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Virtual Injustice: How Remote Hearings Harm Incarcerated Defendants

Article • March 15, 2025 • from CLN April, 2025

Filed under: COVID-19, Cause and Prejudice, Video-Conferencing

Virtual Injustice: How Remote Hearings Harm Incarcerated Defendants by Jo Ellen Nott by Jo Ellen Nott Vermont’s increased reliance on remote court hearings, which began during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure safety, has created significant challenges for incarcerated individuals, their attorneys, and the broader justice system. While remote proceedings have …

SCOTUS Clarifies Prejudice Standard Under Strickland for Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Claims at Capital Sentencing

Article • November 1, 2024 • from CLN November, 2024

Filed under: Cause and Prejudice, Per se ineffectiveness

SCOTUS Clarifies Prejudice Standard Under Strickland for Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Claims at Capital Sentencing by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford The Supreme Court of the United States clarified the governing test for determining whether errors defense counsel made during a capital sentencing hearing resulted in sufficient prejudice to require …

Federal Habeas Corpus: Getting Around Procedural Default

Article • July 15, 2024 • from CLN July, 2024

Filed under: Habeas Corpus, Actual Innocence/Claim of Innocence, Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, Summary Disposition, Cause and Prejudice, Proving Cause

Federal Habeas Corpus: Getting Around Procedural Default by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell The term “procedural default” is a significant barrier in federal habeas corpus petitions. It means that if a claim could have been raised on direct appeal or at any earlier stage but was not, a federal court …

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 …

Fourth Circuit Declines to Enforce Appeal Waiver and Procedural Default Excused by ‘Cause and Actual Prejudice,’ Reverses Denial of § 2255 Motion to Vacate § 924(c) Conviction Based on Hobbs Act Consp...

Article • June 15, 2023 • from CLN July, 2023

Filed under: Wrongful Conviction, Appeals/Appellate Jurisdiction, Cause and Prejudice, Hobbs Act

Fourth Circuit Declines to Enforce Appeal Waiver and Procedural Default Excused by ‘Cause and Actual Prejudice,’ Reverses Denial of § 2255 Motion to Vacate § 924(c) Conviction Based on Hobbs Act Conspiracy by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit declined to enforce …

Fourth Circuit: Immigration Judge’s Failure to Inform Noncitizen of Right to Appeal Deportation Order Was Prejudicial and Invalidated Later Indictment for Illegal Reentry

Article • March 15, 2023 • from CLN April, 2023

Filed under: Cause and Prejudice, Deportation/Removal/Exclusion, Failure to Inform

Fourth Circuit: Immigration Judge’s Failure to Inform Noncitizen of Right to Appeal Deportation Order Was Prejudicial and Invalidated Later Indictment for Illegal Reentry by Jacob Barrett by Jacob Barrett The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that an immigration judge’s failure to inform an undocumented noncitizen of …

SCOTUS Announces Judge’s Error of Law Constitutes ‘Mistake’ for Purposes of Reopening a Case Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b)(1)

Article • August 15, 2022 • from CLN September, 2022

Filed under: Cause and Prejudice, Mistrial Motion

SCOTUS Announces Judge’s Error of Law Constitutes ‘Mistake’ for Purposes of Reopening a Case Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b)(1) by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell In a ruling that will likely change how petitioners in federal habeas corpus cases challenge “mistakes” in their cases, the Supreme Court of …

Supreme Court of Iowa: Sentence Vacated Because Prosecution Failed to Follow Spirit of Plea Agreement Requiring Recommendation of Suspended Sentence

Article • June 15, 2022 • from CLN July, 2022

Filed under: U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Cause and Prejudice, Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas

Supreme Court of Iowa: Sentence Vacated Because Prosecution Failed to Follow Spirit of Plea Agreement Requiring Recommendation of Suspended Sentence by David M. Reutter by David M. Reutter The Supreme Court of Iowa vacated a defendant’s sentence after finding the prosecution failed to honor the spirit of a plea agreement …

Pennsylvania Supreme Court: Cronic’s Presumption of Prejudice Triggered by Counsel Failing to Secure Interpreter for First Day of Trial

Article • May 15, 2020 • from CLN June, 2020

Filed under: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, Cause and Prejudice

Pennsylvania Supreme Court: Cronic’s Presumption of Prejudice Triggered by Counsel Failing to Secure Interpreter for First Day of Trial by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania ruled that the defendant was denied the effective assistance of counsel where a Spanish-language interpreter was not secured for the …