Demond Liles v. V. Michael Fisher

Summary

The Sixth Circuit affirmed the denial of Demond Liles's federal habeas petition. Liles argued that the state breached his plea agreement by advocating for a lengthy sentence despite agreeing to make no sentencing recommendation, but he procedurally defaulted that claim by failing to object at sentencing. He sought to excuse the default by attributing the failure to object to ineffective assistance of counsel; the court assumed deficiency but held he could not show Strickland prejudice because there is no reasonable probability that the sentence would have been different had his attorney objected. Because Liles established neither cause nor prejudice, the default stood, and the court did not reach whether the breach-of-plea-agreement claim states a constitutional violation.