Delay in Sharing Plea Deal with Defendant is Ineffective Assistance

A lawyer provides sub-par assistance to a defendant by delaying the conveyance of a plea deal offered by the prosecution to the defendant 

Helmedach v. Comm'r of Corr., 2016 BL 308045, Conn. App. Ct., No. AC 38026, 9/27/16.

The Connecticut Appellate Court ruled that a defense attorney that delayed the conveyance of information related to a plea deal to the defendant provided constitutionally subpar assistance.  During trial, the defense attorney received information of a plea deal but withheld it from the defendant until after the defendant testified, almost two days after the attorney received news of the offer. The court rejected the argument that the defense attorney acted within reason because the deal was conveyed “promptly,” which was the applicable standard. The court, however, held that a deal does not need to be communicated immediately, but as soon as “reasonably practicable.” Even though the prosecutor was willing to hold open the offer until the defendant testified, this did not excuse the delayed communication. The court relied heavily on Missouri v. Frye, 132 S. Ct. 1399, which incorporated language from rules promulgated by the American Bar Association requiring lawyers to “promptly inform the[ir] client” of important matters in their case.

https://www.bloomberglaw.com/public/desktop/document/Helmedach_v_Commr_of_Corr_No_AC_38380_2016_BL_308045_Conn_App_Ct_?1476465017