Ex Parte Max Moussazadeh, Applicant

Summary

The Court reconsidered its prior denial of habeas relief and held that trial counsel's erroneous advice about parole eligibility constituted deficient performance under Strickland, rendering the guilty plea involuntary; it therefore vacated the conviction and remanded for a new trial. The Court also overruled its earlier decisions in Ex parte Evans and Moussazadeh II that required parole eligibility to be an essential element of the plea agreement. Justice Keller, concurring, disputed the majority's creation of a new constitutional rule and its retroactivity analysis.