As published by BloombergBNA.com
In an interview with Bloomberg BNA, Professor Steven Schwinn commented on the potential ramifications of a decision on the right to appellate counsel in a pending U.S. Supreme Court case. Because the right to effective appellate counsel is procedural, it essentially exists in theory, Schwinn explained. But it doesn’t receive the same weight as the substantive right to trial counsel under the Sixth Amendment, he said.
A decision in Davila v. Davis likely won’t solve many problems, Schwinn said, but worries about the case making existing problems worse by offering a “gratuitous” stance on the right to counsel. “In cases like this, I always worry a little bit about the court doing something that would undo or chip away at the underlying right” to counsel.
