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Eleventh Circuit Announces Sixth Amendment Right to Proceed Pro Se at Sentencing if Defendant ‘Clearly and Unequivocally’ Expresses Desire to Do So After Faretta Inquiry
Article • August 1, 2025 • from CLN August, 2025
Filed under: Mootness, Counsel - Withdrawal/Substitution of, Self-representation
Eleventh Circuit Announces Sixth Amendment Right to Proceed Pro Se at Sentencing if Defendant ‘Clearly and Unequivocally’ Expresses Desire to Do So After Faretta Inquiry by Jeffrey Cohen The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held that the defendant had clearly and unequivocally asserted his Sixth Amendment …
Rhode Island Supreme Court Announces Indigent First-Time Applicant for Postconviction Relief Entitled to Counsel Even 
When Not Requested; Superior Court Must Determine 
Whether Applicant Intended to ...
Article • May 15, 2025 • from CLN June, 2025
Filed under: Appointment of Counsel, Counsel - Right to, Counsel - Constructive denial of
Rhode Island Supreme Court Announces Indigent First-Time Applicant for Postconviction Relief Entitled to Counsel Even When Not Requested; Superior Court Must Determine Whether Applicant Intended to Waive Right to Counsel and Whether Done Knowingly, Vol by Phillip Wasserman, J.D. The Supreme Court of Rhode Island quashed the orders of the …
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Clarifies Trial Court Must Conduct Inquiry Whether Defendant Knowingly and Voluntarily Waived Right to Counsel at ‘Any Stage of a Case,’ Including Arraignment or ...
Article • February 1, 2025 • from CLN February, 2025
Filed under: Counsel - Right to, Knowingly and Voluntarily Made
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Clarifies Trial Court Must Conduct Inquiry Whether Defendant Knowingly and Voluntarily Waived Right to Counsel at ‘Any Stage of a Case,’ Including Arraignment or Plea Hearing by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts held that a defendant did not knowingly and …
Colorado Supreme Court Announces When Deciding Defendant’s Pro Se Motion Requesting Counsel on Postconviction Review, Trial Court Must Either Deny Entire Motion or Permit All Claims If Any Have Argua...
Article • December 15, 2024 • from CLN January, 2025
Filed under: Appointment of Counsel, After Request for Counsel, Pro Se Issues
Colorado Supreme Court Announces When Deciding Defendant’s Pro Se Motion Requesting Counsel on Postconviction Review, Trial Court Must Either Deny Entire Motion or Permit All Claims If Any Have Arguable Merit by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford The Supreme Court of Colorado issued an opinion defining the scope of a …
Michigan Supreme Court: Fundamentally Unfair to Deny Indigent Defendant Funds to Retain False Confession Expert Where Genuineness of Confession Key Issue at Trial
Article • December 1, 2024 • from CLN December, 2024
Filed under: Expert Witnesses/Testimony, False Confessions, Indigent Defendants - Fees and Expenses
Michigan Supreme Court: Fundamentally Unfair to Deny Indigent Defendant Funds to Retain False Confession Expert Where Genuineness of Confession Key Issue at Trial by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford The Supreme Court of Michigan held that it is fundamentally unfair to deny an indigent defendant’s request for funds to retain …
Indigent Defense: Appointed Counsel Does Not Mean Free Counsel
Article • December 1, 2024 • from CLN December, 2024
Filed under: Appointment of Counsel, Indigent Defense, Indigent Defendants - Fees and Expenses
Indigent Defense: Appointed Counsel Does Not Mean Free Counsel by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The law firmly provides that every criminal defendant has the constitutional right to the effective assistance of counsel. Appearance of counsel is largely dependent upon one’s financial state. A person of financial means is …
Ninth Circuit Denies Habeas Relief to Prisoner Who Invoked Fifth Amendment Right to Counsel During Custodial Interrogation but Made Incriminating Statements to Undercover Informant Posing as Fellow Pr...
