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Timestamp: 2019-06-17 08:40:04
Document Index: 425372709

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 18', '§ 440', 'art, 31', '§ 4', 'art, 474', 'art, 474', 'art, 879']

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Chapter 12: Appealing Your Conviction Based on Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
A Jailhouse Lawyer's Manual is written and updated by members of the Columbia Human Rights Law Review. The law prohibits us from providing any legal advice to prisoners. This information is not intended as legal advice or representation nor should you consider or rely upon it as such. Neither the JLM nor any information contained herein is intended to or shall constitute a contract between the JLM and any reader, and the JLM does not guarantee the accuracy of the information contained herein. Additionally, your use of the JLM should not be construed as creating an attorney-client relationship with the JLM staff or anyone at Columbia Law School. Finally, while we have attempted to provide information that is up-to-date and useful, because the law changes frequently, we cannot guarantee that all information is current.
CHAPTER 12 APPEALING YOUR CONVICTION BASED ON INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL
Many prisoners appeal their conviction for ineffective assistance of counsel. Ineffective assistance requires two things. First, your lawyer did not act in a way following professional standards for lawyers. Second, there must be a &quot;reasonable probability&quot; the lawyer's poor representation negatively affected the outcome of your case.1 The right to effective counsel comes from the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. If you are in New York State, Article I, Section 6 of the New York State Constitution also protects that right.2 There are different reasons why counsel can be considered ineffective and different ways to appeal your conviction based on this claim. This Chapter summarizes how to bring these claims, but other JLM Chapters, listed in footnote 3, can give you more detailed procedural information.
B. Ways to Claim Ineffective Counsel
There are three general ways to attack your conviction: direct post-conviction appeal, state post-conviction appeal, and federal and/or state habeas corpus. Other JLM Chapters cover these topics.3 In New York, if you are appealing your conviction based on ineffective counsel at the trial level, you should raise your claim (1) in your direct appeal4 and then (2) in your federal habeas petition in federal court.5 If you are filing a claim in New York state court and there are not enough facts in the record to let the court review an ineffectiveness claim on appeal, you should file an Article 440 motion in New York state court. 6 It is
1. Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S. Ct. 2052, 80 L. Ed. 2d 674 (1984). It is important to note the &quot;outcome&quot; that might be negatively affected by attorney ineffectiveness is not limited to the trial outcome. For example, you might claim your lawyer's ineffectiveness caused you to proceed to trial when you should have accepted a plea, or to accept a plea when you should have gone to trial. Or, you might claim your lawyer's ineffectiveness caused you to forego filing an appeal when you should have filed an appeal, or caused you to lose your appeal when you might have won. 2. Even if you do not live in New York, your state constitution may also provide the right to effective counsel. Regardless of whether your state constitution has a provision regarding the right to counsel, the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution give you a federal right to effective counsel. 3. See the following JLM Chapters for more information: Chapter 9, &quot;Appealing Your Conviction or Sentence&quot; (direct appeals); Chapter 20, &quot;Using Article 440 of the New York Criminal Procedure Law to Attack Your Unfair Conviction or Illegal Sentence&quot; (state post-conviction); Chapter 13, &quot;Federal Habeas Corpus;&quot; and Chapter 21, &quot;State Habeas Corpus.&quot; 4. In New York, an ineffective assistance claim that is based only on the trial record must be made in the direct appeal. See People v. Love, 57 N.Y.2d 998, 1000, 443 N.E.2d 486, 487, 457 N.Y.S.2d 238, 239 (1982) (&quot;Here ... we cannot conclude that defendant's counsel was ineffective simply by reviewing the trial record without the benefit of additional background facts that might have been developed had an appropriate after-judgment motion been made pursuant to CPL 440.10.&quot;); People v. Brown, 45 N.Y.2d 852, 853­54, 382 N.E.2d 1149, 1149­59, 410 N.Y.S.2d 287, 287 (1978) (&quot;Generally, the ineffectiveness of counsel is not demonstrable on the main record, but in this case it is.&quot;); People v. Terry, 44 A.D.3d 1157, 1159, 845 N.Y.S.2d 145, 147 (3d Dept. 2007) (holding defendant must raise his ineffective assistance claim on direct appeal rather than in an Article 440 motion). 5. If you are not in New York, you may not be able to file both a direct appeal and a federal habeas claim. See Peoples v. United States, 403 F.3d 844, 848 (7th Cir. 2005) (holding that &quot;a defendant who chooses to make an ineffective-assistance argument on direct appeal cannot present it again on collateral review&quot;). 6. Note that for claims of ineffective assistance of trial counsel, an Article 440 motion, and not a
important to note that there is no Sixth Amendment right to counsel before you are actually charged with a crime, so you can only claim ineffective counsel under the Sixth Amendment starting from the time at which charges were brought against you.7 You are also entitled to have effective counsel during a first appeal as of right.8 A finding of ineffective counsel at this level can lead to a de novo (new) appeal and, sometimes, a reversal of your conviction.9 If you are appealing your conviction based on ineffective counsel at the appellate level, you should file the appropriate state post-conviction motion in your state court or a federal habeas petition. In New York, the appropriate procedure for filing an ineffective appellate counsel claim is to file a coram nobis motion in the court where the appeal was filed, 10 but each state has its own state post-conviction appeals procedure. 11 There is, however, no federal constitutional right to counsel in state post-conviction proceedings, so a claim of ineffective counsel at the post-conviction level based on the U.S. Constitution is not likely to succeed.12 But, some states do have a right to counsel in state post-conviction proceedings based on state statutory or constitutional law, and some states
state habeas petition, is the appropriate procedural method in New York. See Chapter 20 of the JLM for further discussion of Article 440. A state habeas petition may be the appropriate procedure in other states. See, e.g., State v. Leecan, 198 Conn. 517, 541, 504 A.2d 480, cert. denied, 476 U.S. 1184, 106 S. Ct. 2922, 91 L .Ed. 2d 550 (1986) (proper procedural vehicle for raising claim of ineffective counsel in Connecticut is generally a state habeas petition). 7. Moran v. Burbine, 475 U.S. 412, 430­31, 106 S. Ct. 1135, 1145­46, 89 L. Ed. 2d 410, 427 (1986) (holding &quot;the Sixth Amendment right to counsel does not attach until after the initiation of formal charges&quot;); People v. Claudio, 83 N.Y.2d 76, 80­81, 629 N.E.2d 384, 386, 607 N.Y.S.2d 912, 914 (1993) (holding the right under both the U.S. Constitution and the New York state constitution to effective counsel does not attach until the start of adversarial judicial proceedings). But, note some state constitutions grant broader rights to counsel than does the U.S. Constitution. See People v. McCauley, 163 Ill. 2d 414, 423­24, 206 Ill. Dec. 671, 645 N.E.2d 923, 929 (1994) (giving a broader reading to article 1, section 10 of the Illinois constitution than the 5th Amendment right against selfincrimination as discussed in Moran v. Burbine). Also, there is a right to counsel under the 5th Amendment for those subject to a custodial interrogation, even before formal charges are brought. See Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 469, 86 S. Ct. 1602, 1626, 16 L. Ed. 2d 694, 721 (1966). One can argue this right to counsel also encompasses the right to effective counsel. But see Sweeney v. Carter, 361 F.3d 327, 333 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, 543 U.S. 1020, 125 S. Ct. 657, 160 L. Ed. 2d 496 (2004) (&quot;[A]s far as we can tell, the Supreme Court has not mentioned effective assistance of counsel (in the Strickland sense) and the Fifth Amendment in the same breath, let alone set forth a clearly established right to that effect.