James Allen Jackson v. Texas

Petitioner was convicted of sexually abusing his two minor step-daughters, who did not testify, based on their out-of-court statements, and was sentenced to life without parole. The prosecution offered no physical or medical evidence or incriminating statements. To bolster its weak case, the prosecution presented, without objection, irrelevant and inflammatory testimony that petitioner was a racist, a Wiccan “witch,” and that he invoked his constitutional rights during custodial interrogation. Defense counsel tried to deflect this testimony during his closing argument by asking whether it would “even make a difference if [petitioner] was a homosexual Jewish accountant who money-laundered for the Mexican Mafia.” Petitioner sought habeas corpus relief based on ineffective assistance of counsel. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (TCCA) ordered the trial court to develop the record and make findings of fact and conclusions of law. The trial court recommended that relief be denied without making any meaningful findings. The TCCA denied relief without explanation. The questions presented are: I. Was petitioner denied the effective assistance of counsel when defense counsel failed to object to irrelevant, inflammatory testimony that petitioner was a racist, a Wiccan “witch,” and that he invoked his constitutional rights during custodial interrogation—aggravating facts which counsel magnified during his patently offensive closing argument?