Michael Vincent Ricco v. State of Tennessee

Michael Vincent Ricco (“the Petitioner”) was convicted by a jury of rape of a child and aggravated sexual battery. This conviction was affirmed on direct appeal. The Supreme Court denied the Petitioner’s application for permission to appeal. See State v. Michael Vincent Ricco, No. W2008-00756-CCA-R3-CD, 2009 WL 2191872 (Tenn. Crim. App. July 23, 2009), perm. app. denied, (Tenn. Dec. 14, 2009). The Petitioner filed for post-conviction relief, claiming that he was denied effective assistance of counsel at trial. After an evidentiary hearing, the post-conviction court denied relief, and the Petitioner has appealed. After a thorough review of the record and the applicable law, we affirm the decision of the post-conviction court.