&quot;). 8. Evitts v. Lucey, 469 U.S. 387, 396, 105 S. Ct. 830, 836, 83 L. Ed. 2d 821, 830 (1985) (establishing that the defendant's 14th Amendment right to effective counsel at the trial level extends to a first appeal as of right); Douglas v. California, 372 U.S. 353, 357­58, 83 S. Ct. 814, 816­17, 9 L. Ed. 2d 811, 814­15 (1963) (requiring appointment of counsel for an indigent defendant regardless of the merits of the appeal). 9. See, e.g., McHale v. United States, 175 F.3d 115 (2d Cir. 1999) (reinstating appeal upon finding that appellate counsel's ineffectiveness caused dismissal of original appeal). 10. See People v. Bachert, 69 N.Y.2d 593, 516 N.Y.S.2d 623, 509 N.E.2d 318 (1987). 11 . In most states, ineffective appellate counsel can be raised as part of your state postconviction motion, but you should check your state's laws. See, e.g., State v. Davis, 2008 Ohio 4608 (2008) (holding Ohio statute requires ineffective appellate counsel claims be made only to the state appellate court, rather than to the trial court in a post-conviction petition). For information on coram nobis motions, see Chapter 9 of the JLM, &quot;Appealing Your Conviction or Sentence.&quot; 12. Coleman v. Thompson, 501 U.S. 722, 752­54, 111 S. Ct. 2546, 2566­67, 115 L. Ed. 2d 640, 670­72 (1991) (citing Pennsylvania v. Finley, 481 U.S. 551, 107 S. Ct. 1990, 95 L. Ed. 2d 539 (1987); Murray v. Giarratano, 492 U.S. 1, 109 S. Ct. 2765, 106 L. Ed. 2d 1 (1989)). If the Supreme Court eventually recognizes a right to post-conviction counsel, one might expect that right to reside in the Due Process and/or Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. See Evitts v. Lucey, 469 U.S. 387, 404­05, 105 S. Ct. 830, 839­41, 83 L. Ed. 2d 821, 834­35 (1985) (discussing contribution of each clause to the constitutional right to counsel on direct appeal). Thus, a claim that post-conviction counsel was ineffective ought to be based on these constitutional provisions.
allow courts to require effective counsel in state post-conviction proceedings when it is in the interest of justice.13 If you are in a state that does have a right to counsel in state postconviction hearings, you may also have a right to effective representation in those hearings.14 As discussed below, you can sometimes use an ineffective counsel claim to raise other procedurally defaulted claims.15 You must raise your ineffective counsel claims within the proper time and with the proper procedure. If not raised during the proper time and using the proper procedure, your claim could be barred.16 In federal court and in many states, ineffective assistance claims should not be raised on direct appeal because the trial record usually does not contain enough information to evaluate the claim; instead, they should be made in a collateral proceeding, allowing the trial court to hear testimony specifically about the adequacy of your representation. If this happens, you can try to argue your appellate counsel was ineffective for not raising an ineffective trial counsel claim. If you had the same lawyer at trial and on direct appeal, failure to raise ineffectiveness on direct appeal does not procedurally bar you from raising the claim in a post-conviction proceeding.17 But, in some
13. For example, the Alaska post-conviction statute provides for counsel in one post-conviction appeal. Alaska Stat. § 18.85.100(c) (2004). Florida does not provide a statutory right, but the court may, in the interest of justice, determine whether, under the factual situation then under review, the prisoner should have the assistance of counsel. State v. Weeks, 166 So. 2d 892, 897 (Fla. 1964). You should research your state's post-conviction act and relevant case law to see if such a right exists in your state. 14. See, e.g., Lozada v. Warden, 223 Conn. 834, 613 A.2d 818 (1992) (finding statutory right to counsel on habeas petition encompassed right to effective counsel, which could be vindicated by means of a second habeas petition); compare Moore v. Commonwealth, 199 S.W.3d 132, 139 (Ky. 2006) (reinstating appeal from denial of post-conviction relief, on grounds that statutory right to postconviction counsel included right to competent counsel, but cautioning that &quot;[o]ur holding ... should not be construed as sanctioning&quot; the filing of a subsequent post-conviction motion based on previous postconviction counsel's ineffectiveness). 15. Procedural default occurs when your lawyer did not properly raise a claim or objection in earlier proceedings and, as a result, you are not able to raise this claim on appeal. See Chapter 13 of the JLM, &quot;Federal Habeas Corpus,&quot; for a further explanation of procedural default. 16. In a New York claim, courts have said that an Article 440 motion is usually the correct way to raise an ineffective assistance of counsel claim. People v. Brown, 45 N.Y.2d 852, 853­54, 382 N.E.2d 1149, 1149­59, 410 N.Y.S.2d 287, 287 (1978) (&quot;Generally, the ineffectiveness of counsel is not demonstrable on the main record. ... Consequently, in the typical case it would be better, and in some cases essential, that an appellate attack on the effectiveness of counsel be bottomed on an evidentiary exploration by collateral or post-conviction proceeding brought under CPL 440.10.&quot;). If matters outside of the trial record must be examined, such as reasons for counsel's actions, New York courts require you to raise an ineffective counsel claim in an Article 440 motion, rather than in a motion to set aside the verdict or in a direct appeal. See People v. Love, 57 N.Y.2d 998, 1000, 443 N.E.2d 486, 487, 457 N.Y.S.2d 238, 239 (1982); People v. Monroe, 2008 NY Slip Op 5531, 1, 52 A.D.3d 623, 623; 860 N.Y.S.2d 564, 565 (2d Dept. 2008); People v. Bagarozy, 182 A.D.2d 565, 566, 582 N.Y.S.2d 424 (1st Dept. 1992) (motion to set aside); People v Garcia, 187 A.D.2d 868, 590 N.Y.S.2d 565 (3d Dept. 1992); People v Jiggetts, 178 A.D.2d 332, 577 N.Y.S.2d 396 (1st Dept. 1991); People v. Williams, 178 A.D.2d 163, 165, 576 N.Y.S.2d 870 (1st Dept. 1991). You can use an Article 440 motion to raise claims that are based on information in the record, but in such a case you must have first made the claim in your direct appeal. N.Y. Crim. Proc. Law § 440.10(b)­(c) (McKinney 2008). See Chapter 13 of the JLM for an additional explanation of barred claims, and Chapter 20 of the JLM for more on how to file an Article 440 motion. 17. Massaro v. United States, 538 U.S. 500, 504, 123 S. Ct. 1690, 1694, 155 L. Ed. 2d 714, 720 (2003) (holding an ineffective &quot;assistance of counsel claim may be brought in a collateral proceeding ... whether or not the petitioner could have raised the claim on direct appeal&quot;); see also United States v. Martinez, 136 F.3d 972, 979 (4th Cir. 1998) (&quot;A defendant can raise the claim of ineffective assistance of counsel ... by a collateral challenge pursuant to [federal habeas corpus].&quot;); United States v. Alcantar, 83 F.3d 185, 191 (7th Cir. 1996) (noting ineffective assistance claims should be raised on habeas when not apparent from the trial record); People v. Dor, 132 Misc. 2d 568, 569­70, 505 N.Y.S.2d 317, 319 (Sup. Ct. Kings County 1986) (holding that, in an Article 440 motion, a defendant cannot make further attacks on &quot;any issues that were raised or could have been raised in the appeal,&quot; but could claim ineffective assistance, which is &quot;an issue that could not possibly be raised in an appeal by the same
states like New York, an ineffective assistance claim that can be decided based on the trial record alone must be made in the direct appeal, otherwise you are barred from raising it in a post-conviction motion.18 Be sure to check the laws in your state for the proper procedure.
