Habeas Hint: SCOTUS equated the client’s right to maintain innocence with other rights that are so fundamental that only the defendant personally can waive them, e.g., the right to plead…
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Most IAC claims are made against trial counsel, which is the focus of this column. Simply stated, IAC has two elements: (1) Deficient Performance; and (2) Prejudice. A lawyer performs…
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Procedural Default (Acknowledging and Avoiding the Kiss of Death). Federal courts generally refuse to hear claims that were defaulted in state court because of an “independent and adequate state procedural…
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No Facts: When No means Yes...Not so long ago, in a bleak turn of events for habeas petitioners, the U.S. Supreme Court held that where a state court's decision on…
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