he "justices seemed uncertain about whether they could fashion a legal rule that would address extreme cases without causing turmoil in the criminal justice system." In his case before the high court, Jose Padilla argues that he plead guilty to a felony after his attorney told him that his conviction would not affect his immigration status. Padilla's lawsuit asserts that his counsel's advice was ineffective, thereby violating his Sixth Amendment right to counsel. Justice Scalia asked, "What about advice on whether pleading guilty would cause him to lose custody of his children? What if pleading guilty will affect whether he can keep his truck, which is his main source of livelihood?" The Blog of Legal Times reports that Scalia appeared "wary of expanding the definition of ineffective assistance." Transcript of the Padilla argument is available here.
Justices Consider Ineffective Counsel Case
October 14, 2009
During oral argument in Padilla v. Kentucky, several of the Supreme Court justices appeared at times to struggle with how to handle a criminal defendant's claim of ineffective counsel. The New York Times' Adam Liptak reports that the "justices seemed uncertain about whether they could fashion a legal rule that would address extreme cases without causing turmoil in the criminal justice system." In his case before the high court, Jose Padilla argues that he plead guilty to a felony after his attorney told him that his conviction would not affect his immigration status. Padilla's lawsuit asserts that his counsel's advice was ineffective, thereby violating his Sixth Amendment right to counsel. Justice Scalia asked, "What about advice on whether pleading guilty would cause him to lose custody of his children? What if pleading guilty will affect whether he can keep his truck, which is his main source of livelihood?" The Blog of Legal Times reports that Scalia appeared "wary of expanding the definition of ineffective assistance." Transcript of the Padilla argument is available here.
he "justices seemed uncertain about whether they could fashion a legal rule that would address extreme cases without causing turmoil in the criminal justice system." In his case before the high court, Jose Padilla argues that he plead guilty to a felony after his attorney told him that his conviction would not affect his immigration status. Padilla's lawsuit asserts that his counsel's advice was ineffective, thereby violating his Sixth Amendment right to counsel. Justice Scalia asked, "What about advice on whether pleading guilty would cause him to lose custody of his children? What if pleading guilty will affect whether he can keep his truck, which is his main source of livelihood?" The Blog of Legal Times reports that Scalia appeared "wary of expanding the definition of ineffective assistance." Transcript of the Padilla argument is available here.
Ineffective Counsel
In the criminal justice system, in every state, particularly in Riverside County California, there are many cases in which the defense constitutes a person who is a member of the Bar Association, and nothing more. A defense attorney can lie, and/or make false promises to a defendant without regard to the outcome of the case. And, judges are not exempt from misleading or using trickery to get a defendant
to 'cop a plea'. For instance, a judge can insist a defendant undergo psychological evaluations by one or more doctors, saying the outcome of said evaluations would be a determining factor in sentencing, then, disallow every single evaluation.
A defense attorney is allowed to say to his client that certain aspects of what the judge does is just formality, and yes, he/she will get probation, right up until the sentence is past and he/she gets ten years. The attorney declares a victory for a reduced sentence, as he or she walk to their car and drive to the local tavern to celebrate, while the judge declares the defendant was never going to get probation. So, defense attorney does not necessarily mean defense attorney.
Some have many cases going on at one time. Would that be classified as Conflict of Interest? If an attorney for the defense cannot devote sufficient time to defending each case, is that considered Ineffectual Assistance of Counsel??
ineffective counsel
Hello to whom this may concern,
I was given a public the defender and i was badly misrepresented, I have suffer and lock up for six months waiting for a trial, my lawyer keep on tell me don't go to trial because the jury don't like immigrant from different country so pleas guilty even am innocence... I have my mother, father, sisters, brothers, and my 7 years old live in united states and i am a canadian who they dont want me back in the country... please help me am innocence of all wrong doing..
Riad Jacob
riadjacob@hotmail.com
514-588-2436
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