Article: Supreme Court takes case on death penalty

Supreme Court takes case on death penalty, ineffective counsel

Justices could spell out inmates' legal rights

By GINA HOLLAND Associated Press

Tuesday, November 19, 2002

Washington -- The Supreme Court opened a fresh inquiry Monday into bad lawyering and the death penalty, accepting a case that could give justices a chance to spell out when inmates can claim that poor representation led to conviction.

The court already sided with prosecutors twice this year in ineffective-counsel cases. The latest appeal is less procedural and gives the justices a better opportunity to deal with the rights of people who face execution.

Defendants in capital cases often cannot afford to hire lawyers, so ...

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