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Criminal defense malpractice survives summary judgment; defendant acquitted on retrial

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Malpractice claim against criminal defense lawyers whose client was convicted in a first trial the verdict of which was overturned for IAC, and acquitted in a second trial on a weak circumstantial case survives summary judgment. See Legal Profession Blog. Correia v. Fagin, SJC-10084 (Mass. Aug. 5, 2008): The government's evidence regarding Correia's role in the setting of the fire was, as the Federal judge described it, a "patchwork of circumstantial evidence" that, as is apparent from the evidence at the second trial, was largely based on two highly disputable premises: first, that Correia was suffering from severe financial woes and set the fire to recover insurance money; and, second, that Correia purposefully disarmed his fire alarm, resulting in much greater damage to the property...continue to full post

Full post as published by Law Of Criminal Defense on August 06, 2008 (boomark / email).