SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS MURDER CONVICTION

The Supreme Court has upheld a murder conviction. In Wood v. Allen, the Court held that it was not ineffective for trial attorneys to ignore a possible defense of cognitive deficiencies when the attorneys were in possession of a report that cast doubt as to whether such deficiencies actually limited the Defendant's functioning.

In so ruling, the Court stressed that an ineffective assistance claim cannot prevail when a trial attorney is employing reasonable strategy. Given that such has been the law for years, it is surprising that the Court would take up this issue; the Court likely only took this issue as the Circuit Court of Appeals had reversed the District Court's upholding of the conviction.

Justices Stevens and Kennedy were the only dissenters.