C. How to Prove Ineffective Counsel
As discussed above, there is a federal right to effective counsel and, in many states, a separate state right as well. The federal and New York standards for ineffective counsel are discussed below. If you were convicted in a state other than New York, you should research your state constitution and case law to find out whether there is a different state standard for ineffective assistance of counsel that you can argue was not met at trial.19 You should always raise ineffective assistance of counsel as a federal constitutional claim, even if you also claim violation of state effective counsel guarantees. If you do not present the claim as a federal constitutional violation at this point, you may not be able to do so in a later federal habeas petition.20
1. The Federal Standard
The standard for ineffective assistance of counsel under the U.S. Constitution is the same no matter where you are. There are three ways in which you can make an ineffective counsel claim under federal laws: you can claim that your lawyer was actually or constructively ineffective, or that he had a conflict of interest that caused him to be actually ineffective. Each of these claims requires you to prove different things.
(a) Actual Ineffectiveness: The Strickland Test
In general, to show ineffective assistance of counsel under the United States Constitution, you must pass the two-part Strickland test.21 The first part of this test, the &quot;deficient performance prong,&quot; requires you to prove your lawyer's performance was &quot;deficient.&quot;22 The court decides whether your lawyer's representation fell below an &quot;objective
counsel&quot;). 18. See, e.g., Guinan v. United States, 6 F.3d 468, 471 (7th Cir. 1993), overruled in part by Massaro v. United States, 538 U.S. 500, 123 S. Ct. 1690, 155 L. Ed. 2d 714 (2003) (stating that ineffectiveness of counsel claims cannot be waived in cases where the lawyer bringing the appeal also represented the defendant at trial, and also holding that an ineffectiveness claim may be brought in a collateral proceeding when evidence of ineffectiveness lies outside the record and an evidentiary hearing would be necessary or useful in determining whether counsel was ineffective); Alston v. Donnelly, 461 F. Supp. 2d 112, 123 (W.D.N.Y. 2006) (&quot;where the record is sufficient to allow appellate review of [an ineffective assistance] claim, the failure to raise that claim on appeal precludes subsequent collateral review&quot;); People v. Jossiah, 2 A.D.3d 877, 877, 769 N.Y.S.2d 743, 743 (2d Dept. 2003) (&quot;[Since the] record ... clearly presented sufficient facts from which the defendant could have raised his [ineffective assistance claim] ... on direct appeal, it could not be raised on the CPL 440.10 motion.&quot;); Hartman v. Bagley, 492 F.3d 347, 357­58 (6th Cir. 2007) (holding that although Ohio's statute provided &quot;adequate and independent&quot; grounds to bar ineffective assistance claims in collateral proceedings, it did not apply to defendant's claim that relied on information outside of the trial record); Nixon v. Epps, 405 F.3d 318, 323 (5th Cir. 2005) (holding that a Mississippi statute, requiring defendant to raise ineffective assistance claim on direct review when he uses a different counsel, created an &quot;adequate and independent&quot; procedural default when defendant failed to comply on direct appeal). 19. For more information on legal research, see Chapter 2 of the JLM, &quot;An Introduction to Legal Research.&quot; 20. For more information on filing a federal habeas corpus claim, see JLM Chapter 13, &quot;Federal Habeas Corpus.&quot; 21 . Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S. Ct. 2052, 80 L. Ed. 2d 674 (1984) (establishing federal standard for ineffective assistance of counsel). 22. Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687, 104 S. Ct. 2052, 2064, 80 L. Ed. 2d 674, 693(1984).
standard of reasonableness.&quot;23 This means the court asks if your lawyer acted in a way that most other lawyers would think is acceptable. Since this standard can apply differently in different situations, you must identify the specific things your lawyer did that were so bad that you were deprived of your right to counsel. You cannot just say that you had a bad lawyer or that your lawyer did not do enough to help you. You must point to the specific things your lawyer did badly or did not do at all and show that these failures made your representation fall below the professional standards for lawyers.24 If the court finds your lawyer's representation did fall below this standard, it will apply the second part of the Strickland test. The second part, the &quot;prejudice prong,&quot; requires you to prove there is a &quot;reasonable probability that, but for counsel's unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different.&quot;25 This means you not only have to point out what your lawyer did wrong, but you also have to show how your lawyer's actions hurt you and made the outcome of your case unfair. You can only win on an ineffective counsel claim if both parts of the test are met.26 You should remind the court that the Supreme Court has specifically said the &quot;prejudice prong&quot; requires you to show only a &quot;reasonable probability&quot; of a different result, and you do not have to prove your lawyer's errors &quot;more likely than not altered the outcome.&quot;27 Ineffective counsel claims are some of the most difficult claims to plead successfully because of this second part of the Strickland ineffective counsel test. Often, courts do not like to find that an attorney's behavior affected a trial so strongly that the outcome is unreliable. When you are presenting an ineffective counsel claim, you should ask the court to consider the cumulative (total) effect of all of your lawyer's errors.28 Try to find cases that successfully presented a similar claim and structure your claim in a similar way. Unfortunately, for every successful ineffective counsel claim, there are many other similar claims that are not granted, so be aware of cases that work against you as well.
