Albert Huston Freels V. Hills

This appeal from the denial of a writ of habeas corpus requires us to determine, for the first time in this circuit at least, whether failure by defendant's appellate counsel strictly to conform to the requirements for filing an appellate brief set forth in Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 18 L. Ed. 2d 493, 87 S. Ct. 1396 (1967), must be deemed presumptively prejudicial or whether such conduct is to be measured by the standards of Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 80 L. Ed. 2d 674, 104 S. Ct. 2052 (1984), and United States v. Cronic, 466 U.S. 648, 80 L. Ed. 2d 657, 104 S. Ct. 2039 (1984).