defense-counsel
38 cases — ← All topics
| Case | Title | Lower Court | Docketed | Status | Flags | Tags | Question Presented |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25-6720 | Demarred Ewing v. Illinois | Illinois | 2026-02-04 | Pending | IFP | constitutional-rights criminal-procedure defense-counsel evidence-investigation ineffective-assistance sentencing-mitigation | Whether DeMarco Curae WS Sind Wis Ce\at do the 2 Vecthwe assistace oF Counscl ushice Wis Counsel Dale doa adequately coves Ani Siete's visto euidince … |
| 25-5014 | Phillip R. Durachinsky v. United States | Sixth Circuit | 2025-07-02 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | competency-hearing critical-stages defense-counsel due-process effective-advocacy sixth-amendment | Where defense counsel reasonably believes that their client may be incompetent, but the defendant disagrees, does the Sixth Amendment require a distri… |
| 24-6437 | Armando Molina v. United States | Ninth Circuit | 2025-01-31 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | criminal-defense defendant-rights defense-counsel entrapment sixth-amendment trial-strategy | Whether the Sixth Amendment right to determine the objectives of one's own defense is violated when defense counsel, against the defendant's wishes, s… |
| 24-687 | Matthew P. Leipart v. United States | Armed Forces | 2024-12-27 | Denied | Response Waived | constitutional-rights defense-counsel due-process military-justice prosecutorial-misconduct self-incrimination | In opening statements for a litigated sexual assault case, defense counsel in a "spot of the moment" decision asked the military judge sitting as the … |
| 23-7821 | Noe Rodriguez-Adorno v. United States | First Circuit | 2024-06-27 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | communications constitutional-rights criminal-procedure defense-counsel district-court impasse right-to-counsel sixth-amendment supervised-release | 1. Should certiorari be granted where defense counsel informed the District Court he and Petitioner were at an impasse, and all communications between… |
| 23-925 | Michael Shane McCormick, Sr. v. United States | Sixth Circuit | 2024-02-27 | Denied | circuit-split consultation-duty criminal-appeal criminal-conviction defendant-consultation defense-counsel flores-ortega lower-court-confusion reasonable-effort sixth-amendment | Under the Sixth Amendment, counsel's duty to "consult" regarding a criminal appeal has two independent requirements—"advising the defendant about the … | |
| 23-5802 | Erie Adams, aka Michael Johnson v. United States | Sixth Circuit | 2023-10-16 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | constitutional-rights criminal-procedure defense-counsel due-process habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance legal-precedent sixth-amendment strickland-standard strickland-v-washington | In light of the facts of this case, was the defense counsel ineffective in light of this court's precedent in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (… |
| 23-5573 | Lashun Tracy Tinnen v. United States | Fourth Circuit | 2023-09-13 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | constitutional-rights criminal-procedure defense-counsel habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance legal-precedent performance-evaluation right-to-counsel sixth-amendment strickland-standard strickland-test | In light of the facts of this case, was the defense counsel ineffective in light of this court's precedent in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (… |
| 23-5359 | James Thomas Burke v. Nick Deml, Commissioner, Vermont Department of Corrections, et al. | Second Circuit | 2023-08-15 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | conflict-of-interest constitutional-rights criminal-procedure defense-counsel due-process effective-assistance effective-assistance-of-counsel right-to-counsel sixth-amendment | #1. Whether Americans are lawfully entitled to conflict free defense counsel? #2. Whether Americans are lawfully entitled to effective assistance of … |
| 22-7135 | Victoria Michelle Drain v. Ohio | Ohio | 2023-03-29 | Denied | IFP | 8th-amendment capital-punishment capital-sentencing defense-counsel eddings-v-oklahoma eighth-amendment mitigating-evidence ohio-supreme-court sentencing-review strategic-choice | Counsel and capital defendant s frequently clash over whether and what mitigating evidence to present in support of a sentence less than deat h. In Oh… |
