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Does a defendant have right to effective assistance in postconviction proceeding? 

Published: June 6, 2011

Tags: habeas corpus, ineffective assistance

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether a defendant in a state criminal case has a federal constitutional right to effective assistance of counsel in his first postconviction proceeding in light of state procedural bars.

HABEAS CORPUS 

By: Kimberly Atkins
Published: February 23, 2011

Tags: habeas corpus

California’s requirement that habeas petitions be promptly filed qualifies as an independent state ground for denying habeas relief.

U.S. Supreme Court. Walker v. Martin, No. 09-996.  Feb. 23, 2011. Lawyers USA No. 993-2689.

Murder defendant can’t show ineffective assistance 

By: Pat Murphy
Published: January 19, 2011

Tags: habeas corpus, ineffective assistance of counsel, Strickland v. Washington

A murder defendant could not obtain post-conviction relief based on a claim that his lawyer failed to suppress his confession, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in reversing habeas relief granted by the 9th Circuit.

Justices: Defendant not denied effective counsel 

By: Correy Stephenson
Published: January 19, 2011

Tags: habeas corpus, ineffective assistance of counsel

A criminal defendant was not denied the effective assistance of counsel where his attorney chose methods other than expert testimony to create a reasonable doubt as to his guilt, the U.S Supreme Court has ruled.

HABEAS CORPUS 

By: Kimberly Atkins
Published: March 1, 2010

Tags: habeas corpus

The Court declined to rule on whether a federal court exercising habeas jurisdiction may order the release of prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay in light of the fact that most detainees have accepted offers to resettle elsewhere.

U.S. Supreme Court. Kiyemba v. Obama, 08-1234. March 1, 2010.Lawyers USA No.
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Murder confession inadmissible 

By: Nora Tooher
Published: February 26, 2010

Tags: habeas corpus, Miranda warning

A teen’s murder confession is inadmissible because he received inadequate Miranda warnings and was subjected to “relentless” overnight questioning by police, the en banc 9th Circuit has ruled.

Supreme Court decides ineffective assistance claim 

By: Pat Murphy
Published: January 20, 2010

Tags: death penalty, habeas corpus, ineffective assistance of counsel

Defense counsel in a death penalty case could be deemed to have acted competently even though they decided not to pursue or present evidence of their client’s mental deficiencies, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in a 7-2 decision.

HABEAS CORPUS 

By: Kimberly Atkins
Published: January 11, 2010

Tags: habeas corpus

A prisoner convicted of rape and murder is not entitled to habeas relief where the trial record includes both DNA evidence and other convincing evidence of guilt.

U.S. Supreme Court. McDaniel v. Brown, No. 08-559. Jan. 11, 2010. Lawyers USA No. 993-1706

HABEAS CORPUS 

By: Susan Bocamazo
Published: December 8, 2009

Tags: habeas corpus

A state procedural rule is not automatically “inadequate” under the adequate state ground doctrine, and therefore unenforceable on federal habeas review, because the state rule is discretionary rather than mandatory.

U.S. Supreme Court. Beard v. Kindler, 08-992. Dec. 8, 2009. Lawyers USA No. 993-1645.

Court hears ineffective assistance case 

By: Kimberly Atkins
Published: November 4, 2009

Tags: habeas corpus, ineffective assistance of counsel

WASHINGTON – At oral arguments in a case considering whether the failure to present mitigating evidence in a death penalty case constitutes ineffective assistance of counsel, justices of the Supreme Court focused on procedural issues that could turn the case on a technicality.