Defense of Death Row Inmate Good Enough, Ninth Circuit Says

A death row inmate’s disagreements with his lawyers’ tactics didn’t amount to ineffective counsel under the Sixth Amendment, the Ninth Circuit said Dec. 26 in a ruling upholding his sentence.

Dean Phillip Carter was convicted of murder, rape, robbery, and burglary in Los Angeles and San Diego courts and sentenced to death. Carter argued that multiple disagreements with his attorneys amounted to violations of his right to effective counsel under the Sixth Amendment.

Carter’s disputes with his Los Angeles attorneys, such as their refusal to allow him to testify, didn’t amount to an “irreconcilable conflict” that would make their representation ...