Lawyer advice on plea deals

1. Where counsel’s ineffective advice led to an offer’s rejection, and where the prejudice alleged is having to stand trial, a defendant must show that but for the ineffective advice, there is a reasonable proba bility that the plea offer would have been presented to the court, that the court would have accepted its terms, and that the conviction or sentence, or both, under the offer’s terms would have been less severe than under the actual judgment and sentence imposed. 2. Where a defendant shows ineffective assistance has caused the rejection of a plea leading to a more severe sentence at trial, the rem edy must “neutralize the taint” of a constitutional violation, United States v. Morrison, 449 U. S. 361, 365, but must not grant a windfall to the defendant or needlessly squander the resources the State properly invested in the criminal prosecution, see United States v. Mechanik, 475 U. S. 66, 72. If the sole advantage is that the defend ant would have received a lesser sentence under the plea, the court should have an evidentiary hearing to determine whether the de fendant would have accepted the plea. 3. This case arises under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA), but because the Michigan Court of Ap peals’ analysis of respondent’s ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim was contrary to clearly established federal law, AEDPA presents no bar to relief. Respondent has satisfied Strickland’s two-part test. The parties concede the fact of deficient performance. And respond ent has shown that but for that performance there is a reasonable probability he and the trial court would have accepted the guilty plea. 563, vacated and remanded.

Result

Vacated

The Court required a reasonable chance the offer would reach the judge, be accepted, and produce a less severe result. The parties agreed Cooper's lawyer gave deficient advice; the Court found a reasonable chance Cooper and the judge would accept the plea.

The lower court must choose a remedy that addresses the harm without giving Cooper an unfair benefit. If the plea's only advantage was a lower sentence, the Court said the judge should hold a hearing to decide whether Cooper would have accepted it.