Article • November 1, 2024 • from CLN November, 2024
Filed under: Habeas Corpus, Custodial Interrogations/Statements, Counsel - Right to
Ninth Circuit Denies Habeas Relief to Prisoner Who Invoked Fifth Amendment Right to Counsel During Custodial Interrogation but Made Incriminating Statements to Undercover Informant Posing as Fellow Prisoner Because Right to Counsel Not Violated by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed …
First Circuit: Defendant’s Statement ‘I guess I’ll wait until I have a lawyer’ Is Unequivocal Invocation of Right to Counsel
Article • May 15, 2024 • from CLN May, 2024
Filed under: Confessions - Admissibility, Invocation of Rights
First Circuit: Defendant’s Statement ‘I guess I’ll wait until I have a lawyer’ Is Unequivocal Invocation of Right to Counsel by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit held that a defendant’s statement in response to Miranda warnings that “I guess my best …
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Announces Constructive Denial of Right to Counsel Where Defense Counsel Sleeps for Significant Portion or During Important Aspect of Trial
Article • April 15, 2024 • from CLN April, 2024
Filed under: Counsel - Constructive denial of, Sleeping Lawyer
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Announces Constructive Denial of Right to Counsel Where Defense Counsel Sleeps for Significant Portion or During Important Aspect of Trial by David Reutter by David M. Reutter In a case of first impression, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held that “a defendant constructively is deprived of …
Seventh Circuit Orders District Court to Hold Evidentiary Hearing Where Record Insufficient to Permit Review of State Prisoner’s Section 2254 Habeas Petition Alleging Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
Article • March 15, 2024 • from CLN March, 2024
Filed under: Habeas Corpus, AEDPA, Sentence and Judgement, Failure to Consult/Investigate/Raise
Seventh Circuit Orders District Court to Hold Evidentiary Hearing Where Record Insufficient to Permit Review of State Prisoner’s Section 2254 Habeas Petition Alleging Ineffective Assistance of Counsel by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit made the rare decision to order an evidentiary …
The Diminishment of Miranda Is Leading to False Confessions and Conviction of Innocents
Article • February 15, 2024 • from CLN February, 2024
Filed under: Commentary/Reviews, Wrongful Conviction, Confessions - Admissibility, Impeachment Evidence/Purposes, Miranda, Interrogation, In Custody, Confessions and Statements of Defendant, Voluntary Nature/Voluntariness
The Diminishment of Miranda Is Leading to False Confessions and Conviction of Innocents by David Reutter by David M. Reutter False confessions are a problem as old as policing. The Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS”) promulgated rules in 1966 with its holding in Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. …
U.S. Supreme Court Apparently Prioritizes Ideology Over Guilt or Innocence
Article • January 15, 2024 • from CLN January, 2024
Filed under: AEDPA, Procedural Default/Error, Proving Cause, Capital Cases, Procedural Error, Effective Assistance of Counsel, Counsel - Right to, Counsel - Effective Assistance of, Strickland Standard, Per se ineffectiveness, Right to Counsel
U.S. Supreme Court Apparently Prioritizes Ideology Over Guilt or Innocence by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The current justices on the Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS”) apparently prioritize ideology over guilt or innocence. Almost 40 years ago, SCOTUS held that the U.S. Constitution’s Sixth Amendment guarantee of a …
Oregon Supreme Court Clarifies Test to Determine When Person Becomes Agent of the State and Rules Jailhouse Snitch Was Agent, Requiring Suppression of Defendant’s Statements
Article • January 15, 2024 • from CLN January, 2024
Filed under: Informants, Post-Arrest Statements, Informants and Paid Witnesses, Confessions - Admissibility, Police Interrogations, Custodial Interrogations, Confessions and Statements of Defendant
Oregon Supreme Court Clarifies Test to Determine When Person Becomes Agent of the State and Rules Jailhouse Snitch Was Agent, Requiring Suppression of Defendant’s Statements by Anthony Accurso by Anthony W. Accurso The Supreme Court of Oregon upheld a Court of Appeals decision ordering a new trial for a defendant …
