Mark Cardilli Jr. v. State of Maine

Summary

The court vacated the post-conviction court’s grant of relief because, although trial counsel performed deficiently by inconsistently presenting the self-defense theory, Cardilli failed to establish prejudice. The trial court’s factual findings conclusively established that Cardilli’s belief that deadly force was necessary was objectively unreasonable under either asserted self-defense justification, so counsel’s deficient performance could not have affected the result. The court remanded for entry of judgment denying the petition.