The U.S. Supreme Court says criminal defendants have a right to effective legal assistance during plea negotiations, and a lawyer must inform the client of any favorable deals the prosecution offers.
A defendant who rejects a plea bargain based on incorrect legal advice by a lawyer has been denied the right to effective assistance of counsel, the court ruled.
The court issued two decisions (Missouri v. Frye and Lafler v. Cooper) where ineffective assistance of counsel caused rejection of a plea offer and led to conviction with a greater punishment.
In Frye, defense counsel failed to inform the defendant of the plea offer. After the offer expired, the defendant still plead guilty but received a more severe sentence.
In Cooper, the attorney communicated the plea offer to the defendant but gave him incorrect legal advice that resulted in rejection of the plea. The defendant went to trial and was found guilty. He received a punishment that was greater than the one offered through the plea.
A defendant must show that had he not received ineffective legal advice, there is a reasonable probability that he would have accepted the plea; the court would have accepted its terms; and the conviction or sentence or both would have been less severe.
The Supreme Court said that the remedy in circumstances like these is to order the state to re-offer the plea agreement.