An arti­cle in the Wisconsin Law Review, ​“The Right to Effective Assistance of Capital Postconviction Counsel: Constitutional Implications of Statutory Grants of Capital Counsel” by Celestine Richards McConville, exam­ines the need for expe­ri­enced and effec­tive coun­sel dur­ing state and fed­er­al cap­i­tal post­con­vic­tion pro­ceed­ings. The author notes that, ​“Despite the impor­tant role of post­con­vic­tion coun­sel, the United States Supreme Court has held that crim­i­nal defen­dants seek­ing state post­con­vic­tion relief pos­sess no con­sti­tu­tion­al right to counsel.…As a result, the exis­tence of any right to coun­sel in post­con­vic­tion pro­ceed­ings depends entire­ly on the fed­er­al and state leg­is­la­tures.” The arti­cle lists stan­dards for deter­min­ing qual­i­fied coun­sel, and it explores how the appoint­ment of effec­tive post­con­vic­tion coun­sel can play a cru­cial role in ensur­ing accu­ra­cy and fair­ness in death penalty appeals. 

2003 Wisconsin Law Review 31 (2003). See Law Reviews.

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