Gayton

Occasionally, we see a case that “fell through a crack.” This case fell through a chasm. And no one, not the trial attorney, not the prosecutor, not the court—and certainly not the probation officer—can escape some degree of responsibility for the existence of that chasm. When the issue is whether a defendant goes to prison for seven years or to a drug rehabilitation program, someone should be paying attention. In this case, it appears no one but the defendant really was.

Gregory Robert Gayton appeals from an order revoking his probation and requiring him to serve a seven-year term in prison. He argues the evidence was insufficient to support the determination he violated the terms of his probation. Gayton also petitions for a writ of habeas corpus, now consolidated with the appeal, alleging the attorney who represented him at the probation revocation hearing was ineffective because he failed to review Gayton’s probation file and present it as evidence to impeach the probation officer’s testimony. That file in fact completely contradicted the probation officer’s recollection that Gayton had never even reported, and supported Gayton’s own version of his efforts to comply…