2010 (September Term)
United
States v. Gooch, 69 M.J. 353 (the Sixth
Amendment guarantees a criminal
accused, including military service members, the right to effective
assistance
of counsel).
United
States v. Hutchins, 69 M.J. 282 (any procedural
deficiencies concerning the
termination and replacement of the first detailed military defense
counsel did
not result in prejudice to the accused under applicable constitutional
and
statutory standards of law; the accused had the assistance of multiple
counsel
throughout the pertinent proceedings; after the assistant detailed
defense
counsel left the defense team, the accused had the assistance of a
replacement
assistant defense counsel detailed prior to trial; also, the military
judge, at
the request of the defense, granted a continuance to facilitate
preparation by
the new member of the defense team; the defense did not thereafter
request
additional time or resources to permit the reconstituted defense team
to
prepare for or conduct proceedings at trial; similarly, the personnel
action
leading to the severance in the present case resulted from a request
initiated
by the assistant defense counsel, not by the prosecution or the
command; in
that context, the case did not involve a violation of the accused’s
Sixth
Amendment right to counsel; also, the case did not involve structural
error;
the errors in this case involved oversights and omissions in addressing
the
issue of severance on the part of defense counsel, senior officials in
the
defense counsel structure, and the military judge; the case did not
involve any
decision by the military judge to deny pertinent relief requested by
the
defense, such as a request for additional time or resources for trial
preparation, nor does the case involve a decision by the military judge
to
overrule a related defense objection; likewise, the case involves a
personnel
action initiated by a member of the defense team, and does not involve
governmental action undertaken for the purpose of altering the
composition of
the defense team).
United
States v. Wiechmann, 67 M.J. 456 (when a Sixth
Amendment claim
involves a governmental act or omission affecting the right of an
accused to
the assistance of counsel, an appellate court considers whether the
infringement involves a structural error -- an error so serious that no
proof
of prejudice is required -- or whether the error must be tested for
prejudice;
structural error exists when a court is faced with the difficulty of
assessing
the effect of the error or the error is so fundamental that
harmlessness is
irrelevant; structural errors involve errors in the trial mechanism so
serious
that a criminal trial cannot reliably serve its function as a vehicle
for
determination of guilt or innocence; there is a strong presumption that
an
error is not structural).
Denedo
v. United States, 66 M.J. 114 (a military
accused is entitled under the
Constitution and Article 27(b), UCMJ, to the effective assistance of
counsel).
United
States v. Lee, 66 M.J. 387 (in all criminal
prosecutions, the accused
shall enjoy the right to have the assistance of counsel for his
defense; one
element within this Sixth Amendment right to counsel is the right of a
defendant who does not require appointed counsel to choose who will
represent
him; further, counsel provided to or retained by the accused must
provide
reasonably effective assistance; third, where a constitutional right to
counsel
exists, there is a correlative right to representation that is free
from
conflicts of interest; finally, it follows that where assistance of
counsel has
been denied entirely, the likelihood that the verdict is unreliable is
so high
that a case-by-case inquiry is unnecessary).
(an accused may waive his
right to
conflict-free counsel; however, waivers must be voluntary, and they
must be
knowing intelligent acts done with sufficient awareness of the relevant
circumstances and likely consequences; courts will indulge every
reasonable
presumption against the waiver of this right).
United
States v. Brooks, 66 M.J. 221 (in all criminal
prosecutions, the accused
shall enjoy the right to have the assistance of counsel for his
defense; the
Supreme Court has extended the right to counsel to first appeals
guaranteed as
a matter of right; in military jurisprudence, an accused has the right
to
effective representation by counsel through the entire period of review
following trial, including representation before the CCA and the CAAF
by
appellate counsel appointed under Article 70, UCMJ).
(necessarily included in the
Sixth Amendment
right to counsel is the right of an accused to confer privately with
his
attorney).
(not all
impingements on attorney-client
communication constitute per se violations of the Sixth Amendment right
to
counsel thereby requiring reversal; per se violations are limited to
structural
errors and require no proof of prejudice for reversal).
United
States v. Rhoades, 65 M.J. 393 (under the Sixth
Amendment, the accused in a
criminal proceeding has the right to the assistance of counsel for his
defense;
under the UCMJ, an accused has the right to representation by military
counsel
provided at no expense to the accused, and the accused may be
represented by
civilian counsel; the right to counsel of choice under the Sixth
Amendment, as
well as under the UCMJ, is not absolute; the need for fair, efficient,
and
orderly administration of justice may outweigh the interest of the
accused in
being represented by counsel of choice; for example, disqualification
of an
accused’s chosen counsel due to a previous or ongoing relationship with
an
opposing party, even when the opposing party is the government, does
not
violate the Sixth Amendment).
2007
2006
2005
United
States v. Davis, 60 MJ 469 (the Sixth Amendment
guarantees
that a servicemember tried by court-martial will receive competent,
effective
legal representation; the Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance
of
counsel at trials by court-martial is a fundamental right of
servicemembers).
2004
United
States v. Wiest, 59 MJ 276 (the right to counsel is
fundamental to our system of justice).
United
States v. Cain, 59 MJ 285 (members of the armed forces
facing
criminal charges, like their civilian counterparts, have a
constitutional right
to effective assistance of counsel).
United
States v. Seay, 60 MJ 73 (the Fifth Amendment right to
counsel
applies to pretrial interrogation; the Sixth Amendment provides
criminal
accused the right to counsel during criminal proceedings).
(when
an accused
has invoked his right to have counsel present during custodial
interrogation, a
valid waiver of that right cannot be established by showing only that
he
responded to further police-initiated custodial interrogation even if
he has
been advised of his rights; an accused, having expressed his desire to
deal
with the police only through counsel, is not subject to further
interrogation
by the authorities until counsel has been made available to him, unless
the
accused himself initiates further communication, exchanges, or
conversations
with the police).
(one
cannot
anticipatorily invoke the right to counsel prior to custodial
interrogation).
(custodial
interrogation may be reinitiated without counsel being present where a
suspect
is provided a meaningful opportunity to consult with counsel, and
subsequently
waives his right to counsel).
2003
United
States v. Dorman, 58 MJ 295 (individuals accused
of crime
shall have the assistance of counsel for their defense through
completion of
their appeal; this right includes the right to the effective assistance
of
counsel on appeal).
1999
United
States v. McClain, 50 MJ 483 (Sixth Amendment guarantee
of the
right to effective assistance of counsel means the right to counsel who
is
conflict free; to demonstrate a violation of this right an appellant
must
establish (1) an actual conflict of interests that (2) adversely
affects the
lawyer’s performance).