| 22-7032 | Scott Lynn Fishbein v. United States | Fifth Circuit | 2023-03-17 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | 28-usc-2255 actual-innocence certificate-of-appealability defense-counsel due-process false-information guilty-plea habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel | Should a certificate of appealability have been issued by the court of appeals for review of an appeal of the denial of a 28 U.S.C. §2255 which presen… |
| 22-6636 | Mostafa Kamel Mostafa v. United States | Second Circuit | 2023-01-27 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | criminal-procedure defense-counsel federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel newly-discovered-evidence post-trial-motion rule-33 | 1. Whether a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel may be raised under Rule 33(b)(1) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure? 2. Whether the … |
| 22-5360 | Wayne Chin v. Joseph Noeth, Superintendent, Attica Correctional Facility | Second Circuit | 2022-08-16 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | accused-autonomy actual-innocence attorney-client-relationship autonomy constitutional-rights criminal-procedure defense-counsel due-process right-to-counsel sixth-amendment unwelcome-defense | WHETHER A DEFENSE COUNSEL CAN OVERRIDE AN ACCUSED 'S FINAL AND INFORMED DECISION FOR AN ACTUAL INNOCENCE DEFENSE AND IMPOSE AN UNWELCOME DEFENSE UPON … |
| 22-5243 | Grover D. Cannon v. Louisiana | Louisiana | 2022-08-01 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | actus-reus constitutional-law criminal-procedure defense-counsel mccoy-v-louisiana mens-rea right-to-autonomy self-defense sixth-amendment | Did Louisiana's courts violate Grover D. Cannon's Sixth Amendment rights recognized in McCoy by allowing Mr. Cannon's defense counsel over Mr. Cannon'… |
| 21-1611 | Robert Koger v. United States | Fourth Circuit | 2022-06-29 | Denied | Response Waived | conflict-of-interest criminal-defense criminal-investigation defense-counsel disclosure due-process reversal sixth-amendment witness witness-testimony | 1. Whether a criminal defendant establishes an "actual " unwaiveable conflict of interest that adversely affects counsel 's representation when def… |
| 21-1146 | Gary McClain v. Texas | Texas | 2022-02-17 | Denied | client-autonomy criminal-procedure criminal-trial defense-counsel fundamental-rights right-to-counsel sixth-amendment structural-error trial-strategy | This Court held in McCoy v. Louisiana, 138 S. Ct. 1500 (2018), that defense counsel may not concede his client's guilt in the guilt phase of trial if … | |
| 21-1042 | David Minnick v. Dan Winkleski, Warden | Seventh Circuit | 2022-01-26 | Denied | Response Waived | criminal-procedure defense-counsel direct-appeal guilty-plea hill-v-lockhart ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel reasonableness-inquiry sentencing strickland-standard strickland-v-washington | 1. Whether the "reasonableness" standard for assessing deficient performance of defense counsel under Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984), a… |
| 21-6164 | Julia Lagunas-Hernandez v. United States | Eighth Circuit | 2021-11-04 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | burden-of-proof cell-phone-search constitutional-rights defense-counsel fair-trial jury marital-communication marital-communications prosecutorial-misconduct trial-strategy | 1. Whether the United States committed prosecutorial misconduct, depriving Petitioner of a fair trial when it shifted burden of proof by stating that … |
| 20-8444 | Dustin Melvin Davison v. Oklahoma | Oklahoma | 2021-06-29 | Denied | IFP | autonomy constitutional-rights criminal-procedure defendant-autonomy defense-counsel due-process effective-assistance-of-counsel guilt-concession right-to-counsel sixth-amendment trial-strategy | Is it unconstitutional to allow defense counsel to concede any aspect of guilt over defendant's unambiguously expressed desire to maintain actual inno… |
| 20-7293 | Willie Safford v. Florida | Florida | 2021-03-02 | Denied | IFP | civil-rights constitutional-violation defense-counsel due-process ineffective-assistance jury-instructions lesser-included-offense mitigating-evidence post-conviction-relief right-to-counsel sentencing-phase standard-of-review | Question not identified. |
