6/4/13 - Mishandled paperwork has delayed a court date for the mother of a murdered Argentine Township boy who is claiming the assistance she got from her attorney during her trial in Genesee County courts was ineffective. A court date had been set Monday for 28-year-old Corrine Baker, who is serving a 13 to 30 year prison sentence for her 2010 guilty plea to second degree murder in the death of her son, 4-year-old Dominick Calhoun. But because of a paperwork error, it has been rescheduled for June 25th. Baker is seeking to withdraw her plea by claiming the advice given to her by her attorney was ineffective. As part of her deal with prosecutors, Baker was required to testify against her ex-boyfriend, 27-year-old Brandon Hayes, who is serving a mandatory term of life in prison without parole after being convicted by a jury of first-degree murder and torture in the boy's death. But Baker claims her attorney said the only way she would be able to testify against Hayes, something she insists she very much wanted to do, was by accepting the plea. Prosecutors have said that they had enough evidence to convict Hayes without Bakerâs testimony and their decision to call her as a witness was predicated on the plea agreementâs requirement that she do so, thus her attorneyâs advice was not incorrect. The decision whether or not to allow Baker to withdraw her plea will fall to Genesee County Circuit Court Judge Richard Yuille. (JK)
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