SC: Minority Status of AMU Not Lost Merely Because of its Incorporation by Statute  ||  Ker. HC: Media Expressing Definitive Opinion Regarding Guilt/Innocence of Party Not Protected u/a 19  ||  Madras HC: No Law Which Fixes Number of Persons Who Can Appear for/Accompany a Party to Court  ||  Bench Strength of J&K and Ladakh High Court Increased from 17 to 25  ||  HP HC: No Application of Section 29A of A&C Act on Proceedings Commencing before 2015 Amendment Act  ||  HP HC: Parties Must Object to Tribunal’s Jurisdi. u/s 16 of A&C Act Before/During Defence Statement  ||  SC: Officers of DRI are ‘Proper Officers’ for Purpose of Section 28 of Customs Act  ||  Supreme Court: NCRB Authorised to Collect Data of Prisoners  ||  Supreme Court Amends Supreme Court Rules, 2013  ||  SC: Candidate in Select List Doesn’t Have Indefeasible Right to Be Appointed    

Maryland v. James Kulbicki - (05 Oct 2015)

How effective must counsel be?

Criminal

The United States Supreme Court reversed a ruling that James Kulbicki’s defense team were unconstitutionally ineffective and had deprived him of a fair trial. Kulbicki was accused of shooting his mistress pointblank and prosecution had relied on the ‘similar’ characteristics of the metal fragments found in his mistress’s brain, those found in his truck and matched the same to a bullet recovered from his gun. Kulbicki’s petition against ineffectiveness of counsel stemmed from their failure to question the legitimacy of the report admitting bullet comparisons. The Court of Appeal determined Counsel’s failure to identify the report as against scientific method “fell short of prevailing professional norms”. In its reversal of the finding, the Supreme Court noted there was no rationale behind the judgment, which only proposed an alternate trial strategy based on hindsight; counsel had not wasted time in what was, at the time, an uncontroversial analysis; their failure to find a report to question the ballistics methodology would have required rigorous manual search in State libraries.

Tags : UNITED STATES. EFFECTIVENESS   COUNSEL  

Share :        

Disclaimer | Copyright 2024 - All Rights Reserved