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E.D.N.Y.: Proffer not IAC where defendant lied to gov't

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

A lawyer defendant did not receive ineffective assistance of counsel from his criminal defense lawyer letting him proffer to the government where the defendant lied. Reich v. United States, 07-cv-2406 (Dec. 31, 2009). Direct appeal: United States v. Reich, 479 F.3d 179 (2d Cir. 2007). Defendant was convicted of forging a USMJ's signature to an order. The issue for the court is whether Mahler rendered deficient performance by advising Reich to tell the Government his side of the story. The parties have not cited, and the court has not found, any Second Circuit authority on point. But other Courts of Appeals have established the following principles. Advising a defendant to convey exculpatory information to the police, which later turns out to be false, does not constitute deficient performance...continue to full post

Full post as published by Law Of Criminal Defense on January 06, 2010 (boomark / email).