Kelly Daniel Bass v. Chadwick Dotson, Director, Virginia Department of Corrections
1. Whether criminal defendants are required to prove prejudice
for an ineffective assistance of counsel claim where counsel is
absent and the defendant is unable to assert his constitutional
right to a speedy trial at the hearing to set a trial date .
2. Whether it is fundamentally unfair to close the courtroom
during the complaining witness's CGTV testimony and for the rema
inder of the trial where counsel was absent from the courtroom :
during the CCTV testimony and never advised the defendant of the
public trial right or if counsels ineffective assitance should be
presumed prejudicial.
Whether criminal defendants are required to prove prejudice for an ineffective assistance of counsel claim where counsel is absent during a critical stage of trial and whether closing the courtroom during witness testimony violates the defendant's constitutional rights