sleutherontheside
Retired WS Staff
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2009
- Messages
- 9,874
- Reaction score
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Based upon the article at the link below.......the argument regarding ineffective assistance of counsel could actually be part of an AL plan from the beginning. Here is an interesting snippet....
http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/research/JLPP/upload/CJP202-2.pdf
Although mitigation specialists utilize their prior
professional training when they work on capital trial teams, mitigation is
its own profession and is not a subspecialty of any one discipline.
One could view the increasing number of appointments and training
of mitigation specialists on capital defense teams as evidence of an improvement in safeguarding the integrity of a capital defendant’s constitutional right to a fair trial by ensuring effective assistance of counsel.7 At the same time, the rise of capital mitigation specialists has not occurred
without the potential to introduce social costs into the capital trial system.
These costs include the tension an interdisciplinary capital team
experiences when its legal obligations and directives conflict with the
non-legal professional training of some of its team members. Such internal
tensions can in turn impact the effectiveness of the capital defense,
especially if conflicting norms result in a mitigation specialist disagreeing
with the attorney’s directives or compromising client confidentiality
during the mitigation investigation. Moreover, competing ethical norms
and world views may also impact the defendant’s family or society at
large, such as when a social-worker-trained mitigation specialist struggles
against what she believes to be mandatory reporting requirements
for child abuse—especially when mandatory reporting would detrimentally
affect the defense at the sentencing phase of the capital trial.
One of the first things that come to mind.......AL pushing for family visits from day one, while JB had not and seemed to be isolating KC. Does this offer support for a mitigation argument?
Another.......Terry L. stepping down due to a disagreement on how best to handle the issue of mental health coupled with JB not ordering an ind psych evaluation.
My suspicious mind says, this was all in the big plan from day one.........but that's just me.
Please read the rest at the link. I should mention, that the author.....is an associate of AL. I ask that you please read or at least skim the article before discussion. It will make for much more valuable discussion.
http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/research/JLPP/upload/CJP202-2.pdf
Although mitigation specialists utilize their prior
professional training when they work on capital trial teams, mitigation is
its own profession and is not a subspecialty of any one discipline.
One could view the increasing number of appointments and training
of mitigation specialists on capital defense teams as evidence of an improvement in safeguarding the integrity of a capital defendant’s constitutional right to a fair trial by ensuring effective assistance of counsel.7 At the same time, the rise of capital mitigation specialists has not occurred
without the potential to introduce social costs into the capital trial system.
These costs include the tension an interdisciplinary capital team
experiences when its legal obligations and directives conflict with the
non-legal professional training of some of its team members. Such internal
tensions can in turn impact the effectiveness of the capital defense,
especially if conflicting norms result in a mitigation specialist disagreeing
with the attorney’s directives or compromising client confidentiality
during the mitigation investigation. Moreover, competing ethical norms
and world views may also impact the defendant’s family or society at
large, such as when a social-worker-trained mitigation specialist struggles
against what she believes to be mandatory reporting requirements
for child abuse—especially when mandatory reporting would detrimentally
affect the defense at the sentencing phase of the capital trial.
One of the first things that come to mind.......AL pushing for family visits from day one, while JB had not and seemed to be isolating KC. Does this offer support for a mitigation argument?
Another.......Terry L. stepping down due to a disagreement on how best to handle the issue of mental health coupled with JB not ordering an ind psych evaluation.
My suspicious mind says, this was all in the big plan from day one.........but that's just me.
Please read the rest at the link. I should mention, that the author.....is an associate of AL. I ask that you please read or at least skim the article before discussion. It will make for much more valuable discussion.
raying::smiliescale::crossfingers: