It may sometimes appear that the judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit are hopelessly divided in habeas corpus cases, particularly those involving ineffective assistance of counsel claims. (No doubt, my frequent blog posts on such divided opinions may feed that impression.) Yet the judges often do agree in such cases, and Brown v. Smith is a good example (even if all three judges did not join the same opinion). The three judge panel, consisting of Chief Judge Boggs and Judges Moore and Clay, was unanimous in reversing the lower court’s denial of Michael Brown’s habeas opinion. Here is the opening of Chief Judge Boggs’ opinion, joined by Judge Moore:
Michael Brown, who was convicted of sexually molesting his teenage daughter, appeals the district court