Sherman & Plano, TX Criminal Defense Lawyer BlogThe right to effective representation – Sherman & Plano, TX Criminal Defense Lawyer
You have the right to counsel of your choice. If you can afford it, you need to hire the best attorney for your case that you can. Under current economic conditions, many cannot afford the attorney they need and must petition the court for counsel. If indigent by standards set in Texas, you are entitled to a court appointed attorney (but cannot choose which specific attorney).
Courts have an awesome (sometimes life and death) responsibility to appoint lawyers in capital case dedicated to going the extra mile to ensure that the accused truly has the most able assistance of counsel possible. The Code of Criminal Procedures sets the minimum qualification for such counsel. Additionally, the 6th Amendment to the US Constitution guarantees ALL persons accused of a crime the right to effective assistance of counsel. But what does this mean? Surely someone simply standing or sitting (or sleeping) by the client as the prosecutor buries him is not enough. You don’t get a lawyer just to hold your hand while you plead guilty, or even one to do an OK job but miss key facts.
Courts have held that you are, at a minimum, entitled to a lawyer whose performance in your case is reasonable under prevailing professional norms (mainly established by the American Bar Association) and whose representation does not prejudice your case. However, appellate courts presume that a lawyer’s representation is reasonable, and that most choices made in the course of representation are “trial strategy.” Lawyers will oftentimes lie about their errors (or motives for committing them) in post-conviction challenges to protect their reputation at the expense of their client’s freedom or life. That is the reality.
I was sitting at court last week when I overhead a non-lawyer assistant at a district attorney’s office giving someone charged in a criminal case (a case that would be very hard to prove) advice about their case. Apparently, the person had somehow “waived” their right to an attorney and wanted to speak with the prosecutor’s office. She was getting advice on how long she would sit in jail when she “booked in and booked out” on her charges, which prompted me to ask why she didn’t have a lawyer. Texas law now requires courts to inquire as to waivers of attorneys and the court should ensure that the waiver is voluntarily, and the prosecutor’s office is not to encourage people to waive counsel. However, these new rules don’t mean much when citizens accused are afraid to ask for a lawyer to talk about their case.