After Mississippi Supreme Court Announcement, Courts Unprepared to Ensure Poor Defendants Have a Lawyer Throughout the Criminal Process
Article • December 15, 2023 • from CLN December, 2023
Filed under: Appointment of Counsel, Counsel - Right to
After Mississippi Supreme Court Announcement, Courts Unprepared to Ensure Poor Defendants Have a Lawyer Throughout the Criminal Process by Jo Ellen Nott by Jo Ellen Nott The Mississippi Supreme Court mandated on April 13, 2023, that poor criminal defendants must have an attorney throughout the entire criminal process. In re …
Massachusetts Supreme Court: Defense Counsel’s Overt Bias Against Own Client Constitutes Actual Conflict of Interest Requiring New Trial Without Need to Prove Prejudice
Article • December 15, 2023 • from CLN December, 2023
Filed under: Counsel - Constructive denial of, Strickland Standard, Conflict of Interest, Disqualification of Counsel
Massachusetts Supreme Court: Defense Counsel’s Overt Bias Against Own Client Constitutes Actual Conflict of Interest Requiring New Trial Without Need to Prove Prejudice by Anthony Accurso by Anthony W. Accurso The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts ruled defendant’s (a Black man of the Muslim faith) showing that trial counsel harbored …
Seventh Circuit: Whether Right to Counsel ‘Attaches’ Is Not Dependent on Defendant’s Appearance at Probable Cause Hearing
Article • September 1, 2023 • from CLN September, 2023
Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Court Appearances, Probable/Proximate Cause, After Request for Counsel
Seventh Circuit: Whether Right to Counsel ‘Attaches’ Is Not Dependent on Defendant’s Appearance at Probable Cause Hearing by Anthony Accurso by Anthony W Accurso The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled that Wisconsin courts denied a defendant his Sixth Amendment right to counsel by failing to appoint …
Eighth Circuit: Defendant Facing Revocation of Supervised Release Did Not Knowingly and Voluntarily Waive Right to Counsel Where Appointed Counsel Admittedly Knew Nothing About Case and Advised Choosi...
Article • April 15, 2023 • from CLN May, 2023
Filed under: Appointment of Counsel, Mental Health, Knowingly and Intelligently, Counsel - Right to
Eighth Circuit: Defendant Facing Revocation of Supervised Release Did Not Knowingly and Voluntarily Waive Right to Counsel Where Appointed Counsel Admittedly Knew Nothing About Case and Advised Choosing Between ‘Big House or the Nut House’ by Mark Wilson by Mark Wilson The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit …
New Jersey Supreme Court: Allowing Jury to Hear Defendant’s Invocation of Right to Counsel in Recorded Statement Together With Prosecutor Inferring Guilt Based on Request for Counsel Entitles Defendan...
Article • March 15, 2023 • from CLN April, 2023
Filed under: Jury Instructions, New Trial Motions, Counsel - Right to, Perjury/Perjured Testimony
New Jersey Supreme Court: Allowing Jury to Hear Defendant’s Invocation of Right to Counsel in Recorded Statement Together With Prosecutor Inferring Guilt Based on Request for Counsel Entitles Defendant to New Trial by Jacob Barrett by Jacob Barrett The Supreme Court of New Jersey reversed the convictions and sentence of …
New Jersey Supreme Court: Edwards Violation When Police Fail to Cease Interrogation After Suspect Makes Ambiguous Invocation of Right to Counsel and ‘Initiates’ Request for Further Communication with ...
Article • February 15, 2023 • from CLN March, 2023
Filed under: After Request for Counsel
New Jersey Supreme Court: Edwards Violation When Police Fail to Cease Interrogation After Suspect Makes Ambiguous Invocation of Right to Counsel and ‘Initiates’ Request for Further Communication with Police by Jacob Barrett by Jacob Barrett The Supreme Court of New Jersey ruled that under the Edwards rule the defendant did …
Sixth Circuit Announces Criminal Forfeiture Under Fed. R. Crim. P. 32.2(b) Is Mandatory Claims-Processing Rule, Reverses $62.5 Million Money Judgments
Article • December 15, 2022 • from CLN January, 2023
Filed under: Forfeiture, Sentence and Judgement
Sixth Circuit Announces Criminal Forfeiture Under Fed. R. Crim. P. 32.2(b) Is Mandatory Claims-Processing Rule, Reverses $62.5 Million Money Judgments by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed two money judgments totaling $62.5 million after holding Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 32.2(b) …
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