Reference no: EM133665795

Discussion Post

I. The Court assumes that effective assistance of counsel is present unless the adversarial process is so undermined by counsel's conduct that the trial cannot be relied upon to have produced a just result. An accused who claims ineffective counsel must show the following: (1) deficient performance by counsel and (2) a reasonable probability that but for such deficiency the result of the proceeding would have been different (Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 [1984]). Discuss the difficulty of successfully demonstrating point number two.

II. The Supreme Court interpretation of the Sixth Amendment requires that trial juries in both federal and state criminal trials be selected from "a representative cross-section of the community." It also guarantees trial by a jury of peers. That phrase does not mean that, say, a student facing criminal charges must have a jury of students or that female defendants must have an all-female jury. Discuss what potential problems exist in attempting to provide a defendant with a jury of persons exclusively similar to him/her. Is such an effort possible...practical? Discuss who the students would prefer to have on a jury if they found themselves to be defendants in a criminal trial.