23. These basic professional standards could include, but are not limited to, a duty of loyalty, a duty to avoid conflicts of interest, a duty to advocate the defendant's cause, the duty to consult with defendant on important decisions and to keep defendant informed of important developments during the prosecution, and a duty to use the level of skill and knowledge that make the trial truly adversarial. Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 688­89, 104 S. Ct. 2052, 2065, 80 L. Ed. 2d 674, 694 (1984) (outlining these duties but noting that they &quot;neither exhaustively define the obligations of counsel nor form a checklist for judicial evaluation of attorney performance&quot;). 24. Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 690, 104 S. Ct. 2052, 2066, 80 L. Ed. 2d 674, 695 (1984) (deciding ineffectiveness claim will judge reasonableness of counsel's conduct based on facts of particular case, viewed at the time of the counsel's conduct). 25. Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 691­92, 694, 104 S. Ct. 2052, 2067, 2068, 80 L. Ed. 2d 674, 696, 698 (1984) (&quot;An error by counsel, even if professionally unreasonable, does not warrant setting aside the judgment of a criminal proceeding if the error had no effect on the judgment.&quot;); Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. 362, 390­91, 120 S. Ct. 1495, 1511­12, 146 L. Ed. 2d 389, 416 (2000) (holding that analysis of the prejudice prong should focus solely on whether there was reasonable probability that but for counsel's errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different); Wiggins v. Smith, 539 US 510, 534­35, 123 S. Ct. 2527, 2542­43, 156 L. Ed. 2d 471, 493­94 (2003) (&quot;In assessing prejudice [in a capital case], we reweigh the evidence in aggravation against the totality of available mitigating evidence.&quot;). 26. Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 700, 104 S. Ct. 2052, 2071, 80 L. Ed. 2d 674, 702 (1984) (&quot;Failure to make the required showing of either deficient performance or sufficient prejudice defeats the ineffectiveness claim.&quot;). 27. Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 693, 104 S. Ct. 2052, 2067, 80 L. Ed. 2d 674, 697 (1984). 28. See, e.g., Mackey v. Russell, No. 02-4237, 148 Fed. App'x. 355, 368­69 (6th Cir. August 9, 2005) (unpublished) (holding state court unreasonably applied Strickland when it failed to consider the cumulative effect of counsel's errors).
(b) Constructive Ineffectiveness: The Cronic Standard
The second type of ineffective assistance of counsel claim available under the United States Constitution is a &quot;constructive denial&quot; of the assistance of counsel as described in United States v. Cronic. 29 You can claim constructive ineffective assistance if the circumstances of your trial were so unfair that prejudice and ineffective assistance can be presumed.30 This means that under Cronic, unlike the Strickland test, you do not have to prove that there was actual prejudice. The Cronic standard applies in three situations.31 First, prejudice may be presumed if you were completely denied counsel during a &quot;critical stage&quot; of your trial.32 Second, you can claim ineffective assistance under Cronic if your lawyer &quot;entirely fails to subject the prosecution's case to meaningful adversarial testing.&quot; Your lawyer's failure to test the State's case must have been &quot;complete,&quot; meaning he or she put up no opposition whatsoever.33 Third, you can also make a Cronic claim if the circumstances of your trial made it highly unlikely any lawyer could have provided effective assistance. 34 If your case falls within such circumstances, you do not have to prove your lawyer's trial performance was deficient.
The third type of federal claim argues that counsel provided ineffective assistance due to a conflict of interest. To show that counsel had a conflict of interest, you must demonstrate that there was an actual conflict of interest that &quot;adversely affected&quot; your lawyer's performance.35 A conflict of interest can arise when one lawyer represents more than one co29. U.S. v. Cronic, 466 U.S. 648, 658, 104 S. Ct. 2039, 2046, 80 L. Ed. 2d. 657, 667 (1984). 30. U.S. v. Cronic, 466 U.S. 648, 658, 104 S. Ct. 2039, 2046, 80 L. Ed. 2d. 657, 667 (1984). 31. U.S. v. Cronic, 466 U.S. 648, 659­62, 104 S. Ct. 2039, 2047­48, 80 L. Ed. 2d. 657, 668­70 (1984); Bell v. Cone, 535 U.S. 685, 695­98, 122 S. Ct. 1843, 1850­52, 152 L. Ed. 2d 914, 927­29 (2002) (limiting Cronic's holding that prejudice may be presumed to the three situations identified). 32. See, e.g., Wright v. Van Patten, 128 S. Ct. 743, 746, 169 L. Ed. 2d 583, 588 (2008) (holding counsel's participation in plea hearing by speaker phone should not be treated as complete denial of counsel); Rickman v. Bell, 131 F.3d 1150, 1156­60 (6th Cir. 1997) (affirming judgment of ineffective assistance where counsel had abandoned defendant's interests by repeatedly expressing contempt for client at trial and portraying client as crazy and dangerous, effectively acting as a second prosecutor); Javor v. United States, 724 F.2d 831, 833­34 (9th Cir. 1984) (finding prejudice inherent when counsel slept through much of the trial). But see Tippins v. Walker, 77 F.3d 682, 683­85 (2d Cir. 1996) (holding ineffective assistance claim should be judged under Strickland when counsel slept through the trial). 33. Bell v. Cone, 535 U.S. 685, 697, 122 S. Ct. 1843, 1851, 152 L. Ed. 2d 914, 928 (2002) (holding counsel's failure to produce mitigating evidence and waiver of closing argument did not constitute a complete failure to test the prosecutor's case and that Strickland applied rather than Cronic). This is a difficult standard to meet. For example, counsel's decision to concede guilt in a capital trial and focus instead on the sentencing phase, even though his client entered a &quot;not guilty&quot; plea, is not automatically a complete failure to subject the prosecution's case to adversarial testing. Compare Florida v. Nixon, 543 U.S. 175, 188­89, 125 S. Ct. 551, 561­62, 160 L. Ed. 2d 565, 579­80 (2004) (&quot;The Florida Supreme Court's erroneous equation of [counsel's] concession strategy to a guilty plea led it to [wrongly apply the Cronic standard] in determining whether counsel's performance ranked as ineffective assistance.&quot;), with State v. Carter, 270 Kan. 426, 440­41, 14 P.3d 1138, 1148 (2000) (finding that a breakdown in the adversarial system of justice when counsel premised defense on defendant's guilt against his client's wishes). 34. Compare Powell v. Alabama, 287 U.S. 45, 56­58, 53 S. Ct. 55, 59­60, 77 L. Ed. 158, 164­65 (1932) (holding denial of effective counsel when defendants, who were &quot;young, ignorant, illiterate, [and] surrounded by hostile sentiment,&quot; were tried for a capital offense, and when defense counsel was designated only minutes earlier and thus had no opportunity to investigate the facts or to prepare), with U.S. v. Cronic, 466 U.S. 648, 658­67, 104 S. Ct. 2039, 2046­51, 80 L. Ed. 2d. 657, 667­73 (1984) (rejecting defendant's constructive ineffective assistance argument based on counsel's lack of experience in criminal law or jury trials, and 25-day preparation time). 35. Cuyler v. Sullivan, 446 U.S. 335, 350, 100 S. Ct. 1708, 1719, 64 L. Ed. 2d 333, 348 (1980); see also United States v. Iorizzo, 786 F.2d 52, 57­58 (2d Cir. 1986) (applying Cuyler).
