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similar cases. The court analyzed all three cases similarly and published
only one opinion. See Haynes v. Burke, 115 F.Supp.2d 813 (E.D.Mich
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prosecutors an appeal of right from "[a] final judgment or final order of
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defendants who moved to withdraw their guilty pleas under circumstances
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III. CONCLUSION
We conclude that Lyons received constitutionally
ineffective assistance of counsel. We further conclude that a
decision to the contrary on the facts of this case is an
unreasonable application of clearly established federal law.
We therefore AFFIRM the federal district court’s conditional
grant of habeas corpus.
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need not decide this issue here because other evidence
supports Lyons' claim of prejudice.
At the March 1990 plea hearing, Burgess told the court that
Lyons wished to offer a plea of guilty "on the basis of"
Burgess's belief that he could convince Chief Judge Roberson
to sentence Lyons as a juvenile. Later, at the evidentiary
hearing on Lyons’ motion to withdraw his guilty plea,
Burgess acknowledged the possibility that, had he considered
the possibility that the prosecutor would appeal a juvenile
sentence, he might not have recommended that Lyons plead
guilty. Both Lyons and his counsel testified that Lyons relied
heavily on the attorney’s advice; thus, evidence that Burgess
might have changed his recommendation indicates that
Lyons would have been more likely to demand a trial rather
than plead guilty.
Lyons testified at the plea withdrawal hearing that, when
first presented with Burgess's advice that he plead guilty,
Lyons initially "wanted to fight" and put the government to its
burden of proof. Burgess corroborated Lyons’ belief that he
had defenses to the first degree murder charge. In fact,
Burgess and Lyons had been concentrating almost exclusively
on trial preparation up until the date of the trial, when the case
was transferred to Chief Judge Roberson. Given this
background, had Burgess advised Lyons of all the risks he
was facing, Lyons might have pled not guilty.
To meet the prejudice requirement under Strickland and
Hill, Lyons need only show a reasonable probability that he
would have pled not guilty had Burgess’s performance been
objectively reasonable. We conclude that Lyons' and
Burgess’s testimony, along with reasonable inferences from
the facts and circumstances of this case, are sufficient to
demonstrate not only a reasonable probability that Lyons
would have decided to plead not guilty but also that a
contrary conclusion is objectively unreasonable.

-- 14 of 16 --

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The warden maintains that if a defendant is aware of the
maximum possible sentence he cannot be prejudiced by his
counsel's failure to inform him of the prosecutor's right to
appeal. We decline to adopt the warden’s argument. An
awareness of the sentencing range available to the trial judge
is not the same as an informed understanding that a
sentencing judge's decision is subject to reversal. The rule
suggested by the warden would preclude courts from finding
prejudice in any situation where the defendant knew the range
of penalties to which he was subject.
Furthermore, the circumstances of this case illustrate the
failings of the warden's argument. Lyons pled guilty in hopes
of avoiding life imprisonment without parole. A reduced
likelihood of being sentenced as an adult was the sole benefit
of Lyons' guilty plea before Chief Judge Roberson. In reality,
the risk of being sentenced as an adult came in two parts:
(1) being sentenced as an adult by Chief Judge Roberson; and
(2) having received a juvenile sentence from Chief Judge
Roberson, being subject to a successful appeal by the
prosecutor. Lyons, however, was informed by his attorney,
Burgess, of only the first risk. Burgess's failure to assess all
the risks and inform his client left Lyons to make the most
important decision of his life without essential information.
Presented with all the risks, Lyons might well have decided
to plead not guilty and to take his chances at trial.
Indeed, Lyons puts forth evidence that he would have pled
not guilty. At the evidentiary hearing on his plea withdrawal
motion, Lyons testified that he would not have pled guilty had
he known of the prosecutor’s right to appeal. This testimony,
though self-serving, may be enough by itself to satisfy the
prejudice prong under the circumstances here. See Magana
v. Hofbauer, 263 F.3d 542, 547 n.1 (6th Cir. 2001) (noting
that, unlike the Seventh and Second Circuits, this Circuit has
not explicitly adopted a requirement that in order to establish
prejudice a defendant must come forward with objective
evidence in addition to his post-conviction claim that he
would have changed his mind about pleading guilty). We
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understood that if he pled guilty Chief Judge Roberson could
opt to impose either a severe adult sentence of life
imprisonment or a lenient juvenile sentence.
However, Burgess acted incompetently in failing to
consider the likelihood that the prosecutor would exercise his
right to appeal the district court's imposition of a juvenile
sentence. Any juvenile sentence imposed on Lyons would be
less than five years in a juvenile facility. Given such a lenient
sentence for first degree murder, it was unreasonable for
Burgess not to have considered that the prosecutor could
appeal and the juvenile sentence could be reversed. Yet
Burgess did not factor this scenario into his advice to Lyons
that pleading guilty was in Lyons’ best interest.
Thus, Lyons did not know that the prosecutor could appeal
and that the juvenile sentence could be reversed, and, if so,
Lyons would serve a life sentence without possibility of
parole. Lyons was left unaware that, even if Burgess’s
assessment on his chances of receiving a juvenile sentence
from Chief Judge Roberson were correct, this was not a one-
act play in Chief Judge Roberson's courtroom.
Burgess should have considered these possibilities,
informed Lyons about them, and incorporated them into his
risk assessment when he advised Lyons about pleading guilty.

