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D.Me.: No IAC for not reopening suppression motion for what amounts to a frivolous argument

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Defense counsel's decision not to reopen suppression hearing was strategic under Strickland after consulting with a private investigator about the case. Brown v. United States, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 49308 (D. Me. June 8, 2009)*: I am confident that had counsel notified the court and/or moved to reopen the suppression hearing based on the information gleaned from the private investigator he would have been firmly rebuffed; quibbling with the court about the credibility of a witness at the suppression hearing with less than one month to go until trial would not have been a successful tactic. "Counsel is not required to waste the court's time with futile or frivolous motions." United States v. Wright, 573 F.2d 681, 684 (1st Cir. 1978); see also United State v...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on June 14, 2009 (boomark / email).