Legal Profession Commons^™

The Attempt To Improve Criminal Defense Representation, Peter W. Tague

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Improvement of criminal defense representation is one of the most critical problems that faces the criminal justice system. The problem is extensive; some attorneys are frequently ineffective and probably all attorneys are occasionally inadequate because of error, overwork, personal problems or ethical conflicts.

The defendant's only remedy against his attorney's ineffectiveness is through direct appeal or collateral post-conviction attack. This article discusses the reasons why courts cannot improve defense representation through these avenues of review. Deep disagreement among judges about the purpose of post-conviction review has crippled any attempt at improvement. The key unresolved question is whether the standard for …

[Review Of] Richard A. Levine & George D. Horning, Jr., Manual Of Federal Practice, Sherman L. Cohn

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Today the federal court is becoming increasingly familiar to the average attorney. Gone is the day when federal practice was limited to a select bar in the largest cities. Going is the day when an attorney can economically and realistically limit himself to the state court practice. Social Security, government contract, tax, labor, federal tort matters now bring the federal presence into every hamlet. Every Congress increases that presence and the occasion for federal court litigation-our increasingly mobile society renders a diversity case more and more usual. Yet many attorneys outside the District of Columbia have not the slightest acquaintance …