defendant for the same crime.36 The conflict must be actual, not just potential, which means that your lawyer must have taken some action, or refrained from acting in some way, which harmed you and benefited the other person.37 You are not required to show prejudice if your lawyer had an actual conflict of interest that adversely affected you, because prejudice is presumed.
2. New York State Standard
In addition to your federal right to effective counsel, New York state courts have said you are entitled to &quot;meaningful representation&quot; under Article I, Section 6 of the New York State Constitution. 38 This means in New York courts, you must show your lawyer's failures harmed you so much you did not have meaningful representation at trial. 39 Meaningful representation does not mean your attorney made no mistakes, but that your lawyer provided good enough representation to satisfy the court that you were properly represented.40
36 . A conflict of interest may also arise in other situations, for example, if your lawyer represented a government or defense witness in a related trial, if the victim was a client of your lawyer, or if your lawyer collaborated or had a connection with the prosecution. See, e.g., Mickens v. Taylor, 535 U.S. 162, 174­76, 122 S. Ct. 1237, 1245­46, 152 L. Ed. 2d 291, 306­07 (2002) (holding that Cuyler v. Sullivan applied to petitioner's claim that counsel was conflicted because he represented the victim in an unrelated case); Perillo v. Johnson, 205 F.3d 775, 808 (5th Cir. 2000) (holding actual conflict existed when counsel represented a co-defendant cooperating with the state as witness against accused); United States ex rel. Duncan v. O'Leary, 806 F.2d 1307, 1315 (7th Cir. 1986) (holding actual conflict existed when counsel was prosecutor's campaign manager for State's Attorney election, and counsel colluded with prosecutor and a police officer to get defendant to retain him because it would be good for the campaign). 37. See, e.g., Burger v. Kemp, 483 U.S. 776, 783­85, 107 S. Ct. 3114, 3120­21, 97 L. Ed. 2d 638, 650­51 (1987) (holding petitioner failed to show actual conflict when lawyer's partner was appointed to represent co-defendant, because &quot;defendants may actually benefit from the joint efforts of two partners who supplement one another in their preparation&quot;); Edens v. Hannigan, 87 F.3d 1109, 1116 (10th Cir. 1996) (holding actual conflict of interest existed when counsel made no effort to present a defense for client because it would have harmed co-defendant); Burden v. Zant, 24 F.3d 1298, 1305­07 (11th Cir. 1994) (finding ineffective assistance where counsel, representing two codefendants, made an agreement with the prosecutor that one co-defendant would testify against another in exchange for not prosecuting the co-defendant); Dawan v. Lockhart, 31 F.3d 718, 721­22 (8th Cir. 1994) (finding ineffective counsel where public defender also represented codefendant who had pleaded guilty and made statements implicating the client in the crime). 38. People v. Baldi, 54 N.Y.2d 137, 147, 429 N.E.2d 400, 405, 444 N.Y.S.2d 893, 898 (1981) (&quot;So long as the evidence, the law, and the circumstances of a particular case, viewed in totality and as of the time of the representation, reveal that the attorney provided meaningful representation, the constitutional requirement will have been met.&quot;). 39. As mentioned above, if you are in a state other than New York, your state may have an independent source for the right to effective counsel and, thus, a different standard for proving ineffective counsel. You should research successful ineffective counsel claims in your state and look at what standard the courts use. 40. See People v. Benevento, 91 N.Y.2d 708, 712, 697 N.E.2d 584, 587, 674 N.Y.S.2d 629, 632 (1998) (holding that the New York State Constitution guarantees meaningful but not perfect representation, and that representation does not have to be &quot;errorless&quot;) (quoting People v. Aiken, 45 N.Y.2d 394, 398, 380 N.E.2d 272, 274, 408 N.Y.S.2d 444, 447 (1978)); see also People v. Droz, 39 N.Y.2d 457, 462, 348 N.E.2d 880, 882­83, 384 N.Y.S.2d 404, 407 (1976) (finding improper representation where a lawyer failed to adequately prepare for trial, did not communicate with his client in a timely manner, made no attempt to contact potential witnesses, and neglected to study the record); but see People v. Young, 116 A.D.2d 922, 923, 498 N.Y.S.2d 667, 669 (3d Dept. 1986) (noting that the standards from People v. Baldi and People v. Droz only apply to ineffective assistance during trial; evaluation of attorney performance when the defendant has accepted a guilty plea rests on different grounds).
It is important to note that once you claim ineffective assistance of counsel, you give up attorney-client confidentiality with that attorney.41 This means once you file an ineffective counsel claim against your lawyer, your lawyer can then reveal information that otherwise would be kept secret. For example, your lawyer could cooperate with the prosecution by turning over case files, or even testify for the prosecution against you.
