State v. Thomas (La. 2025): Re-articulating the “Reasonable-Likelihood” Prejudice Standard and Expanding Defense Counsel’s Duty to Exploit Available Exculpatory Evidence

Introduction

On 27 June 2025 the Supreme Court of Louisiana, in State of Louisiana v. Brhian Thomas, reversed a second-degree murder conviction and life sentence, granting a new trial on the ground of ineffective assistance of counsel (“IAC”). The ruling refines Louisiana’s application of the Strickland v. Washington prejudice test and clarifies counsel’s obligations when a justification/self-defense claim is the only viable trial strategy.

Parties: • Petitioner: Brhian Thomas – homeowner who shot Deeric Raymond during a 2017 nocturnal confrontation. • Respondent: State of Louisiana. • Key Witnesses: Javonnie Raymond (victim’s brother); Tarisha Thomas (mutual partner). • Lower Courts: 17th JDC (Lafourche Parish) denied post-conviction relief; First Circuit denied supervisory writs without opinion.

Summary of the Judgment

• The Court, per curiam, held that trial counsel’s representation was objectively unreasonable and prejudicial under Strickland because counsel:
• Failed to employ discovery materials to impeach the State’s central witness.
• Failed to consult or call a forensic expert despite contradictory trajectory evidence.
• Advised the defendant not to testify without a competent, strategic basis.
• The conviction and mandatory life sentence were vacated; the case was remanded for a new trial.
• Chief Justice Weimer concurred, emphasising confrontation-clause failures; Justices Crain and McCallum dissented, focusing on incontrovertible forensic evidence of a back shot.

Analysis

1. Precedents Cited

• Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984) – two-prong IAC test (deficient performance + prejudice).
• Missouri v. Frye, 566 U.S. 134 (2012) – reiteration that the Sixth Amendment guarantees effective assistance.
• Harrington v. Richter, 562 U.S. 86 (2011) – “reasonable likelihood” not “more likely than not.”
• Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963) & United States v. Agurs, 427 U.S. 97 (1976) – materiality standard parallel to Strickland prejudice.
• Davis v. Alaska, 415 U.S. 308 (1974) – right to confront & impeach state witnesses.
• Louisiana authorities: State v. Washington, 491 So.2d 1337 (La. 1986); State v. Hunt, 25 So.3d 746 (La. 2009); State v. Hampton, 818 So.2d 720 (La. 2002).

The Court synthesises these cases to underscore that Louisiana courts must not impose a “would have been different” burden; a probability “sufficient to undermine confidence” suffices.

2. Legal Reasoning

Performance Prong

• Unexploited Impeachment: Counsel possessed hospital and law-enforcement statements in which Javonnie admitted drug use, self-inflicted shoulder injury, and failed to mention a child-custody motive. The Court deemed non-use professionally unreasonable.
• Forensic Oversight: Discovery contained a paramedic report hinting the entry wound was axillary, potentially contradicting “shot-in-the-back” theory. Failure to seek expert clarification was an “unprofessional omission.”
• Defendant’s Silence: With justification the sole defense and two remote non-violent priors, blanket advice against testifying foreclosed the only direct narration of self-defense. The opinion stresses that where a defendant alone can articulate the exculpatory narrative, counsel must weigh the risks more carefully.

Prejudice Prong

• The Court rejects the State’s “outcome-determinative” gloss, reaffirming the “reasonable likelihood of a different result” standard.
• Collectively, the omitted impeachment, expert, and testimony would have given the jury a coherent counter-story, rendering the verdict unreliable.

3. Impact

• Re-calibrated Prejudice Standard: Louisiana trial and post-conviction courts may no longer require near-certain proof of a different verdict. The “reasonable-likelihood” language will govern future IAC analyses.
• Broader Defense Obligations: Counsel must now proactively mine discovery for impeachment, consider consulting experts when forensic nuances are pivotal, and revisit blanket prohibitions on defendant testimony, especially in self-defense homicides.
• Self-Defense Litigation: The opinion signals that when the prosecution bears the burden of disproving justification, defense counsel’s failure to generate reasonable doubt through available evidence will attract searching scrutiny.
• Post-conviction Landscape: Applicants can rely on Thomas to argue that cumulative attorney errors, even if individually “conceivable,” may jointly meet the prejudice threshold.

Complex Concepts Simplified

• Ineffective Assistance of Counsel (IAC): A constitutional claim arguing that the lawyer’s mistakes were so serious they undermined the fairness of the trial.
• Strickland Two-Prong Test:
  1. Deficient Performance – lawyer acted outside the range of professional norms.
  2. Prejudice – a reasonable probability the result would have been different if the errors had not occurred; not “more likely than not,” merely sufficient to shake confidence.
• Justification / Self-Defense (La. R.S. 14:20): Homicide is lawful when undertaken to prevent a violent felony or when the shooter reasonably believes it necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm. Once raised, the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the killing was unjustified.
• Impeachment Evidence: Prior statements or facts used to challenge a witness’s credibility (e.g., inconsistent stories, drug use affecting perception).

Conclusion

State v. Thomas is more than a fact-specific reversal; it is a doctrinal restatement with practical repercussions. The Court:

• Clarified that Louisiana courts must adhere to the traditional, less stringent reasonable-likelihood prejudice inquiry.
• Elevated the standard of practice for defense attorneys in self-defense homicide cases, emphasizing thorough exploitation of discovery, expert consultation, and informed client testimony decisions.
• Signalled that cumulative attorney errors—especially those obstructing the jury’s reception of competing narratives—will justify new trials.

Going forward, Thomas will likely be cited whenever Louisiana defendants argue that counsel’s strategic omissions, viewed in totality, undermined confidence in the verdict. The judgment thus reinforces the adversarial system’s core promise: convictions must rest on reliable proceedings, not on avoidable breakdowns in defense advocacy.