In an opinion that is creating ripples throughout the country with respect to the ethics of criminal plea bargaining, the Kentucky Supreme Court in United States v. Kentucky Bar Association affirmed Kentucky Bar Association (“KBA”) Advisory Ethics Opinion E-435 to be a correct statement of the Kentucky Rules of Professional Conduct. That advisory opinion stated that it was a concurrent conflict of interest for a criminal defense attorney to advise a client whether to accept a plea bargain which contained a prospective waiver of a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel (IAC) against that attorney, and that likewise it was a violation of the rules for a prosecutor to induce or assist an attorney to violate the Rules of Professional Conduct by including such a waiver in an offer on a plea of guilty. [Footnotes omitted]
Kentucky Journal of Criminal Justice Education & Research
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
In a Case Drawing National Attention, the Kentucky Supreme Court Addresses the Ethics of Waivers of Ineffective Assistance of Counsel in Plea Bargains
DPA General Counsel, B. Scott West, has published an article in the Kentucky Law Journal about the landmark Kentucky case regarding waivers of IAC claims.