| 20-6655 | Alonso Sanchez Ochoa v. United States | Fifth Circuit | 2020-12-21 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | consecutive-sentence criminal-sentencing defense-counsel district-court pre-sentence-report probation-officer relevant-conduct sentencing | 1. Is it reasonable for a District court to order a consecutive sentence despite an agreement among Probation Officer, Pre-Sentence Report Addendum, a… |
| 20-5918 | Leonard F. Locke, Jr. v. United States | Eighth Circuit | 2020-10-06 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | 4th-amendment civil-rights constitutional-rights defense-counsel due-process fourth-amendment ineffective-assistance-of-counsel police-misconduct probable-cause search-and-seizure traffic-stop warrantless-search | /.s fine. Supreme CoorY c/lse \Aud J aIonj wiil) Me /4ppeA/MM Covrfs cASc Iauj 2c ~hhe d/sfricf Courts cASe UtJ, fAM rS -from MeSAme c/MricM j- Appa… |
| 20-5760 | Daniel Carl Frederickson v. California | California | 2020-09-21 | Denied | IFP | capital-case constitutional-rights defense-counsel faretta-v-california guilty-plea mccoy-v-louisiana plea-of-guilty self-representation sixth-amendment | Does a state statute that requires the consent of defense counsel before a defendant in a capital case can enter a plea of guilty violate the Sixth Am… |
| 20-5379 | Keith Adair Davis v. Washington | Washington | 2020-08-17 | Denied | Amici (2)Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP | adversarial-process constitutional-rights criminal-procedure criminal-trial defense-counsel due-process pro-se-defendant right-to-counsel sixth-amendment unsettled-law | Where a pro se defendant is absent from a criminal trial, whether due to misconduct or voluntary choice, is the trial court constitutionally required … |
| 19-8902 | Rafael Antonio Patino-Villalobos v. United States | Eleventh Circuit | 2020-07-06 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | acknowledgement criminal-procedure defense-counsel district-court federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure invited-error legal-doctrine procedural-waiver rule-52(b) sentencing | Whether defense counsel's acknowledgement of the district court's statement during sentencing constitutes an affirmative, intentional, deliberate, and… |
| 19-7964 | Varis R. Aizupitis v. Delaware | Delaware | 2020-03-11 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | attorney-client-privilege confidential-materials constitutional-authority criminal-procedure criminal-procedure-defect criminal-process defense-counsel due-process federal-judiciary federal-jurisdiction ineffective-assistance-of-counsel strategic-intentions structural-defect structural-error | I. Whether the release of confidential materials by defense counsel creates a structural defect in a criminal process where the release is contrary to… |
| 19-1045 | Raminder Kaur v. Maryland | Maryland | 2020-02-24 | Denied | Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (3) | attorney-client-privilege constitutional-rights criminal-defendant criminal-procedure defense-counsel privileged-communications prosecutorial-misconduct sixth-amendment sixth-amendment-right-to-counsel work-product work-product-doctrine | Whether the Sixth Amendment prohibits trial of a criminal defendant by prosecutors with extensive knowledge of both her privileged communications with… |
| 19-7352 | Alfredo Godoy-Machuca v. United States | Ninth Circuit | 2020-01-21 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | appeal-waiver collateral-consequences criminal-procedure defense-counsel ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel plea-agreement plea-bargaining voluntary-and-knowing voluntary-plea | A. Whether the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals erred in, at least implicitly, concluding that material affirmative misdavice given by defense counsel t… |
| 19-7098 | Antonio Shaw v. United States | Eighth Circuit | 2019-12-30 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | constitutional-law constitutional-rights criminal-procedure defense-counsel due-process habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel objective-standard sixth-amendment standard-of-review witness-testimony | (1) Whether defense Counsel's performance in failing to inform client of important witness against him fell below an objectively reasonable Standard o… |
