⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

Andre Taylor challenges Michigan sexual-assault convictions. A woman he met at a bar said he assaulted her at her apartment after giving her a ride home; Taylor maintained that the sex was consensual. On his lawyer's advice, he did not testify. The trial judge ruled that without his testimony there would be no consent instruction and his lawyer could not explicitly argue that defense. His lawyer instead challenged the prosecution's evidence of force or coercion, while keeping potentially damaging statements to police away from the jury. After a hearing into the lawyer's performance, the trial judge ordered a new trial. Michigan calls that kind of evidentiary proceeding a Ginther hearing. The state appeals court reversed, and a federal judge denied habeas relief. Habeas corpus challenges the lawfulness of custody, not the charges in a new trial. Under Strickland, ineffective assistance requires both objectively deficient representation and prejudice: a reasonable probability of a different outcome without the error. AEDPA, the federal habeas law, adds deference to the state court's ruling. Disagreement with that court is not enough to establish an unreasonable application of Supreme Court law. An element is something the prosecution must prove. An affirmative defense offers an additional legal reason to avoid conviction. Here, the judges will examine whether challenging force or coercion effectively presented the consent theory. Sanford Schulman for Taylor will argue that mistaken advice prevented an informed decision to testify. Scott Shimkus for the warden will defend the strategy of challenging force or coercion without exposing Taylor to cross-examination.

Andre Taylor v. Donald Curley (No. 26-1028) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, argued October 20, 2026.