Harold Lee Harvey, Jr. v. Florida
Punishment HabeasCorpus Privacy
Is the Sixth Amendment autonomy right established in McCoy violated where counsel overrode an express agreement with the defendant to not concede guilt to first-degree murder, and did so without any notice to the defendant, leaving the defendant no realistic opportunity to object?
QUESTION PRESENTED This Court held in McCoy v. Louisiana that a defendant’s Sixth Amendment autonomy right is violated when a defendant “expressly asserts that the objective of ‘his defence’ is to maintain innocence of the charged criminal acts” and counsel “override[s]” this objective by conceding guilt. 138 8. Ct. 1500, 1509 (2018) (quoting U.S. Const. amend. VI) (emphasis omitted). The Question Presented is: Is the Sixth Amendment autonomy right established in McCoy violated where counsel overrode an express agreement with the defendant to not concede guilt to first-degree murder, and did so without any notice to the defendant, leaving the defendant no_ realistic opportunity to object?