| 19-5592 | Dawud Spaulding v. Ohio | Ohio | 2019-08-15 | Denied | IFP | capital-defendant capital-punishment defense-counsel due-process evidence ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel legal-presumption post-conviction post-conviction-proceedings record record-evidence standard-of-review strategic-decision strategic-decision-making | 1. Should courts presume defense counsel acted strategically, even when the evidence in the record demonstrates a lack of strategy in their actions? … |
| 18-8920 | Charles Franklin Glasscock v. Jeri Taylor | Ninth Circuit | 2019-04-19 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | constitutional-law constitutional-rights criminal-procedure defense-counsel due-process effective-counsel habeas-corpus impartial-jury memorandum-decision ninth-circuit supreme-court | Does the Ninth Circuit's memorandum decision, affirming the denial of habeas corpus relief, contravene this Court's commands regarding the vital guara… |
| 18-8626 | Aaron Murray v. United States | Sixth Circuit | 2019-03-29 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | arrest constitutional-rights criminal-procedure defense-counsel due-process federal-criminal-procedure initial-appearance magistrate-judge plea-bargaining plea-hearing right-to-counsel | Was Petitioner Aaron Murray Entiteled to an initial apperanc.e. before a United States Magistrate Judge under Fed. R. Criminal P Rule 5? How was Peti… |
| 18-8482 | Lourdes Margarita Garcia v. United States | Eleventh Circuit | 2019-03-20 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | brecht-standard constitutional-rights criminal-procedure critical-stage Cronic cronic-rule cronic-standard defense-counsel direct-appeal due-process eleventh-circuit hybrid-error prejudice structural-error trial-procedure | The district court ordered the government, at a critical stage of the trial, to present inculpatory and disputed evidence in the absence of the defend… |
| 18-8420 | Kevin Anthony Briggs v. Montana | Montana | 2019-03-13 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | constitutional-rights defendant-responsibility defense-counsel presumption presumption-of-delay rescheduling-trial sixth-amendment sixth-amendment-claim speedy-trial trial-delay withdrawal-of-counsel | Whether a delay caused by permissive withdrawal of defense counsel, and the subsequent delay in rescheduling trial, is presumed to be caused by a defe… |
| 18-8123 | In Re Ronnie Lee Fagan | 2019-02-25 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | acquittal constitutional-rights criminal-procedure criminal-trial defense-counsel double-jeopardy mistrial right-to-counsel sixth-amendment | QUESTION ONE Whether the trial court's exclusion of defense counsel when the grounds for mistrial were being considered: (a) denied the defendant an … | |
| 18-7707 | Antonio Anguiano v. United States | Ninth Circuit | 2019-01-31 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | criminal-justice-act defense-counsel defense-function due-process independent-counsel judicial-control sixth-amendment structural-error | As a matter of first impression: whether, in upholding structural error flowing from judicial control over the defense function under the Criminal Jus… |
| 18-7657 | Devi Smith v. Patrick Warren, Warden | Sixth Circuit | 2019-01-31 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | appellate-counsel appellate-procedure criminal-trial defense-counsel defense-witnesses direct-review effective-assistance-of-counsel ineffective-assistance-of-counsel sixth-amendment trial | WAS THE PETITIONER DEPRIVED OF HIS SIXTH AMENDMENT RIGHT TO THE EFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL AT TRIAL WHERE DEFENSE COUNSEL FAILED TO CALL CRITICAL… |
| 18-5395 | Wayne Clyde Mezzles v. John N. Katavich, Warden | Ninth Circuit | 2018-07-30 | Denied | IFP | criminal-procedure-forfeiture defense-counsel due-process federal-claims forfeiture-bar jury-admonitions jury-instructions prosecutorial-misconduct sentencing sentencing-proportionality state-procedural-bar trial-court | Before trial, the court ruled that defense expert Robert Owen could testify about Mezzles's PTSD but not about his capacity to form the specific inten… |