3. Using a Claim of Ineffectiveness to Save a Procedurally Defaulted Claim
Ineffective assistance of counsel claims can be very useful because they can be a way to present claims that would otherwise be barred. As the various Chapters on attacking your conviction explain, many issues must be &quot;preserved&quot; in order to be appealed.42 This means if you or your lawyer did not object to certain issues during the trial, you cannot raise them on appeal. However, if a claim is not preserved, often it can still be raised as part of an ineffective counsel claim.43 Ineffective assistance claims are also useful in &quot;procedural default&quot; situations. Procedural default happens when your claim is kept out of federal court because you have not followed all the procedures in your state. In procedural default situations federal courts will not hear your claim because you did not follow state procedures. If your claim has been procedurally defaulted, you can often raise it as an ineffective counsel claim instead.44 In addition, if any court has held that you have a procedurally defaulted claim, you can argue that your lawyer's ineffectiveness was &quot;cause&quot; for the default.45 As a general matter, if you are raising a claim for the first time that should have been raised earlier, you should allege that you did not raise the claim earlier because your attorney was ineffective. To include a barred claim (a claim that is not preserved or is procedurally defaulted) in an ineffective assistance of counsel claim, you must restate the issue by saying your lawyer was ineffective for not properly arguing your claim. For example, if the wrong jury instructions were given at trial, but that claim is barred because it was not raised at trial or &quot;preserved,&quot; you can claim that your attorney was ineffective for not objecting to the jury instructions. Remember, you still must prove that your attorney's mistake deprived you of your right to counsel because it negatively affected your trial. This means you must show both that (1) by not objecting to the instructions, your attorney performed below the standard attorneys are judged by; and (2) by not objecting, your attorney lost a chance to argue a claim that would have succeeded. Here is an example of how to include a barred claim in an ineffective counsel claim:
41. Model Rules of Prof'l Conduct R. 1.6(b)(5) (2004) (allowing that &quot;[a] lawyer may reveal information relating to the representation of a client to the extent the lawyer reasonably believes necessary ... to respond to allegations in any proceeding concerning the lawyer's representation of the client&quot;); Standards for Crim. Just. § 4-8.6(d) (1993) (&quot;Defense counsel whose conduct of a criminal case is drawn into question is entitled to testify concerning the matters charged and is not precluded from disclosing the truth concerning the accusation to the extent defense counsel reasonably believes necessary, even though this involves revealing matters which were given in confidence.&quot;). Note that this is not a complete waiver of confidentiality and does not allow for complete disclosure. 42. See JLM, Chapter 9, &quot;Appealing Your Conviction or Sentence,&quot; regarding preservation of claims; JLM, Chapter 20, &quot;Using Article 440 of the New York Criminal Procedure Law to Attack Your Unfair Conviction or Illegal Sentence,&quot; regarding errors of record in the trial; and JLM, Chapter 13, &quot;Federal Habeas Corpus,&quot; regarding procedural default. 43. In Kimmelman v. Morrison, 477 U.S. 365, 384­85, 106 S. Ct. 2574, 2587­88, 91 L. Ed. 2d 305, 325­26, for example, the trial court refused to rule on the defendant's motion to suppress evidence because counsel's motion was untimely. The defendant nonetheless ultimately obtained a hearing on the merits of the suppression motion by raising a claim that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to make a timely suppression motion. 44. See Kimmelman v. Morrison, 477 U.S. 365, 106 S. Ct. 2574, 91 L. Ed. 2d 305 (1986). 45. See JLM, Chapter 13 for an additional explanation of barred claims.
(1) You believe your jury was selected in a racially discriminatory manner, but this issue was not raised at trial or on direct appeal and now is procedurally barred; (2) Argue that the discriminatory jury selection is the result of your lawyer failing to object to the way in which the jury was selected and failing to select a racially unbiased jury. Argue that your lawyer's failure to correct or object to the discriminatory jury selection fell below the reasonable standard of performance for attorneys; (3) Argue that this failure of your attorney meant you had a racially biased jury and, because of the circumstances of your case, you were denied a fair trial as a result of this jury selection error. Therefore, your lawyer's failure to object to or raise this claim resulted in prejudice, since there is a chance the outcome of your case would have been different; and (4) To summarize, your overall claim is that by not objecting to the racially discriminatory way in which the jury was selected, your lawyer was ineffective because his performance fell below the standard of objective reasonableness for attorneys, and this resulted in a biased jury, which affected the outcome of your case. A checklist for incorporating a barred claim into an ineffective counsel claim is: (1) Identify the barred claim. Make sure the claim cannot be raised directly for procedural reasons; (2) Determine whether the claim is barred because of your lawyer's ineffectiveness. Did your lawyer not raise the issue at trial? Did your lawyer say or do something at trial that lessened your chances of winning on the issue? Did your lawyer fail to raise the issue on direct appeal?;46 and (3) Argue that the reason the claim is barred is because of your lawyer's ineffectiveness. Then show that if your lawyer had not been ineffective in this way, this claim would have succeeded. Remember you must plead both the &quot;deficient performance prong&quot; and the &quot;prejudice prong&quot; of the Strickland test. Thus, you must both (a) point out the specific failures of your counsel and (b) show that counsel's failures to correct or address the issue hurt your case. Note that in addition to re-framing the barred claim as an ineffective counsel claim, you should still raise the claim separately, alleging that counsel's ineffectiveness constitutes &quot;cause and prejudice&quot; for any procedural default.47
D. Common Ineffective Counsel Claims
Below are some of the most common ineffective counsel claims that have been pleaded successfully. This does not mean that these claims are always successful or that this list includes every possible ineffective counsel claim, so when you plead these claims, be sure to check the case law in your state. (1) Counsel is not qualified to practice law;48
46. Jackson v. Leonardo, 162 F.3d 81, 84­87 (2d Cir. 1998) is an excellent example of how to turn a procedurally barred claim into a successful claim of ineffectiveness. In Jackson, the Court of Appeals held that the defendant's double jeopardy claim was procedurally barred, but granted relief on the defendant's claim that his appellate counsel was ineffective for failing to raise the double jeopardy claim. 47. See, e.g., Williams v. Anderson, 460 F.3d 789, 799­801 (6th Cir. 2006) (finding that appellate counsel's ineffectiveness in raising trial-counsel ineffectiveness claim on direct appeal constituted &quot;cause and prejudice&quot; for the procedural default that was caused thereby). 48. See United States v. Novak, 903 F.2d 883, 890 (2d Cir. 1990) (holding that &quot;counsel&quot; does not include an individual who holds himself out as a lawyer but obtains admission to the bar under false pretenses). See also Solina v. United States, 709 F.2d 160, 167­68 (2d Cir. 1983) (requiring per se reversal where defendant was unaware that counsel was unlicensed to practice law in any state, and
