Billy Wayne Stewart, Appellant v. State of Arkansas, Appellee

Summary

The court affirmed the denial of Stewart’s Rule 37.1 petition, concluding that he failed to establish either deficient performance or prejudice under the governing ineffective-assistance standard. The court rejected claims concerning an uncalled witness, rape-shield evidence, investigation and expert testimony, an alleged plea offer, and alleged coaching of the victim because the claims were unsupported, strategic decisions were reasonable, or no different outcome was shown. The court also held that sufficiency-of-the-evidence and ordinary trial-error claims are not cognizable in a postconviction proceeding.