Search | Punch and Jurists

Rickman v. Bell, No. 94-5721 (6th Cir.) (131 F.3d 1150) (December 2, 1997) (Judge James L. Ryan)

Article • February 1, 1998 • from P&J February, 1998

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Strickland Standard

Rickman v. Bell, No. 94-5721 (6th Cir.) (131 F.3d 1150) (December 2, 1997) (Judge James L. Ryan) by Two weeks ago we noted a case, Groseclose v. Bell, 130 F.3d 1161 (6th Cir. 1997), in which the Sixth Circuit vacated a 20-year old murder conviction on the grounds that the …

U.S. v. Messina, No. 96-1789, No. 410 (2nd Cir.) (131 F.3d 36) (October 16, 1997) (Judge Guido Calabresi)

Article • January 1, 1998 • from P&J January, 1998

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Conflict of Interest

U.S. v. Messina, No. 96-1789, No. 410 (2nd Cir.) (131 F.3d 36) (October 16, 1997) (Judge Guido Calabresi) by This case raises two significant issues - neither of which can really be gleaned from a reading of the bland and dulcet tones of the Court's decision. For that reason, we …

U.S. v. Messina, No. 96-1789, No. 410 (2nd Cir.) (131 F.3d 36) (October 16, 1997) (Judge Guido Calabresi)

Article • January 1, 1998 • from P&J January, 1998

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Conflict of Interest

U.S. v. Messina, No. 96-1789, No. 410 (2nd Cir.) (131 F.3d 36) (October 16, 1997) (Judge Guido Calabresi) by This case raises two significant issues - neither of which can really be gleaned from a reading of the bland and dulcet tones of the Court's decision. For that reason, we …

Groseclose v. Bell, No. 95-6262 (6th Cir.) (130 F.3d 1161) (December 2, 1997) (Judge James L. Ryan)

Article • January 1, 1998 • from P&J January, 1998

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Strickland Standard

Groseclose v. Bell, No. 95-6262 (6th Cir.) (130 F.3d 1161) (December 2, 1997) (Judge James L. Ryan) by The petitioner in this case was convicted of a murder that took place more than 20 years ago, in 1977. He was convicted and sentenced to death - and now, after all …

Groseclose v. Bell, No. 95-6262 (6th Cir.) (130 F.3d 1161) (December 2, 1997) (Judge James L. Ryan)

Article • January 1, 1998 • from P&J January, 1998

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Strickland Standard

Groseclose v. Bell, No. 95-6262 (6th Cir.) (130 F.3d 1161) (December 2, 1997) (Judge James L. Ryan) by The petitioner in this case was convicted of a murder that took place more than 20 years ago, in 1977. He was convicted and sentenced to death - and now, after all …

Jones v. Vacco, No. 96-2839, No. 1331 (2nd Cir.) (126 F.3d 408) (October 2, 1997) (Judge Frank X. Altimari)

Article • November 1, 1997 • from P&J November, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Strickland Standard

Jones v. Vacco, No. 96-2839, No. 1331 (2nd Cir.) (126 F.3d 408) (October 2, 1997) (Judge Frank X. Altimari) by Limitation on counsel's right to confer with incarcerated defendant/client constitutes a violation of the defendant's constitutional right to counsel. At the completion of his first day of cross-examination, the petitioner/defendant …

U.S. v. Moore, No. 97-1522 (8th Cir.) (122 F.3d 1154) (September 10, 1997) (Judge Morris Sheppard Arnold)

Article • October 1, 1997 • from P&J October, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Strickland Standard

U.S. v. Moore, No. 97-1522 (8th Cir.) (122 F.3d 1154) (September 10, 1997) (Judge Morris Sheppard Arnold) by No right to counsel upon filing of criminal complaint. The assault on the U.S. Constitution continues. Last week we noted that, in U.S. v. Mitchell, 122 F.3d 185 (3rd Cir. 1997), the …

Thompson v. Calderon, No. 95-99014 (9th Cir.) (120 F.3d 1045) (August 3, 1997) (Judge Betty Binns Fletcher)

Article • September 1, 1997 • from P&J September, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Strickland Standard

Thompson v. Calderon, No. 95-99014 (9th Cir.) (120 F.3d 1045) (August 3, 1997) (Judge Betty Binns Fletcher) by This is an astonishing case that reflects a deep and disturbing division among the judges about the role the courts should play in seeking to achieve justice in criminal cases. It is …

Patrasso v. Nelson, No. 96-3962 (7th Cir.) (121 F.3d 297) (August 5, 1997) (Judge Daniel A. Manion)

Article • September 1, 1997 • from P&J September, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Strickland Standard

Patrasso v. Nelson, No. 96-3962 (7th Cir.) (121 F.3d 297) (August 5, 1997) (Judge Daniel A. Manion) by In 1983, James Patrasso was convicted of two counts of attempted murder. He was sentenced to a term of 60 years in prison. Since then he appealed his conviction and sentence to …

U.S. v. O'Neil, No. 96-1623, No. 1531 (2nd Cir.) (118 F.3d 65) (June 18, 1997) (Judge Roger J. Miner)

Article • August 1, 1997 • from P&J August, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Conflict of Interest

U.S. v. O'Neil, No. 96-1623, No. 1531 (2nd Cir.) (118 F.3d 65) (June 18, 1997) (Judge Roger J. Miner) by In rendering its decision, the Court observed that although a "defendant's failure to pay fees may cause some divisiveness between attorney and client", courts generally presume that counsel will subordinate …