Counsel had a conflict of interest;49 Counsel failed to investigate50 or perform certain pretrial functions;51 Counsel failed to properly select a jury;52 Counsel failed to pursue defenses available to defendant;53 Counsel did not properly advise defendant as to a plea;54
&quot;the lack of such authorization stemmed from failure to seek it or from its denial for a reason going to legal ability, such as failure to pass a bar examination, or want of moral character&quot;); but see Waterhouse v. Rodriguez, 848 F.2d 375, 382 (2d Cir. 1988) (framing per se rule to exclude situation where licensed attorney is unknowingly disbarred during trial). 49. See the discussion in Part C(1)(c) of this Chapter. 50. See Wiggins v. Smith, 539 U.S. 510, 535­38, 123 S. Ct. 2527, 2542­44, 156 L. Ed. 2d 471, 493­95 (2003) (holding decision of counsel not to expand investigation of petitioner's life history for mitigating evidence beyond pre-sentence investigation report and department of social services records fell short of prevailing professional standards and amounted to ineffective assistance); Appel v. Horn, 250 F.3d 203, 215­18 (3d Cir. 2001) (finding counsel's failure to investigate or prepare for the petitioner's competency determination violated his right to effective assistance and merited granting habeas corpus relief); Moore v. Johnson, 194 F.3d 586, 615­19 (5th Cir. 1999) (finding counsel's error in ignoring and failing to investigate certain evidence led to an unfair trial for defendant); Holsomback v. White, 133 F.3d 1382, 1386­89 (11th Cir. 1998) (finding trial attorney's failure to investigate the absence of medical evidence was unreasonable and constituted ineffective assistance of counsel); People v. LaBree, 34 N.Y.2d 257, 259­61, 313 N.E.2d 730, 731­32, 357 N.Y.S.2d 412, 413­15 (1974) (finding ineffective assistance based on counsel's inadequate investigation and preparation); see also Henry v. Poole, 409 F.3d 48, 67­72 (2d Cir. 2005) (finding counsel's failure to investigate led counsel to present alibi defense for the wrong date and bolstered an otherwise weak prosecution case). 51. See Kimmelman v. Morrison, 477 U.S. 365, 385­91, 106 S. Ct. 2574, 2588­91, 91 L. Ed. 2d 305, 326­29 (1986) (finding ineffective assistance of counsel where counsel failed to conduct any pretrial discovery and failed to file timely motion to suppress illegally seized evidence); Gersten v. Senkowski, 426 F.3d 588, 609­14 (2d Cir. 2005) (holding that attorney's failure to seek medical expert consultation for the defense or to investigate critical government evidence constituted ineffective assistance of counsel); People v. Donovan, 184 A.D.2d 654, 654­56, 585 N.Y.S.2d 70, 71­72 (2d Dept. 1992) (ordering a new trial after attorney provided ineffective assistance of counsel by not moving to suppress certain evidence and by failing to conduct an adequate investigation before the trial). 52 . See Johnson v. Armontrout, 961 F.2d 748, 755­56 (8th Cir. 1992) (finding ineffective assistance where evidence showed that at least two jurors were biased since counsel failed to request removal for cause of biased jurors); Hollis v. Davis, 912 F.2d 1343, 1350­52 (11th Cir. 1990) (finding ineffective assistance where trial counsel failed to challenge the racial composition of a jury chosen in 1959 when African-Americans were systematically excluded from the list of potential jurors). 53. See Wilcox v. McGee, 241 F.3d 1242, 1246 (9th Cir. 2001) (finding ineffective assistance where counsel failed to move at a second trial to dismiss an indictment barred by double jeopardy); Jackson v. Leonardo, 162 F.3d 81, 85 (2d Cir. 1998) (holding that appellate counsel's failure to raise the obvious double jeopardy claim constituted ineffective performance); DeLuca v. Lord, 77 F.3d 578, 590 (2d Cir. 1996) (determining that counsel's failure to pursue extreme emotional disturbance defense constituted ineffective assistance when a reasonable probability existed that a jury would have found this defense persuasive and would have reduced defendant's liability from second degree murder to first degree manslaughter). 54. The Court in Hill v. Lockhart, 474 U.S. 52, 57, 106 S. Ct. 366, 370, 88 L. Ed. 2d 203, 209 (1985), held that the two-prong Strickland standard is &quot;applicable to ineffective-assistance claims arising out of the plea process.&quot; Hill claimed his guilty plea was induced by false information as to his parole eligibility. The Court held that in the case of a defendant claiming his guilty plea was the result of ineffective assistance, the second prong of the Strickland test would be satisfied by showing &quot;a reasonable probability that, but for counsel's errors, he would not have pleaded guilty and would have insisted on going to trial.&quot; Hill v. Lockhart, 474 U.S. 52, 59, 106 S. Ct. 366, 370, 88 L. Ed. 2d 203, 210 (1985); see also Meyers v. Gillis, 142 F.3d 664, 666­70 (3d Cir. 1998) (using the second prong of the Strickland test, the Court found the defendant would be eligible for parole after seven years when law required mandatory life sentence without possibility of parole); United States v. Hansel, 70 F.3d 6, 8 (2d Cir. 1995) (finding counsel provided ineffective assistance in plea bargaining when counsel failed to inform defendant that charges against him were time-barred and defendant would not have pleaded guilty but for counsel's error). Courts have extended this reasoning to the &quot;reverse-Hill&quot; claim where a
(7) Counsel failed to use important evidence or testimony at trial;55 (8) Counsel failed to object to improper use of evidence at trial;56 (9) Counsel failed to request proper jury instructions; 57 (10) Counsel failed to object to improper jury instructions;58 (11) Counsel failed to present or argue an appeal,59 or to present a meritorious issue on appeal; and60
defendant claims that counsel's ineffectiveness caused the defendant to proceed to trial when there is a reasonable probability that if correctly advised the defendant would have accepted a plea offer. See Mask v. McGinnis, 233 F.3d 132, 139­42 (2d Cir. 2000) (finding that reasonable probability that the defendant would have accepted a plea if counsel effectively advised him constitutes ineffective assistance of counsel); United States v. Gordon, 156 F.3d 376, 381­82 (2d Cir. 1998) (finding that the large disparity between &quot;the actual maximum sentencing exposure under the Sentencing Guidelines and the sentence exposure represented by defendant's attorney&quot; indicates that a reasonable probability exists that had the defendant's counsel properly advised him, the proceedings would have gone differently); Boria v. Keane, 99 F.3d 492, 496­99 (2d Cir. 1996) (finding defendant prejudiced when counsel failed to advise defendant of improbability of acquittal or benefits of accepting guilty plea with reduced sentence because defendant's trial sentence was at least twice as long as sentence offered in plea); but see Purdy v. United States, 208 F.3d 41, 46 (2d Cir. 2000) (finding that although attorney should inform each client of the probable costs and benefits of accepting a plea bargain, he need not advise client explicitly to either plead guilty or not). 