Farmer

BACKGROUND

An Oregon state court jury convicted Farmer of murder and the trial court sentenced him to twenty-five years to life imprisonment. Farmer appealed his sentence only, and the Oregon Supreme Court ultimately affirmed the trial court’s judgment. State v. Farmer, 856 P.2d 623 (Or. 1993). Farmer thereafter sought state post-conviction relief, alleging in his post-conviction petition to the trial court that he had been denied adequate assistance of both trial and appellate counsel, in violation of the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments. He also claimed that both his conviction and sentence violated his fed- eral guarantees of due process and equal protection, and that he had been searched in violation of the Fourth Amendment.

On appeal from the trial court’s denial of Farmer’s post- conviction petition, his appellate attorney in October 2001 attempted to submit a “no-merits” brief according to the pro- cedure outlined in State v. Balfour, 814 P.2d 1069 (Or. 1991). Balfour calls for a two-part brief when an attorney represent- ing an indigent criminal defendant cannot identify a non- frivolous claim to raise on appeal. Balfour, 814 P.2d at 1079- 80. Section A, prepared and…