Life And Death Legal Mistakes

A client whose lawyer makes a critical appellate filing error can always hope that the lawyer has good malpractice insurance. But if the screw-up is for a death penalty appeal the best hope is that the appellate court is in a generous mood. Adam Liptak's NYT's Sidebar column, "Lawyers Stumble, and Clients Take Fall," explores recent jurisprudence on the subject, focusing on the question of why is it morally permissible to blame clients for their lawyers’ mistakes -- especially when their very lives are at stake.