Criminal Prosecution, Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

Due Process in South Carolina Then and Now: Lessons from George Stinney's Case

Offit Kurman on 5/9/2025

George Stinney was fourteen years old when he was arrested for the murder of Betty June Binnicker and Mary Emma Thames in Alcolu, South Carolina. He is one of the youngest Americans sentenced to death and executed in the 20th...more

Over Dissent, Circuit Embraces Strict “Collateral/Direct” Distinction for Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Claims

Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP on 8/21/2023

In Padilla v. Kentucky, 559 U.S. 356 (2010), the Supreme Court held that attorneys must advise their noncitizen clients of the risk of deportation arising from criminal conviction, and that the failure to do so violates the...more

Second Circuit Remands Ineffective Assistance Claim for Lawyer’s Failure to Apprise Naturalized U.S. Citizen of Denaturalization...

Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP on 4/20/2018

In Rodriguez v. United States, the Second Circuit remanded the case to the district court to hear evidence on a defendant’s application to vacate her guilty plea, on the grounds that she would not have entered into the plea...more

Second Circuit Reminds Courts They Must Advise Defendants of the Immigration Consequences of Guilty Pleas

Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP on 3/14/2018

In United States v. Gonzales, 16-4318 (March 13, 2018), the Second Circuit (Sack, Parker, Carney) in a per curiam order vacated the conviction of a defendant who had pled guilty without being informed that he was likely to be...more

Section 2255 Petition Challenging Ineffectiveness Of Trial Counsel Denied

Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP on 8/1/2017

Last week, in Weingarten v. United States, the Second Circuit denied the Section 2255 petition of a convicted child sex offender, who claimed that his counsel had rendered ineffective assistance by failing to challenge the...more

U.S. Supreme Court Rules for Immigrant Who Received Bad Advice from Lawyer

Cozen O'Connor on 6/26/2017

On Friday, June 23, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of a green card holder who pleaded guilty to a crime based on faulty advice from his attorney. Jae Lee, 48, told the high court that he pleaded guilty to a crime...more

District Court Must Consider Significant Disparity Between Plea Offer and Ultimate Sentence When Assessing Ineffective Assistance...

Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP on 4/26/2017

In Reese v. United States, 16-516, the Second Circuit (Pooler, Wesley, Carney) vacated by summary order the order of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (Marrero, J.) denying Reese’s petition to...more

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