United States v. Cronic
E821190
United States v. Cronic is a 1984 U.S. Supreme Court decision that, alongside Strickland v. Washington, defines when a criminal defendant’s right to effective assistance of counsel is presumed to be violated without needing to show specific prejudice.
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Sixth Amendment case
ⓘ
U.S. Supreme Court case ⓘ criminal procedure case ⓘ |
| areaOfLaw |
criminal law
ⓘ
criminal procedure ⓘ |
| arguedDate | 1983-11-02 ⓘ |
| citation | 466 U.S. 648 ⓘ |
| citedWith | Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984) NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| clarified | When prejudice is presumed in ineffective assistance of counsel claims. ⓘ |
| constitutionalProvision | Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| court | Supreme Court of the United States ⓘ |
| decisionDate | 1984-05-14 ⓘ |
| defendantName | Harrison P. Cronic NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| distinguishedFrom | Strickland v. Washington NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| docketNumber | 82-660 ⓘ |
| fullCaseName | United States v. Cronic NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| governmentParty | United States of America NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| holding |
The Court held that a presumption of prejudice arises only in limited circumstances where the accused is denied counsel at a critical stage, where counsel entirely fails to subject the prosecution's case to meaningful adversarial testing, or where the circumstances make it unlikely that any lawyer could provide effective assistance.
ⓘ
The Court rejected a per se rule that short preparation time or inexperience of counsel alone establishes a Sixth Amendment violation. ⓘ |
| joinedByInMajority |
Chief Justice Warren E. Burger
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Justice Byron R. White NERFINISHED ⓘ Justice Harry A. Blackmun NERFINISHED ⓘ Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. NERFINISHED ⓘ Justice Sandra Day O'Connor NERFINISHED ⓘ Justice Thurgood Marshall NERFINISHED ⓘ Justice William H. Rehnquist NERFINISHED ⓘ Justice William J. Brennan Jr. NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| jurisdiction | United States federal courts NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| keyPhrase | entire failure to subject the prosecution's case to meaningful adversarial testing ⓘ |
| keyPrinciple | Not all attorney errors warrant a presumption of prejudice; most claims require showing actual prejudice under Strickland. ⓘ |
| legalIssue |
presumption of prejudice
ⓘ
right to effective assistance of counsel ⓘ |
| majorityOpinionBy | Justice John Paul Stevens NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| originatingCourt | United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| page | 648 ⓘ |
| petitioner | United States NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| precedentFor |
ineffective assistance of counsel doctrine
ⓘ
presumed prejudice in Sixth Amendment cases ⓘ |
| rearguedDate | 1984-01-09 ⓘ |
| relatedCase | Strickland v. Washington NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| reporter | United States Reports ⓘ |
| respondent | Harrison P. Cronic NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| result | Judgment of the Court of Appeals vacated and case remanded. ⓘ |
| standardEstablished | Narrow categories in which ineffective assistance of counsel is presumed without a specific showing of prejudice. ⓘ |
| subjectMatter | federal mail fraud prosecution ⓘ |
| volume | 466 ⓘ |
| yearDecided | 1984 ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.