Top court to decide Idaho death penalty case

By James Vicini

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court said on Monday it would decide a death penalty case from an Idaho inmate who says he received ineffective legal advice when his lawyer urged him to reject a plea deal that would have avoided the death penalty.

A U.S. appeals court overturned the death sentence for Maxwell Hoffman because his attorney during plea negotiations based his advice on incomplete research and his recommendation exposed Hoffman to much risk in exchange for little benefit.

Hoffman's lawyer urged him to reject a plea offer, partly basing his advice on the mistaken belief that the Idaho death penalty law would be declared unconstitutional.

His lawyer at the time had never tried a murder case and had no formal training in defending people who face the death penalty.

Hoffman refused to plead guilty on the advice of his attorney, even though prosecutors told him they would seek the death penalty if he rejected the plea deal.

Because of the ineffective assistance of his lawyer, the appeals court ordered that the state now must offer Hoffman a plea agreement with the same essential terms as those he originally had rejected.

Hoffman was one of three defendants charged with the 1987 murder of a police informant in a drug deal. The other two defendants avoided the death penalty.

The Supreme Court said it would decide what relief should be given to a defendant for ineffective assistance of counsel during plea bargaining negotiations if the defendant was later convicted and sentenced under a fair trial.

Attorneys for the state appealed to the Supreme Court.

To establish ineffective assistance of counsel, Hoffman must show his lawyer's advice constituted "gross error," they said. Hoffman also must show he would have accepted the plea deal if it had not been for his lawyer's advice.

The Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments in the case in February, with a decision likely by the end of June.

(Editing by David Alexander and Bill Trott)