“[O]ne critical ruling by the trial judge stands out and appears to have had an unusual impact on the ability of both defense attorneys to present their case to the jury effectively. In a surprise ruling at the close of testimony at 5 p.m. on March 5th, the last Thursday of the trial, the judge ordered both defense attorneys to give their closing arguments the following morning. . . . the lawyers only had an overnight recess to prepare their closing arguments. By contrast, the judge allowed the prosecutor to give his closing argument the following Monday morning.”
Would you consider this to be judicial interference with a defendant’s right to effective assistance of counsel? Why not allow the prosecution and defense present their closing arguments on the same day?
Professor Gershman provides many examples when a judge has interfered with a defendant’s right to effective assistance of counsel. Violation of this 6th amendment right is another reason for the immense backlog of cases in the courts.
Source: Bennett L. Gershman, Judicial Interference with Effective Assistance of Counsel, 31 PaceL. Rev. 560 (2011)
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