Page 360
El
Paso County District Court No. 10CR1604, Honorable Robin L.
Chittum, Judge
Philip
J. Weiser, Attorney General, Gabriel P. Olivares, Assistant
Attorney General, Denver, Colorado, for Plaintiff-Appellee
Ricardo Chalchi-Sevilla, Pro Se
OPINION
TOW,
JUDGE
[¶1]
Defendant, Ricardo Chalchi-Sevilla, appeals the
postconviction courts order denying his Crim. P. 35(c)
motion without appointing postconviction counsel or holding
an evidentiary hearing. We reverse and remand for further
proceedings.
I.
Background
[¶2]
Chalchi-Sevilla shot and killed a store owner during an
attempted robbery. At trial, the jury found him guilty of,
among other charges, first degree felony murder and attempted
aggravated robbery. The trial court sentenced him to life in
the custody of the Department of Corrections (DOC) without
the possibility of parole.
Page 361
[¶3]
On direct appeal, a division of this court affirmed the
judgment of conviction. See People v.
Chalchi-Sevilla, (Colo.App. No. 12CA0202, 2015 WL
693568, Feb. 19, 2015) (not published pursuant to C.A.R.
35(f)).
[¶4]
Chalchi-Sevilla later filed the pro se Crim. P. 35(c) motion
at issue, raising two claims of ineffective assistance of his
trial counsel. His first claim related to his counsels
advice regarding whether he should accept a plea offer from
the prosecution. His second claim related to his counsels
advice regarding whether he should testify at trial. He
requested that postconviction counsel be appointed to
represent him.
[¶5]
The postconviction court issued a written order denying the
Crim. P. 35(c) motion without appointing counsel or holding
an evidentiary hearing.
II.
Applicable Law and Standard of Review
[¶6]
A defendants Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance
of counsel extends to the plea bargaining process. Lafler
v. Cooper,566 U.S. 156, 162, 132 S.Ct. 1376, 182
L.Ed.2d 398 (2012). To prevail on an ineffective assistance
claim, the defendant must show that counsels performance was
constitutionally deficient, and that the deficient
performance prejudiced the defense. Strickland v.
Washington,466 U.S. 668, 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80
L.Ed.2d 674 (1984). To show prejudice under
...