Jones v. Barnes

In Jones v. Barnes, 463 U.S. 745, 103 S. Ct. 3308, 3313, 77 L. Ed. 2d 987 (1983), the respondent informed his court-appointed counsel of several claims he felt should be raised, but counsel rejected most of them because they would not help respondent to obtain a new trial and because they could not be raised for the first time on appeal. 103 S. Ct. at 3309. The U.S. Supreme Court held, interpreting Rule 1.2(a), that "an indigent defendant has no constitutional right to compel appointed counsel to press nonfrivolous points requested by the client, if counsel, as a matter of professional judgment, decides not to present those points." 103 S. Ct. at 3310.