Lawyer Ineffective for Allowing Prosecutor to Call Client Liar

A woman accused of setting her husband on fire and running him over with her car was denied a fair trial when her lawyer didn’t object to the prosecutor repeatedly referring to her as a liar during closing arguments, the Sixth Circuit said.

Because the statements weren’t supported by the record, Linda Stermer was denied a fair trial, the May 15 opinion by Judge Eric L. Clay said, granting her habeas corpus relief.

The day after Stermer’s husband, Todd, discovered she was having an affair and told her he wanted a divorce, she went to the gas station, where the ...