About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

9 Transcript 1 (1964)

handle is hein.barjournals/tscb0009 and id is 1 raw text is: ' '1 Condemnation - ETV - February 13 The Committee on Institutes, Symposiums and Seminars has scheduled the third pro- gram in The Lawyers Forum of the Air for February 13. The one and half hour presentation will cover both State and Fed- eral condemnation proceedings. Duo to expanding Federal installations and the ever-increasing miles of roadway, it was felt that th. members of the Associa- tion shoi ld be given an opportunity to join in a discussion of recent developments. As in the past specified local schools will be open for the convenience of those desiring to attend. Local news media will carry ad- ditional information during early February. Law Firm Announcements 1-Moore, Mouzon & McGee B. Allston Moore, Harold A. Mouzon and B. Allston Moore, Jr., partners as Moore & Mouzon, announce that Joseph H. McGee, Jr., has become a member of the firm which will now be known as Moore, Mouzon & McGee and will continue the general practice of law at 4 Gillon St., Charleston. 2-Thomas & Thomas The firm of Thomas & Thomas of Beau- fort announces the association of John A. Hagins, Jr. Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Hagins practiced law in Camden. 3-Younts & Spence The firm of Younts & Spence of Green- ville announces the association of Allen Reese, recently a member of the Judge Advocate General's Corps, Department of the Army. 4--Cooper, Gary, Nexsen & Pruet Cooper, Gary, Nexsen & Pruet of Co- lumbia announce that Thomas B. Pollard, Jr., has become a member of the firm. Final Dues Notice-Directory On February 3 final duet notices will be sent out to delinquent members. Members whose dues have not been paid by February 29, 1964, will be removed from the mailing list of the Association. Subsequent to that date, they will no longer receive the TRANSCRIPT, the LAW REVIEW and rther notices and pub- lications of the South Carolina Bar Association. It should be noted that the Association plans to publish a directory of members should finances permit. Due to printing schedules, names of members paying dues after February 29, will not be printed in the directory. In order to ensure accuracy, members are asked to notify the Executive Secretary of any change in mailing address. Members are also requested to send in their office phone numbers for pub. lication in the directory. Representing Indigent Defendants In Federal Court By HON. J. ROBERT MARTIN Judge, United States District Court for the Western District of South Carolina Hopefully, this article will be somewhat outdated by a Bill by the United States Con- gress some time this year providing for a uniform system for furnishing legal counsel to indigent defendants charged with crimes in the United States Courts. Both the House and Senate passed a Bill during the last ses- sion but the Bills are somewhat different and these differences must be ironed out in committee before the legislation can become law. It is expected that the final law will provide a system for compensating attor- neys for representing indigent defendants in United States Courts. This discussion seeks to point out some of the pitfalls facing lawyers appointed to represent indigent defendants, suggests ways a lawyer can protect himself from criticism, embarrassment, and extra work in later years if the defendant files a motion under Sec- tion 2255, Title 28 U. S. C. A. or some other proceeding attacking the sentence imposed. Although Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U. S. 335, decided in March, 1963, had far reaching effect on the trial and repre- sentation of indigent defendants in State Courts, it had little effect on the United States Courts since Johnson v. Zerbst, 304 U. S. 458 (1938, 1ad required appointment of Counsel for indigent defendants charged with crime in the United States Courts. One of the big problems which U. S. District Judges have faced for a long time, and now State Judges have the same problem, is de- ciding who to appoint to represent defend- ants. There should be a uniform system, including State as well as Federal Courts, which would prevent the same attorney from being appointed to represent two or more defendants at the same time. This would seem to be a problem which could best be solved by a committee of the South Caro- lina Bar Association working with the State and Federal Courts. The single most important thing an ap- pointed lawyer can do, to protect himself from embarrassment and unnecessary work is to keep accurate records. In time most lawyers will forget the de- tails of the case and may even forget the name of the defendant, but the defendant won't forget the lawyer's name nor will he forget the smallest detail. After incarcera- tion, he may file one or several proceedings seeking to attack the sentence. One of the most frequent grounds for such proceedings is that of in.,dequate representation. If the allegations are sufficient, another attorney will be appointed to represent the petitioner, a hearing will be held and the first attorney will be called as a witness to explain, in open court, what action he took in repre- senting the petitioner at the first hearing. Without records, several years after the original plea of guilty, or trial, this can be embarrassing. If the lawyer is forced to say something like I vaguely recall that in some court, at some time, I represented somebody for stealing a Golf Cart, but I don't recall who it was or anything about it, the peti- tioner may get a new trial on the ground of inadequate representation, even though the lawyer did a good job for him in the origi- nal proceeding. After appointment, the first thing a lawyer should do is to obtain a copy of the indictment or information from the Clerk. After determining the nature of the charge against his client by reading the in- dictment, and doing all necessary research, he should talk (o the defendant. If the defendant is ir, custody, the Marshal will make him a /aflable to the lawyer for a conference. At the initial conference the lawyer should explain the charges to the defendant, explore his financial condition explain to him that you will keep an accurate record of the work you perform in his behalf and go over the defense. After the conference you should make a record of what you did, noting the time of the conference, the place, any instructions the defendant gave you, etc. Appointed at- torneys can get assistance from the U. S. Attorney's office. Ask for the names of the agents who will testify and if the U. S. Attorney's Office has any information that it can disclose, it will assist you. Ask the Probation Officer for the record of conviction. If you think it would be help- ful, ask the judge if you can see the pre- sentence report which is compiled by the Probation Officer. The Judge may not al- (Continued on page 2, column 3)

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most