EFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE

Issues

The Supreme Court will decide whether Larry English, trial counsel for Robert McCoy, violated McCoy’s Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel by conceding McCoy’s guilt against McCoy’s wishes. McCoy was arrested in Idaho and charged in Louisiana with a triple homicide. English believed that maintaining McCoy’s innocence in the face of overwhelming evidence would lead to the death penalty for his client, so English went against his client’s wishes and conceded guilt to the jury, hoping to receive leniency in sentencing. The jury returned a guilty verdict and recommended the death penalty. The Louisiana Supreme Court upheld the conviction and McCoy appealed the constitutional question to the Supreme Court. McCoy argues that the Sixth Amendment guarantees him autonomy to decide whether he, or his counsel, will admit guilt. Louisiana argues that once a defendant accepts the assistance of counsel he cedes control over all strategic decisions, including the decision to concede guilt. McCoy also claims that English acted unethically and failed to provide effective assistance of counsel, which Louisiana denies. The outcome of this case could reshape the client-counsel relationship in criminal cases.

Questions as Framed for the Court by the Parties

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