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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 …

Study Finds Public Defenders’ Heavy Workloads Prevent Effective Representation, Amendments to 50-Year-Old Guidelines Recommended

Article • February 15, 2024 • from CLN February, 2024

Filed under: Public Defenders, Strickland Standard, Per se ineffectiveness

Study Finds Public Defenders’ Heavy Workloads Prevent Effective Representation, Amendments to 50-Year-Old Guidelines Recommended by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The National Public Defense Workload Study (“Study”) examined the guidelines created by the National Advisory Committee in 1973 (“NAC Standards”) that determine the recommended number of cases annually that a …

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: Counsel Ineffective for Failing to Raise Change in Sentencing Precedent Following Remand

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

Filed under: U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Resentencing, Per se ineffectiveness

Fourth Circuit: Counsel Ineffective for Failing to Raise Change in Sentencing Precedent Following Remand by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held a federal defendant was denied the effective assistance of counsel by failing to object to his designation as a …

Seventh Circuit: State Court Decision Not Entitled to AEDPA Deference Due to Incorrect Legal Standard, Pro Se Habeas Petition Granted Based on Trial Counsel’s Failure to Present Expert Witness on Dete...

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

Filed under: Expert Witnesses, AEDPA, Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, Per se ineffectiveness

Seventh Circuit: State Court Decision Not Entitled to AEDPA Deference Due to Incorrect Legal Standard, Pro Se Habeas Petition Granted Based on Trial Counsel’s Failure to Present Expert Witness on Determinative Issue of Guilt Resulting in IAC by Jacob Barrett by Jacob Berrett The U.S. Court of Appeals for the …

Maine Supreme Court: Counsel’s Introduction of Victim’s Video Interview with Police Was Not ‘Sound Trial Strategy,’ Constituted IAC

Article • June 15, 2021 • from CLN July, 2021

Filed under: Per se ineffectiveness, Confessions and Statements of Defendant

Maine Supreme Court: Counsel’s Introduction of Victim’s Video Interview with Police Was Not ‘Sound Trial Strategy,’ Constituted IAC by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell Concluding that counsel’s trial strategy of introducing a child victim’s interview with police “extremely damaging” to the defense, the Supreme Judicial Court of Maine ruled that …

North Carolina Supreme Court Announces Harbison Applies When Defense Counsel Implies Defendant’s Guilt Without Prior Consent

Article • November 25, 2020 • from CLN December, 2020

Filed under: Counsel - Effective Assistance of, Strickland Standard, Per se ineffectiveness

North Carolina Supreme Court Announces Harbison Applies When Defense Counsel Implies Defendant’s Guilt Without Prior Consent by Douglas Ankney   by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of North Carolina extended State v. Harbison, 337 S.E.2d 504 (N.C. 1985) (holding per se violation of defendant’s constitutional right to effective counsel when …

SCOTUS: Counsel’s Failure to Uncover and Present Evidence in Mitigation at Capital Sentencing Requires Remand for Prejudice Determination

Article • August 15, 2020 • from CLN September, 2020

Filed under: Per se ineffectiveness

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

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

Filed under: Mental Health, Periods of Delay, Per se ineffectiveness

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 …