U.S. Courts News Reporter
It’s often said that the ineffective assistance of counsel test is so tough to satisfy that even evidence that a defendant’s attorney slept during trial is insufficient to satisfy the standard. The latest example is Alvarez v. Guerrero, 2025 WL 3719047 (5th Cir. 2025).
In Alvarez, “Juan Carlos Alvarez was sentenced to death for the murders of Michael Aguirre and Jose Varela.” He later appealed, claiming that one of his two trial counsel slept during trial.
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Just under two months after a divided Supreme Court ruled that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution for their conduct in office, Special Counsel Jack Smith charged former President Donald Trump in a revised indictment alleging that Trump conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
The court’s July 1 ruling, written by Chief Justice John Roberts, held that former presidents can never be prosecuted for actions related to the core powers of their office. Moreover, the … Read the rest
For 60 years, the Criminal Justice Act has ensured that defendants who cannot afford to retain an attorney receive professional legal counsel by providing funding for court-appointed counsel in federal cases.
Judiciary News – United States Courts… Read the rest
In a new video, federal judges and public defense attorneys discuss the significance of the Sixth Amendment right to counsel and the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in Gideon v. Wainwright (1963).
Judiciary News – United States Courts… Read the rest