Freund v. Butterworth, No. 93-5317 (11th Cir.) (117 F.3d 1543) (July 16, 1997) (Judge Gerald B. Tjoflat)

Article • August 1, 1997 • from P&J August, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Conflict of Interest

Freund v. Butterworth, No. 93-5317 (11th Cir.) (117 F.3d 1543) (July 16, 1997) (Judge Gerald B. Tjoflat) by This extraordinarily lurid, highly-publicized case is a testimonial to the perseverance of two defense lawyers; and it contains an unusually detailed analysis of the law dealing with prejudicial conflicts of interest between …

U.S. v. O'Neil, No. 96-1623, No. 1531 (2nd Cir.) (118 F.3d 65) (June 18, 1997) (Judge Roger J. Miner)

Article • August 1, 1997 • from P&J August, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Conflict of Interest

U.S. v. O'Neil, No. 96-1623, No. 1531 (2nd Cir.) (118 F.3d 65) (June 18, 1997) (Judge Roger J. Miner) by In stark contrast to the Freund decision (Freund v. Butterworth, 117 F.3d 1543 (11th Cir. 1997) (Judge Tjoflat) which is noted in this same issue) is this second attorney-client conflict-of-interest …

U.S. v. Gonzalez, No. 96-30161 (9th Cir.) (113 F.3d 1026) (May 9, 1997) (Judge William W. Schwarzer)

Article • June 1, 1997 • from P&J June, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Conflict of Interest

U.S. v. Gonzalez, No. 96-30161 (9th Cir.) (113 F.3d 1026) (May 9, 1997) (Judge William W. Schwarzer) by The interesting issue raised in this case was whether the district court had abused its discretion when it denied defendant's motion for appointment of substitute counsel without first conducting an inquiry into …

Williamson v. Ward, No. 95-7141 (10th Cir.) (110 F.3d 1508) (April 10, 1997) (Judge Stephanie K. Seymour)

Article • May 1, 1997 • from P&J May, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Strickland Standard

Williamson v. Ward, No. 95-7141 (10th Cir.) (110 F.3d 1508) (April 10, 1997) (Judge Stephanie K. Seymour) by In this shocking case, the Court vacated an incompetant's defendant's murder conviction (after the defendant spent five years in prison) because his blind lawyer had totally failed to investigate the case or …

Thompson v. Calderon, No. 95-99014 (9th Cir.) (109 F.3d 1358) (March 6, 1997) (Judge Robert R. Beezer)

Article • May 1, 1997 • from P&J September, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Strickland Standard

Thompson v. Calderon, No. 95-99014 (9th Cir.) (109 F.3d 1358) (March 6, 1997) (Judge Robert R. Beezer) by

Stoia v. U.S., No. 95-2424 (7th Cir.) (109 F.3d 392) (March 24, 1997) (Judge Michael S. Kanne)

Article • April 1, 1997 • from P&J April, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Conflict of Interest

Stoia v. U.S., No. 95-2424 (7th Cir.) (109 F.3d 392) (March 24, 1997) (Judge Michael S. Kanne) by Here, although the Court agreed that counsel had an actual conflict of interest, without any hearing, it simply denied any relief to the defendant because he had failed to show that the …

Boria v. Keane, No. 95-2688 (2nd Cir.) (99 F.3d 492) (May 3, 1996) (Judge Whitman Knapp)

Article • December 1, 1996 • from P&J December, 1996

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Failure to Address/Advise Defendant

Boria v. Keane, No. 95-2688 (2nd Cir.) (99 F.3d 492) (May 3, 1996) (Judge Whitman Knapp) by Here the Court granted habeas relief in a case where the defendant was sentenced to 20 years, after rejecting a plea offer that would have given him 1 to 3 years, because counsel …

Siddiqi v. U.S., No. 95-2174, No. 984 (2nd Cir.) (98 F.3d 1427) (October 31, 1996) (Judge Ralph K. Jr. Winter)

Article • December 1, 1996 • from P&J December, 1996

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Appellate Advocacy/Counsel

Siddiqi v. U.S., No. 95-2174, No. 984 (2nd Cir.) (98 F.3d 1427) (October 31, 1996) (Judge Ralph K. Jr. Winter) by Here the 2nd Circuit summarily dismissed a conviction for Medicare fraud on the grounds that the Government's case was a lot of "grand advocacy but had no basis in …

Williams v. Callaghan, No. Civ. No. 95-02335 (D.D.C.) (938 F.Supp. 46) (September 10, 1996) (Judge Stanley Sporkin)

Article • November 1, 1996 • from P&J November, 1996

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Strickland Standard

Williams v. Callaghan, No. Civ. No. 95-02335 (D.D.C.) (938 F.Supp. 46) (September 10, 1996) (Judge Stanley Sporkin) by The defense lawyers nightmare! Here, after the client was convicted of some drug crimes, and his conviction was affirmed on appeal, he brought a lawsuit against his attorney alleging both legal malpractice …

U.S. v. Bruce, No. 95-3106 (D.C. Cir.) (89 F.3d 886) (July 26, 1996) (Judge Patricia M. Wald)

Article • August 1, 1996 • from P&J August, 1996

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Conflict of Interest

U.S. v. Bruce, No. 95-3106 (D.C. Cir.) (89 F.3d 886) (July 26, 1996) (Judge Patricia M. Wald) by In this case, the Court noted that the courts have generally been reluctant to allow defendants to "force their ineffective assistance claims into the 'actual conflict of interest' framework . . . …