On January 20 the U.S. Supreme Court (7-2) granted Missouri death row inmate Mark Christeson new attorneys to assist him in pursuing his federal appeal. Christeson’s appointed attorneys missed a crucial filing deadline for his federal appeal, not even meeting with him until a month after the deadline. New attorneys offered to represent Christeson, arguing that his current attorneys had a conflict of interest, since advocating for him would mean admitting their own error. The District Court and Court of Appeals both denied the request for substitution of counsel, and Christeson’s execution date was set for Oct. 29, 2014. The Supreme Court granted a stay, and, in deciding the case, wrote, “[Christeson’s original attorneys’] contentions here were directly and concededly contrary to their client’s interest, and manifestly served their own professional and reputational interests.” Fifteen former judges filed a brief in support of Christeson, saying, “[O]ur system would be broken indeed if it did not even provide him with an opportunity, assisted by conflict-free counsel, to present his case to a federal court.”
(M. Coyle, “Death Row Prisoner May Fire Lawyers Who Missed Deadline,” National Law Journal, January 20, 2015). See U.S. Supreme Court and Representation. Read the Court’s decision in Christeson v. Roper, No. 14–6873 (Jan. 20, 2015) (per curiam, granting cert., reversing and remanding).
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