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Criminal – Effectiveness of counsel – Racial bias
Where a defendant moved to withdraw his guilty pleas due to ineffective assistance of counsel premised upon his plea counsel's bias against African-Americans, a judge’s decision to deny that motion must be reversed because the defendant showed bias on the part of plea counsel that necessarily infected his representation of the defendant.
Habeas corpus – Plea bargain – Ineffective assistance
Where a petitioner filed a motion to vacate, set aside or correct his sentence under 28 U.S.C. §2255, that motion should be denied because counsel’s representation was not constitutionally deficient.
Immigration – Coram nobis – Effectiveness of counsel
Where a petitioner has asked for a writ of error coram nobis to vacate his 1981 criminal convictions, the petitioner has not demonstrated that there was a fundamental error in his underlying criminal proceeding, so his request must be denied.
Criminal – Ineffective assistance – Guilty plea
Where a defendant who pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute later moved to vacate that plea, a remand is necessary because the defendant has raised a “substantial issue” regarding whether his counsel was ineffective for failing to bring a motion to suppress the cocaine seized during an inventory search.
Criminal – Conflict of interest – Murder
Where a defendant convicted of first-degree murder was granted a new trial, there was no error of law or abuse of discretion in the judge's conclusion that the defendant’s trial counsel labored under an actual conflict of interest in representing the defendant.
Juvenile – Plea – Immigration consequences
Where a Brazilian citizen who pleaded to being adjudicated a youthful offender filed a motion to withdraw his plea on the ground that his counsel had not provided him adequate advice about the immigration consequences of the plea, a Juvenile Court judge’s decision to deny that motion should be affirmed because the juvenile is unable to demonstrate prejudice from any inadequate advice given by pl[...]
Parent and child – Termination – Ineffective assistance
Where a father’s parental rights were terminated, a new trial is warranted because the father was entitled to competent representation to assist him in presenting his case.
Criminal – Ineffective assistance
Where a defendant was convicted by a District Court jury of indecent assault and battery on a person over 14, he must be granted a new trial because of the cumulative effect of trial counsel's errors.
Habeas corpus – Ineffective assistance – Inculpatory statements
Where a petitioner found guilty by a jury of carjacking and murdering an undercover police officer sought habeas relief claiming that his trial attorney unreasonably failed to seek exclusion of inculpatory statements he made during a period of improper delay following his arrest and detention, the admission at trial of one of the two contested sets of statements was improper, but the petitioner ha[...]
Habeas corpus – Effectiveness of counsel – Murder
Where a petitioner convicted of first-degree murder has requested habeas corpus relief, the petition should be denied despite the petitioner’s claims of ineffective assistance of counsel and actual innocence based on newly discovered evidence.
Criminal – Murder – Effectiveness of counsel
Where a defendant convicted of first-degree murder moved for a new trial, it was not an abuse of discretion to deny that motion despite the defendant’s claims of incompetency and ineffective assistance of counsel.
Criminal – Effectiveness of counsel – Cellphone expert
Where a defendant was convicted of first-degree murder, her trial counsel’s decision not to call a cellphone expert was not ineffective, as (1) that decision was not manifestly unreasonable at the time it was made and (2) the evidence would not have affected the jury's conclusion.
