P. v. Edwards CA1/3
The jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict on the trial of defendant Jason C. Edwards (Edwards) on two counts of oral copulation and two counts of lewd conduct, all involving his girlfriend’s two minor daughters. Shortly before the retrial, the prosecution offered a plea deal in which Edwards would plead guilty to one count of lewd conduct, serve a prison term of six years, register as a sex offender and possibly be subject to commitment as a sexually violent predator. Defense counsel replied to the prosecutor that Edwards was unlikely to agree and did not communicate the offer to Edwards. At the retrial, the jury convicted Edwards on all counts, and the judge sentenced Edwards to 38 years to life in state prison. The parties agree that defense counsel provided constitutionally ineffective representation when she failed to inform him of the prosecution’s plea offer, but dispute whether there was a reasonable likelihood Edwards would have accepted the plea.
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