Corey Middleton v. State of Indiana
Annotate this Case
Download PDF
ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE Jeffrey A. Baldwin Tyler D. Helmond Voyles, Zahn, & Paul Indianapolis, IN Curtis T. Hill, Jr. Attorney General of Indiana Jesse R. Drum Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, Indiana ______________________________________________________________________________ In the Indiana Supreme Court _________________________________ No. 32S01-1704-PC-226 FILED Apr 21 2017, 3:24 pm CLERK Indiana Supreme Court Court of Appeals and Tax Court COREY MIDDLETON, Appellant (Petitioner below), v. STATE OF INDIANA, Appellee (Respondent below). _________________________________ Appeal from the Hendricks Superior Court, No. 32D02-1502-PC-3 The Honorable Rhett Stuard, Judge _________________________________ On Petition to Transfer from the Indiana Court of Appeals, No. 32A01-1603-PC-592 _________________________________ April 21, 2017 Per Curiam. Corey Middleton filed a petition for post-conviction relief, alleging several claims of ineffective assistance of trial counsel. The post-conviction court denied Middleton’s petition, and the Court of Appeals affirmed. Middleton v. State, 64 N.E.3d 895 (Ind. Ct. App. 2016), reh’g denied. In so doing, the court determined Middleton’s counsel performed deficiently as to one of Middleton’s claims. Id. at 903. But the court ultimately rejected that claim, finding Middleton had “not established that but for counsel’s error, the result of the proceeding would have been different.” Id. at 902. Middleton seeks transfer, contending, among other things, that the Court of Appeals applied the incorrect standard in making this assessment. We agree with our colleagues’ ultimate resolution of Middleton’s claims. We note, however, that to demonstrate prejudice from counsel’s deficient performance, a petitioner need only show “a reasonable probability that, but for counsel’s unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different.” Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 694 (1984) (emphasis added). “A reasonable probability is a probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome.” Id. See, e.g., Campbell v. State, 19 N.E.3d 271, 274 (Ind. 2014); Wilkes v. State, 984 N.E.2d 1236, 1241 (Ind. 2013) (quoting Strickland). Accordingly, we grant transfer and summarily affirm the Court of Appeals opinion pursuant to Indiana Appellate Rule 58(A), with the exception of its misstatement of Strickland’s prejudice standard. All Justices concur.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
