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Appeals court hears claim that absent trial counsel denied defendant effective assistance
Summary
A three-justice panel heard arguments in Commonwealth v. Gonzalez over whether trial counsel’s failure to appear and reliance on an unprepared substitute counsel deprived Lionel Gonzalez of effective assistance and implicated speedy-trial limits.
A three-judge panel of the Massachusetts Appeals Court on Tuesday heard an appeal from Lionel Gonzalez arguing his trial counsel’s conduct deprived him of effective assistance. "Mr. Gonzalez's case is here today because he did not receive effective assistance of counsel," attorney Philip Webber told the court, centering the argument on an incident where primary counsel did not appear on a scheduled trial date and a substitute attorney filed a same-day notice of appearance.
Webber told the panel that the substitute acted as a "warm body" and could not have meaningfully tried the case…
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