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After numerous appeals and remands, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit granted Van Hook relief, holding that Mr. Van Hook\u0027s lawyers performed deficiently in investigating and presenting mitigating evidence at his sentencing.\u003C\/p\u003E\n","question":"\u003Cp\u003EDid the Sixth Circuit err in granting habeas relief on the petitioner\u0027s ineffective assistance of counsel claim?\u003C\/p\u003E\n","conclusion":"\u003Cp\u003EYes. In a per curiam opinion, the Supreme Court held that the Sixth Circuit erred in granting Mr. Van Hook habeas corpus relief for ineffective assistance of counsel. The Court reasoned that the Sixth Circuit erred when it adopted the American Bar Association\u0027s 2003 \u0022Guidelines\u0022 to judge Mr. Van Hook\u0027s counsel, especially considering it did not even consider what the appropriate professional standard would have been at the time of trial. 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