Asked in Criminal Law and Appeals / Appellate Law for Georgia

Q: Can a lawyer enter damaging character evidence in violation of his own motion of limine andnot be considered ineffective

The defense attorney brought up an old self defense charge, that was dismissed 10 years earlier, during a trial that relied mostly on character evidence despite putting in a motion of limine (at the request of the defendant) specifically requesting that this non indicted charge remained off record.

1 Lawyer Answer

A: This issue seems to be very likely to be ineffective assistance of counsel, but (without reviewing the whole case) there is no way to give a definitive answer. A motion for new trial would have had to be filed, within 30 days of conviction, to be able to review this aspect of his/her appeal.

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