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Appeals court weighs ineffective-assistance claim in Mulcarn drug-trafficking case
Summary
Appellate advocates debated whether defense counsel's advice to waive a jury and pursue a judge trial amounted to constitutionally deficient performance, and whether the defendant would have accepted a plea that would have given a shorter sentence.
BOSTON — In an appeal from convictions in a drug-trafficking case, attorneys argued before the Massachusetts Appeals Court over whether trial counsel provided constitutionally adequate advice about plea offers and whether the defendant's decision to proceed to a bench trial amounted to ineffective assistance.
Attorney Joshua M. Daniels, arguing for the defendant Daniel Mulcarn, told the panel that the case falls into a difficult subset of ineffective-assistance claims: where the client was advised to seek a judge trial and was convicted of lesser charges despite a very strong lead count at indictment. Daniels told the court that the lead indictment carried an eight-year mandatory…
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