Warning

Info

LSDefine

Simple English definitions for legal terms

assistance of counsel

Read a random definition: matricide

A quick definition of assistance of counsel:

Assistance of counsel means having a lawyer to help you, especially in a criminal case. The Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution gives you the right to have a lawyer for your defense. Effective assistance of counsel means having a good lawyer who does everything they are supposed to do to help you. Ineffective assistance of counsel means having a bad lawyer who does not do a good job and may cause you to have an unfair trial. Courts look at different factors to decide if you had effective or ineffective assistance of counsel.

A more thorough explanation:

Assistance of counsel means having a lawyer represent you, especially in a criminal case. This right is guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution, which says that in all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall have the right to have the assistance of counsel for their defense.

Effective assistance of counsel means having a lawyer who does their job well and represents you to the best of their ability. This includes advising you of your rights and performing all required tasks according to professional standards in criminal cases.

For example, if someone is accused of a crime and their lawyer fails to investigate important evidence or fails to call important witnesses, this could be considered ineffective assistance of counsel.

Ineffective assistance of counsel means having a lawyer who does not do their job well and deprives you of a fair trial. This could happen if the lawyer handles the case unreasonably, either by performing incompetently or by not devoting full effort to the defendant, especially because of a conflict of interest.

For example, if someone is accused of a crime and their lawyer has a conflict of interest, such as being related to the victim, and does not represent them properly, this could be considered ineffective assistance of counsel.

Courts generally consider several factors when determining whether a defendant received ineffective assistance of counsel, including whether the lawyer had previously handled criminal cases, whether strategic trial tactics were involved, whether the defendant was prejudiced as a result of the lawyer's alleged ineffectiveness, and whether the ineffectiveness was due to matters beyond the lawyer's control.

assistance, writ of | Assistant Commissioner for Patents

General

General chat about the legal profession.
main_chatroom
👍 Chat vibe: 0 👎
Help us make LSD better!
Tell us what's important to you
KnowledgeableRitzyWasp
18:47
@TruthTheX: praying for your gulc uprising
TruthTheX
19:15
Ty me too 🙏
TruthTheX
19:15
@Silver: if you want to practice in IL then there’s likely no better school than the in state schools
BankruptcyAndRestructuringLawIsCool
19:53
@SpectacularDefiantMouse: yeah, like condemnedpuffygnome, I'm not really preparing for law school by taking some courses or anything like that. The only way I'm going to be preparing is by getting myself into a rhythm schedule-wise, well enough in advance of the first day of classes, that I think will be necessary for me to do well 1L.
BankruptcyAndRestructuringLawIsCool
19:54
I'm very much not in rhythm now. lol. But I've 3-ish months.
BankruptcyAndRestructuringLawIsCool
19:55
I've got*
jb2028
19:55
@Silver: Cost of attendance is what matters. $37K in-state tuition = $47K sticker price with a $10K scholarship elsewhere, $70K sticker with a $40K scholarship is better than either, $40K sticker with a $0 scholarship worse than both.
jb2028
19:55
(Assuming placement etc. is comparable)
BankruptcyAndRestructuringLawIsCool
19:57
Congrats on Harvard, jb2028. Any reason you applied to A&M but not Texas at Austin? Seems odd.
jb2028
19:58
@BankruptcyAndRestructuringLawIsCool: Family connection, they gave me a CAS waiver so it was free
BankruptcyAndRestructuringLawIsCool
20:00
Ah, gotcha.
BankruptcyAndRestructuringLawIsCool
20:04
Question for the chat about judicial internships (not externships). My understanding is that judicial internships (as opposed to externships) during the summer are unpaid. How, then, do people who get them pay living expenses during the summer? Do they just make loans stretch for 12 months when they're only meant for 9? I heard that some people supplement the internship with, e.g., a research assistant position with a law professor. But would such a person both do the internship and the RA position at the same time? And if so, is that too much work or feasible?
BankruptcyAndRestructuringLawIsCool
20:04
I don't know what the workload is really like for judicial internships and RA positions.
BankruptcyAndRestructuringLawIsCool
20:05
Also curious what other things people might do to supplement an unpaid judicial internship over the summer with something paid.
jb2028
20:20
@BankruptcyAndRestructuringLawIsCool: Many schools will provide some type of stipend for unpaid summer roles with a public interest employer (defined broadly, often includes any gov or judicial job)
BankruptcyAndRestructuringLawIsCool
20:35
Right, I thought so. At BU, though, it appears that what's called BU's public interest project grant is not available to supplement judicial internships. And I think its public service summer funding is also limited. Oh well.
jb2028
21:13
@BankruptcyAndRestructuringLawIsCool: FWIW they allude to some type of funding ("BU Law has implemented separate funding sources for judicial interns") in this packet https://www.bu.edu/law/files/2023/11/Public-Service-Summer-Funding-Applicant-Packet-2024.pdf
jb2028
21:13
Although they don't give details, and as you note they don't guarantee funding to everyone (which is in line with other $ they offer, e.g. the LRAP)
TruthTheX
21:14
Anyone know how hard it is to do pro bono work as a 1L for judges or fed gov in general in the D.C. market
TruthTheX
21:14
Idk much about pro bono opportunities period but thinking I wanna try to get some work experience as soon as humanly possible
TruthTheX
21:14
When I begin law school I mean
jb2028
21:15
Lines up with BU's limited endowment: $81K per student a few years ago, i.e., enough to support a payout of about $3,250 per student per year at a 4% payout rate https://leiterlawschool.typepad.com/leiter/2022/05/per-student-value-of-law-school-endowments-2021.html
jb2028
21:17
Seems like they're trying to compete with other schools on program headlines (we fund X, Y, and Z and we have an LRAP) but the endowment can't really support that, so they have all these programs but don't guarantee funding. Would not rely on that if you have alternatives.
BankruptcyAndRestructuringLawIsCool
21:19
Thanks for those links. I'll give the public service summer funding information packet, in particular, a careful read. But yeah, your takeaway seems right.
KnowledgeableRitzyWasp
22:33
i could really use some fried chicken right now
KnowledgeableRitzyWasp
22:34
kfc or popeyes
KnowledgeableRitzyWasp
22:34
or korean with gochujang
KnowledgeableRitzyWasp
22:35
i might order some gochujang sauce on amazon and cook some air fried chicken breast filets, they’re really good
KnowledgeableRitzyWasp
22:35
just letting you guys know :)
Mohammed
0:14
Where I can find the definition of the false-endowment?
LSD+ is ad-free, with DMs, discounts, case briefs & more.