55. See Lindstadt v. Keane, 239 F.3d 191, 201­02 (2d Cir. 2001) (finding ineffective assistance in part because trial counsel made no effective challenge to the only physical evidence of sexual abuse, which consisted of expert testimony based on unnamed studies which were essentially unchallenged at trial and controverted by other easily available, published studies); Pavel v. Hollins, 261 F.3d 210, 216­ 26, 223, 228 (2d Cir. 2001) (finding ineffective assistance where trial counsel did not prepare a defense, failed to call two important fact witnesses, and did not call a medical expert); Brown v. Myers, 137 F.3d 1154, 1156­58 (9th Cir. 1998) (finding ineffective assistance when counsel failed to investigate and present testimony supporting petitioner's alibi); Tosh v. Lockhart, 879 F.2d 412, 414 (8th Cir. 1989) (finding defense counsel's failure to procure alibi witnesses was ineffective assistance of counsel); People v. Jenkins, 68 N.Y.2d 896, 897, 501 N.E.2d 586, 586­87, 508 N.Y.S.2d 937, 937­38 (1986) (finding that failure to use crucial evidence, if due solely to attorney's erroneous assumption of its inadmissibility, may be so prejudicial as to be ineffective assistance of counsel); People v. Riley 101 A.D.2d 710, 711, 475 N.Y.S.2d 691, 692­93 (4th Dept. 1984) (finding failure to impeach prosecution witnesses with available records of prior testimony contributed to ineffective assistance of counsel). 56. See Kimmelman v. Morrison, 477 U.S. 365, 385­87, 106 S. Ct. 2574, 2588­89, 91 L. Ed. 2d 305, 326­27 (1986) (finding ineffective assistance when counsel failed to move to suppress evidence because of counsel's failure to investigate); Tomlin v. Myers, 30 F.3d 1235, 1237­39 (9th Cir. 1994) (finding counsel ineffective for failure to move to suppress lineup identification evidence); People v. Wallace 187 A.D.2d 998, 998­99, 591 N.Y.S.2d 129, 130 (4th Dept. 1992) (finding attorney's failure to object to admission of evidence was ineffective assistance); People v. Riley 101 A.D.2d 710, 711, 475 N.Y.S.2d 691, 692­93 (4th Dept. 1984) (finding failure to object to inadmissible hearsay evidence, and lack of preparation and the pursuit of a highly prejudicial cross-examination constituted ineffective assistance). 57. See People v. Norfleet, 267 A.D.2d 881, 883­84, 704 N.Y.S.2d 146, 148 (3d Dept. 1999) (finding ineffective assistance where counsel failed to seek jury instructions for lesser offense); People v. Wiley, 120 A.D.2d 66, 67­68, 507 N.Y.S.2d 928, 929 (4th Dept. 1986) (finding an attorney who fails to request an alibi charge may be found ineffective). 58. See Cox v. Donnelly, 432 F.3d 388, 390 (2d Cir. 2005) (finding that counsel's repeated failure to object to erroneous jury instruction constituted ineffective counsel); Everett v. Beard, 290 F.3d 500, 513, 515­16 (3d Cir. 2002) (holding that counsel performed deficiently by failing to object on due process grounds to jury instruction which explicitly permitted jury to convict defendant of first degree murder if his accomplice intended to cause the death of the victim); Gray v. Lynn, 6 F.3d 265, 269, 271­ 72 (5th Cir. 1993) (finding counsel fell below objective standard of reasonable assistance, thereby providing ineffective assistance, where counsel failed to object to erroneous jury instructions regarding elements of first degree murder). 59. See Roe v. Flores-Ortega, 528 U.S. 470, 484, 120 S. Ct. 1029, 1038, 145 L. Ed. 2d 985, 999­ 1000 (2000) (finding that defendant was entitled to effective assistance of counsel when deciding whether to file a notice of appeal, but that he must show a reasonable probability that but for counsel's
(12) Counsel's conduct at trial was simply so bad as to be ineffective;61
Ineffective assistance of counsel can be a very useful claim for prisoners who had inadequate legal representation at trial or on direct appeal. It can also be useful for prisoners who face procedural problems with some of their appellate claims. When you bring your ineffective counsel claim, it is important to check the relevant Chapters of the JLM and other sources to make sure you are using the right procedure. Your ineffective counsel claim will have a better chance of success if you make sure to show the court all the specific reasons why your lawyer performed poorly, and all of the ways in which this inadequate representation prejudiced the outcome of your case.
errors, he would have filed the appeal); Garcia v. United States, 278 F.3d 134, 137­38 (2d Cir. 2002) (finding ineffective assistance of counsel where counsel incorrectly advised defendant on the record that he could not appeal and district court confirmed that advice); United States v. Phillips, 210 F.3d 345, 350­52 (5th Cir. 2000) (finding that counsel's failure to appeal an obstruction of justice sentencing enhancement constituted ineffective assistance); Castellanos v. United States, 26 F.3d 717, 719­20 (7th Cir. 1994) (finding attorney provides ineffective assistance of counsel in failing to appeal conviction following a guilty plea if the prisoner told his lawyer to appeal in a timely manner); United States v. Peak, 992 F.2d 39, 41­42 (4th Cir. 1993) (finding that counsel's failure to file for appellate review when requested by defendant deprives defendant of 6th Amendment right to assistance of counsel even if he would have not been likely to win on appeal); United States v. Horodner, 993 F.2d 191, 195­96 (9th Cir. 1993) (finding ineffective assistance of counsel which prejudiced the defendant if the defendant did not agree to waive the appeal); Bonneau v. United States, 961 F.2d 17, 18­19, 22­23 (1st Cir. 1992) (finding that direct appeal was dismissed due to ineffective counsel, as the attorney never filed an appeal and the defendant therefore never had his constitutionally granted opportunity to appeal); People v. Stokes, 95 N.Y.2d 633, 638­39, 744 N.E.2d 1153, 1156, 722 N.Y.S.2d 217, 220 (2001) (finding defendant's right to appellate counsel was not adequately safeguarded because the brief submitted by appellate counsel contained no reference to the evidence or to defense counsel's objections at trial and made clear that counsel did not act like an advocate on behalf of the client); People v. Vasquez, 70 N.Y.2d 1, 3­4, 509 N.E.2d 934, 935, 516 N.Y.S.2d 921, 922 (1987) (finding that defense counsel's identification of points as being &quot;without merit&quot; in appellate brief, though defendant wished to raise them on appeal, denied defendant effective assistance of counsel). 60. E.g., Ballard v. United States, 400 F.3d 404, 407­10 (6th Cir. 2005) (holding appellate counsel ineffective for failing to raise meritorious argument that sentence enhancement by judge violated right to jury trial). 61. This kind of general argument is very hard to make successfully. Your claim must include specific information about why your counsel's conduct was not acceptable. See Tippins v. Walker, 77 F.3d 682, 687­90 (2d Cir. 1996) (finding ineffective assistance where attorney slept through substantial portions of the trial such that judge interrupted proceedings to reprimand attorney); Burdine v. Johnson, 262 F.3d 336, 341 (5th Cir. 2001) (finding ineffective assistance because counsel was unconscious during substantial portions of trial, leaving the petitioner without representation during critical stages of the trial); People v. Huggins, 164 A.D.2d 784, 786­87, 559 N.Y.S.2d 720, 721­22 (1st Dept. 1990) (finding ineffective assistance where attorney was an alcoholic who had once been disbarred for twenty years and was confused and inattentive at trial).
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