Post by Anja Nieser on Sept 10, 2006 22:33:05 GMT -5
Shoddy legal work matter of life, death
If the legal services Toby C. Wilkinson of Greenville performed on behalf
of recently executed death row inmate Justin Chaz Fuller are
representative of the work he does, he should be removed from the list of
attorneys the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals uses to assign appellate
cases.
Wilkinson is not a rookie in the legal profession. He has been licensed to
practice law in Texas since shortly after his graduation from Pepperdine
School of Law in 1980.
His less-than-stellar appellate work at taxpayer expense warrants review
by the State Bar of Texas.
There will not be any more appeals for Fuller. He received a lethal
injection Aug. 24 for the abduction, robbery and shooting death of
21-year-old Donald Whittington III of Tyler.
Fuller acknowledged being near the crime scene but denied he fired the
fatal shots.
The appellate work Wilkinson filed for Fuller leaves a lot to be desired
and raises the question of whether Fuller received "competent counsel" as
mandated by state law.
A review of Wilkinson's work by Express-News legal affairs reporter Maro
Robbins found Wilkinson's legal writings filled with gibberish, as if
someone had been typing with their fingers wrongly positioned on the
keyboard.
Robbins also found incoherent repetitions, disjointed arguments and
descriptions of a crime that involved one of Wilkinson's other clients.
The type of work Wilkinson submitted in Fuller's case would have brought
serious repercussions to a 1st-year law student. In this case, however,
there have been no formal complaints - only an $18,000 bill to the
taxpayers for services rendered.
The work Wilkinson performed in the case of another death row inmate,
Daniel Clate Acker, is no better. Acker made a smart move in asking a
California lawyer to represent him as his appeal moves to federal court.
It's unconscionable that the courts would allow the work Wilkinson
submitted to go unchallenged, especially in cases where defendants' lives
are at stake.
It makes you wonder if anyone is reading the petitions being filed on
behalf of death row inmates - including some of the lawyers submitting
them.
(source: Editorial, San Antonio Express-News)
If the legal services Toby C. Wilkinson of Greenville performed on behalf
of recently executed death row inmate Justin Chaz Fuller are
representative of the work he does, he should be removed from the list of
attorneys the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals uses to assign appellate
cases.
Wilkinson is not a rookie in the legal profession. He has been licensed to
practice law in Texas since shortly after his graduation from Pepperdine
School of Law in 1980.
His less-than-stellar appellate work at taxpayer expense warrants review
by the State Bar of Texas.
There will not be any more appeals for Fuller. He received a lethal
injection Aug. 24 for the abduction, robbery and shooting death of
21-year-old Donald Whittington III of Tyler.
Fuller acknowledged being near the crime scene but denied he fired the
fatal shots.
The appellate work Wilkinson filed for Fuller leaves a lot to be desired
and raises the question of whether Fuller received "competent counsel" as
mandated by state law.
A review of Wilkinson's work by Express-News legal affairs reporter Maro
Robbins found Wilkinson's legal writings filled with gibberish, as if
someone had been typing with their fingers wrongly positioned on the
keyboard.
Robbins also found incoherent repetitions, disjointed arguments and
descriptions of a crime that involved one of Wilkinson's other clients.
The type of work Wilkinson submitted in Fuller's case would have brought
serious repercussions to a 1st-year law student. In this case, however,
there have been no formal complaints - only an $18,000 bill to the
taxpayers for services rendered.
The work Wilkinson performed in the case of another death row inmate,
Daniel Clate Acker, is no better. Acker made a smart move in asking a
California lawyer to represent him as his appeal moves to federal court.
It's unconscionable that the courts would allow the work Wilkinson
submitted to go unchallenged, especially in cases where defendants' lives
are at stake.
It makes you wonder if anyone is reading the petitions being filed on
behalf of death row inmates - including some of the lawyers submitting
them.
(source: Editorial, San Antonio Express-News)