New Hampshire Supreme Court Announces Adoption of Lafler When Reviewing IAC Claims in Plea Bargain Cases by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of New Hampshire announced that it has adopted the approach of Lafler v. Cooper, 566 U.S. 156 (2016), in reviewing claims of ineffective assistance of …

California Court of Appeal: ‘Violent Victim Rule’ Doesn’t Require Defendant to Have Had Knowledge of Victim’s Propensity for Violence by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney Division Eight of the California Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District held that a trial court abused its discretion when it excluded evidence …

SCOTUS: Counsel’s Failure to Uncover and Present Evidence in Mitigation at Capital Sentencing Requires Remand for Prejudice Determination by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS”) remanded Terence Tramaine Andrus’ case to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (“TCCA”), directing the TCCA “to address …

Ninth Circuit: Mental Impairment that Prevented ‘Monitoring’ of Habeas Counsel’s Actions May Require Equitable Tolling by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell The U.S. Court of Appeals held on March 25, 2020, that a prisoner’s mental impairment that prevented him from “monitoring” his habeas counsel’s actions, which led to the delayed …