Out-of-State Licensed Attorney 'Qualifies as Counsel Under the Sixth Amendment,'

Out-of-State Licensed Attorney ‘Qualifies as Counsel Under the Sixth Amendment,’ State High Court Concludes in Novel Case | Law.com Page Printed From:

https://www.law.com/2023/02/09/out-of-state-licensed-attorney-qualifies-as-counsel-under-the-sixth-amendment-state-high-court-concludes-in-novel-case/

The Temple of Justice at the Washington State Capitol in Olympia, Washington. Credit: Cacaphony/Wikimedia

NEWS

The Washington State Supreme Court explored the meaning of “counsel” as opposed to “effective counsel” for the first time when it considered if an…

February 09, 2023 at 01:33 PM

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What You Need to Know

Van Idour was appointed by the trial court to represent Ayerst and Lewis in 2016 and 2017.
Ayerst and Lewis were convicted and claimed that that they were denied their state and federal rights because Van Idour was not licensed to practice in Washington.
Van Idour had an Idaho bar registration that has since been suspended.

The Washington State Supreme Court explored the meaning of “counsel” as opposed to “effective counsel” for the first time when it considered if an attorney licensed only out-of-state violated two criminal defendants’ constitutional right to counsel while representing them at trial.

The 5-4 majority said that Idaho attorney Robert Van Idour’s representation of Robert Ayerst and Justin Lewis in criminal trials did not violate their Sixth Amendment rights or amount to a structural error—despite the fact that he was not licensed to practice in Washington and he “displayed a shocking disregard for the admission process” in accordance with the admission to practice rules requirements.

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Out-of-State Licensed Attorney ‘Qualifies as Counsel Under the Sixth Amendment,’