If a motion is filed against you and you do not file a written opposition with the court, the judge could grant the other side's motion automatically. That means the other side could get whatever she is asking for in the motion. It also might mean you lose the case, depending on the motion that was filed.
If you want to file a motion, the process is generally something like this: You write your motion. You file your motion with the court clerk. The court clerk inserts the date and time your motion will be heard by the judge. You “serve” (mail) your motion to the other side.
If you see a potential for a motion to dismiss, this is an opportunity to inform the client how much legal expertise is necessary for such a filing. In other words, they will be facing a daunting challenge trying to represent themselves and will likely need an attorney more than ever.
File a motion for a new trial: Your attorney will file a motion for a new trial, which will argue that your trial lawyer provided ineffective assistance of counsel. The motion will include evidence to support this claim. Attend a hearing: The court will hold a hearing to consider your motion for a new trial.
If you want to file a motion, the process is generally something like this: You write your motion. You file your motion with the court clerk. The court clerk inserts the date and time your motion will be heard by the judge. You “serve” (mail) your motion to the other side.
In order to prove ineffective assistance of counsel, the defendant must show that trial counsel's performance fell below an objective standard of reasonableness and that the defendant suffered prejudice.
Demonstrating ineffective assistance of counsel under the Supreme Court's Strickland test can be complicated. Having to meet both prongs of the test, counsel's substandard performance and prejudice, are daunting tasks.
(to prevail on an ineffective assistance claim, the appellant bears the burden of proving that the performance of defense counsel was deficient and that the appellant was prejudiced by the error; to establish the element of deficiency, the appellant first must overcome a strong presumption that counsel's conduct falls ...
A successful claim of ineffective assistance requires two things. First, your lawyer must have failed to follow professional standards while representing you. 1 Second, there must be a “reasonable probability” that your lawyer's poor representation negatively affected the outcome of your case.