Inadequate Advice from Counsel Gets Man off Death Row

Earlier today the Supreme Court announced that it would take on the case of Idaho v. Hoffman. The case has to do with the constitutional guarantee of competent legal counsel for the accused. Max Hoffman was on trial for the murder of a federal informant 18 years ago when his lawyer advised him to decline a plea bargain offer of life in prison and continue with the trial. Hoffman ended up sentenced to the death penalty, and the lawyer with an egg on his face. I know which I'd prefer; eggs exfoliate. A federal appeals court ruled in July 2006 that the advice of Hoffman's lawyer was so poor that it was constitutionally unacceptable, and essentially informed Idaho that it could either give Hoffman his original plea bargain or let him go. The Supremes will hear the case and primarily decide on (a) the standards for effective and ineffective counsel, defined in the sixth amendment, and (b) the fate of Hoffman.