'Default Judgment Is an Absolute Last Resort:' Federal Judge Adjusts Order to Allow One More Chance for Defendant's Deposition
"Though I agree that Mr. Allen offers no good excuse for his non-compliance—and arguably digs a deeper hole through his attempts to deflect blame onto his counsel—I find that a less severe sanction than default judgment is initially warranted for Defendants' and Mr. Allen's misconduct," U.S. District Judge Brendan A. Hurson for the District of Maryland wrote in an order Wednesday.
Massachusetts SJC Adopts Standard for Snoozing Trial Counsel's Effectiveness
"Although any slumber by counsel during trial is distressing and detrimental, counsel's constructive absence during either a significant portion of trial or an important aspect of trial so offends the constitutional protections surrounding the right to assistance of counsel that it renders the entire adversary process 'presumptively unreliable' and creates an uncurable error, 'even if the error was ultimately harmless,'" Chief Justice Kimberly S. Budd wrote.