Promotor v. Pollard, 09-2292

Habeas petition for fourt counts of homicides by intoxicated use of a motor vehicle

Promotor v. Pollard, 09-2292, concerned a challenge to the district court's denial of defendant's request for habeas relief from his conviction for four counts of homicide by intoxicated use of a motor vehicle and two counts of causing injury by intoxicated use of a motor vehicle, and a grant of a Certificate of Appealability on the issue of whether the state courts violated defendant's due process rights by sentencing him based on inaccurate information.

In affirming, the court held that defendant procedurally defaulted his challenge to the allegedly inaccurate information in the pre-sentence report, that he consumed up to 23 beers in the hours preceding the crash, because he failed to object to it, and there is no valid cause that excuses this default.  Further, even if defendant had not defaulted his claim with respect to the allegedly inaccurate information in the pre-sentence report, defendant did not demonstrate that the trial court relied on materially incorrect information in his sentencing.  The court rejected defendant's request to expand his Certificate of Appealability to address his ineffective assistance of counsel arguments as, defendant procedurally defaulted this claim by failing to fully and fairly present it to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Related Link:

• Read the Seventh Circuit's Full Decision in Promotor v. Pollard, 09-2292