about the defendant's mother is inadmissible and that much of an expert's testimony should be disregarded by the sentencing jury as hearsay, does it constitute a due process violation in a death penalty case?

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Donald Michael Gallick
Law Office of Donald Gallick, LLC

For respondent
Stephen Edward Maher
Ohio Attorney General's Office - Capital Crimes

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 2 conferences

Proceedings

  1. Jan 26 2022
    Record returned to the Supreme Court of Ohio (4 boxes).
  2. Oct 04 2021
    Petition DENIED.
  3. Aug 26 2021
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/27/2021.
  4. Aug 23 2021
    Record received from the Supreme Court of Ohio (4 boxes).
  5. Aug 11 2021
    Record Requested.
  6. Jul 01 2021
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/27/2021.
  7. May 18 2021
    Brief of respondent State of Ohio in opposition filed.
  8. May 10 2021
    Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due June 14, 2021)