Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/boundvolumes/558bv.pdf
Page Number: 175

14 

BOBBY  v.  VAN  HOOK 

Alito, J., concurring 

cial relevance in determining whether an attorney’s perform­
ance meets the standard required by the Sixth Amendment. 
The ABA is a venerable organization with a history of serv­
ice to the bar, but it is, after all, a private group with limited 
membership.  The  views  of  the  association’s  members,  not 
to mention the views of the members of the advisory commit­
tee  that  formulated  the  2003  Guidelines,  do  not  necessarily 
reﬂect  the  views  of  the  American  bar  as  a  whole.  It  is  the 
responsibility  of  the  courts  to  determine  the  nature  of  the 
work  that  a  defense  attorney  must  do  in  a  capital  case  in 
order  to  meet  the  obligations  imposed  by  the  Constitution, 
and I see no reason why the ABA Guidelines should be given 
a privileged position in making that determination.