Article

The Perverse Effects of Mandatory Judicial Reporting to Bar Authorities of Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Determinations

Authors: Tigran Eldred (Boston University) , David Siegel (New England Law School)

  • The Perverse Effects of Mandatory Judicial Reporting to Bar Authorities of Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Determinations

    Article

    The Perverse Effects of Mandatory Judicial Reporting to Bar Authorities of Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Determinations

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Abstract

California Business & Professions Code § 6086.7(a)(2) provides that a court shall notify the State Bar “[w]henever a modification or reversal of a judgment in a judicial proceeding is based in whole or in part on the misconduct, incompetent representation, or willful misrepresentation of an attorney.” Some California judges now interpret this provision as mandating referral to the State Bar in any case in which a new trial or withdrawal of a plea is granted due to ineffective assistance of counsel. This interpretation directly conflicts with an attorney’s continuing duty to her former client. It is unnecessary and has profoundly deleterious consequences to the integrity of the criminal process.

Keywords: AttorneyDiscipline, IneffectiveAssistance, CriminalJusticeEthics

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Published on
2025-03-24

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Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0