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AR: One of four defense lawyers sleeping during trial not IAC

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

One of four defense counsel apparently napping during voir dire in a capital case (where life was imposed) was not ineffective assistance of counsel. Jackson v. State, CR07-1016 (Ark. January 8, 2009). How this arose: In his third point on appeal, Jackson argues that the circuit court should have granted his motion for mistrial, made during voir dire, in response to the alleged ineffectiveness of one of his four attorneys. As attorney Marczuk was conducting voir dire of the fourth group of potential jurors, he raised an objection to a line of the State’s questioning. After the court excused the venire members so that counsel could discuss Marczuk’s objection, Marczuk asked that the panel be stricken, but the prosecutor, Thomas Deen, commented that it had been raising the same line of questions with the previous jurors...continue to full post

Full post as published by Law Of Criminal Defense on January 08, 2009 (boomark / email).