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United States public trialstructural errorineffective assistance

Weaver v. Massachusetts

582 U. S. 286
JurisdictionUnited States
CourtSupreme Court of the United States
StatusBinding authority

Key Principle

When a structural error (here a Sixth Amendment public-trial violation during jury selection) is neither preserved nor raised on direct review but is raised later through an ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim, the defendant must satisfy Strickland's prejudice prong—showing either a reasonable probability of a different outcome or that the violation rendered the trial fundamentally unfair—to obtain a new trial.

Area of Law

General

Related Cases

Klein v. Martin 607 U. S. 213 (2026)
Ellingburg v. United States 607 U.S. ___ (2026)
Inc. v. Palmquist 607 U.S. 421 (2026)

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