United States First Circuit

Defense counsel's abrupt and unjustified abandonment of the promise that defendant would testify, after staking the defense on the strength of that testimony, amounted to ineffective assistance, and habeas relief is appropriate.

Appellate Information

• Decided 06/17/2002
• Published 06/17/2002

Judges

• SELYA, Circuit Judge., Before SELYA, Circuit Judge, STAHL, Senior Circuit Judge, and LYNCH, Circuit Judge.

Court

• United States First Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Linda A. Wagner, Assistant Attorney General, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, with whom Thomas F. Reilly, Attorney General, was on brief, for appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• John Updegraph, with whom John Andrews, Robert M. Strasnick, and Andrews & Koufman, LLC, were on brief, for appellee.