Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Based on Counsel's Alleged Fourth Amendment Failures

Abstract:     
Criminal defense counsel's failure to move to suppress evidence allegedly obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment may be the basis for an ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim raised on appeal or in a petition for habeas corpus relief. The framework governing review of such claims is complex, however, and appellants' and petitioners' ineffective assistance claims are generally unsuccessful. Professors John and Nancy Burkoff discuss the recent decisional law on this subject.

Keywords: right to counsel, ineffective assistance, sixth amendment, suppression motions, exclusionary rule

Accepted Paper Series