Monday, December 1st, 2008...12:25 am
DAlaska: Legal Malpractice by Appellate Counsel in Habeas Action
A visiting federal judge (Robert Bryan, from Tacoma, Washington) has dismissed a legal malpractice claim filed by a convicted felon (threatening a federal judge) against his court-appointed counsel on the appeal from his dismissed habeas claim. The judge held that, under Alaska law, the same prerequisite applies to claims of post-conviction malpractice as applies to claims of malpratice during the underlying criminal case - success in obtaining post-conviction relief, i.e., reversal of the criminal conviction. Without such success, collateral estoppel bars recovery.
The court also held that court-appointed counsel is not a “state actor” for purposes of a Section 1983 claim.
Long v. Darmer, 2008 WL 5000160 (D.Alaska Nov. 19, 2008)
The defendant-attorney is Roman Darmer, from Irvine, California.
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