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Criminal Procedure keyed to Kamisar
McCoy v. Louisiana
Citation:
___ U.S. ___, 138 S.Ct. 1500, 200 L.Ed.2d 821 (2018)Facts
McCoy (Defendant) was charged with three counts of first-degree murder for the killing of his estranged wife’s family. McCoy pleaded not guilty. McCoy’s attorney, English, believed that the evidence against him was overwhelming and that the best option to avoid a death sentence was to concede guilt. McCoy told English not to make that concession and pressed him to pursue acquittal. At the beginning of his opening statement, English told the jury that McCoy committed the murders. The jury returned a verdict of guilty on all three counts and three death verdicts. McCoy moved for a new trial, arguing that the trial court violated his rights by allowing English to concede guilt over his objections.
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