The blame game: criminal defendants try to reverse conviction by claiming ineffectual counsel

Article Abstract:

Claims of ineffective representation may be on the rise but success with such a challenge to conviction remains elusive at best. Defense attorneys say a rising caseload and reduced pay make it easier to make mistakes, and that a burgeoning prison population has more inmates to make habeas corpus claims. The US Supreme Court's 1984 ruling in Strickland v. Washington sets out a difficult standard for such claims, requiring deferential reading of the defense attorney's decisions and actions. Several cases are analyzed.

Practice, Public defenders, Right to counsel, Habeas corpus

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When does punishment go too far? Courts struggle to find the line between parental discipline and child abuse

Article Abstract:

The line between corporal punishment and child abuse has been a difficult one for courts to draw, more difficult during an era of increased concern about child abuse. Conservatives have been averse to government interference in their child-raising and have supported a provision in a proposed federal responsibility law allowing parents to sue government agencies for interfering in this activity. Cases discussed include Hawaii v. Crouser and Raboin v. North Dakota Department of Human Services.

Hawaii, Parent and child (Law), North Dakota, Corporal punishment, states

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Risks of poor service; bungling delivery of process can doom even good lawsuits

Article Abstract:

Service of process is a basic procedural step at the outset of an action and if done incorrectly it can doom a case before the substantive issues are ruled on. Factors which make service of process more difficult include the differences in state rules and business structures. These sometimes make it very difficult to decide who must be served. Cases in which incorrect service of process has dramatically affected the outcome are detailed.u

Laws, regulations and rules, Civil procedure, Process, Process (Law)

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