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He failed to do so. Rather, he advised Lyons to plead guilty
based solely upon his assessment of the relative risks in going
to trial versus pleading guilty before Chief Judge Roberson.
As a result, Burgess misinformed Lyons regarding the
likelihood he would receive an adult sentence. Lyons was not
fully apprised of the risks he faced.
The duty of defense counsel to consult is paramount when
a client has to decide whether or not to waive a constitutional
right, such as the right to trial. Because the decision whether
or not to plead guilty ultimately rests with the client, see
Jones v. Barnes, 463 U.S. 745, 751 (1983) ("the accused has
the ultimate authority to make certain fundamental decisions
regarding the case, as to whether to plead guilty, waive a jury,
testify in his or her own behalf, or take an appeal");
Wainwright v. Sykes, 433 U.S. 72, 93 n.1 (1977) (Burger,
C.J., concurring) ("[o]nly such basic decisions as whether to
plead guilty, waive a jury, or testify in one's own behalf are
ultimately for the accused to make"), counsel must ensure that
the client's decision is as informed as possible. Failing even
to consider, let alone notify the client of, a factor that could
negate the entire benefit of the guilty plea is not within the
range of professional norms.
Lyons’ age and his heavy reliance on Burgess, a reliance of
which Burgess was aware, enhanced Burgess’s duty to make
certain that Lyons understood all the risks associated with his
guilty plea. Lyons was sixteen years old and had a seventh
grade education. His father knew nothing about the
applicable law. Burgess acknowledges that he was "placed in
the role where [he] was both [Lyons'] lawyer and like a parent
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advising him." This case epitomizes the criminal defendant's
need for what the Supreme Court has called the "guiding hand
of counsel at every step in the proceeding against him."
Powell v. Alabama, 287 U.S. 45, 69 (1932).
We conclude that Lyons’ trial counsel was incompetent. It
is an objectively unreasonable application of Hill and
Strickland for the Michigan Court of Appeals to hold
otherwise.
2. Prejudice
To determine whether Lyons was prejudiced by his
counsel’s deficient performance, we ask whether there is a
reasonable probability that, had he been advised of the
prosecutor’s right of appeal, he would not have pled guilty.
A "reasonable probability" is a probability sufficient to
undermine confidence in the outcome; it is less than a
preponderance of the evidence. Strickland86DW
The warden argues that Lyons could not have been
prejudiced by any deficiency on the part of his trial counsel
because Lyons acknowledged at the plea hearing in March
1990 that he could receive an adult sentence of life
imprisonment without parole.$FFRUGLQJWRWKHZDUGHQ
"the fact that [Lyons] might not have been told that the
prosecution could appeal [the juvenile] sentence he was never
assured of receiving in the first place should be of no
consequence."

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