Leon Carter v. Bradley Mlodzik, Warden

Should a writ of habeas corpus issue when a bailiff reinstructed the jury in a criminal trial by directing it to continue deliberating until it reached a verdict, and the instruction occurred ex parte outside the presence of the defendant and his lawyer and, therefore, deprived him of counsel at a critical stage of the trial in clear violation of the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, because (1) this Court has repeatedly held that the deprivation of counsel at a critical stage of a trial is presumptively prejudicial, and (2) in Remmer v. United States, this Court concluded that ex parte communication with a jury is presumptively prejudicial and deserves an evidentiary hearing?

Should a writ of habeas corpus issue because the Wisconsin Court of Appeals failed to follow Anders v. California and concluded that petitioner did not deserve appointed counsel for his appeal, solely because his appeal “lacked arguable merit,” when Anders and later cases required the Court of Appeals to conclude that the appeal not only had “no merit” but also would be wholly frivolous? Stated another way, though the Wisconsin Court of Appeals never explained its conclusion and, in fact, articulated its conclusion in terms Anders forbid, the Seventh Circuit found this nevertheless met Anders and constitutional standards. -2-