The United States Attorney's Office in both the Eastern and Western Districts in Kentucky required defendants in criminal cases who wanted to enter into plea agreements to waive their right to bring habeaus cases alleging ineffective assistance by their counsel. Defendants were also prohibited from bringing collateral actions against the government for prosecutorial misconduct. The Kentucky Supreme Court recently held that it is unethical for prosecutors to require this abridgement of a defendant's post-conviction rights.
This is a victory for defendants who learn post-conviction that they were victimized by unethical prosecutors or who received ineffective assistance from their attorneys. The chief federal prosecutors in Kentucky brought this case before the Kentucky Bar Association and the Supreme Court has now rejected the U. S. Attorney's efforts to limit defendants' rights.
