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Failure to pass on plea offer per se ineffective assistance with prejudice

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

The Second Circuit recognizes that failure to pass on a plea offer is ineffective assistance per se under Strickland if the defendant shows prejudice. Goldberg v. Tracy, 2008 WL 216293 (E.D. N.Y. January 23, 2008): The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has explained that a criminal defense lawyer must always convey the terms of a plea offer to a defendant; failure to do so is in effect a per se violation of the first prong of Strickland: We recently considered whether defense counsel renders ineffective assistance when he fails to give his client any advice as to the acceptance of a plea bargain offered by the prosecution. See Boria v. Keane, 99 F.3d 492, 496-97 (2d Cir.1996).... In that case, the defendant had proclaimed his innocence to his lawyer, the prosecution had offered a plea bargain with a sentence of one to three years, and, without the plea bargain, the defendant faced sentencing for a Class A-I felony for which the minimum term of imprisonment is 15 to 25 years and the maximum term is life...continue to full post

Full post as published by Law Of Criminal Defense on February 03, 2008 (boomark / email).