You need to tell the court that your public defender has not talked to you and ask the court to relieve the PD's office and appoint other counsel. The Supreme Court of Illinois decided that "a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel must come from the defendant himself" in People v. Bates.All Illinois Courts must accept these forms. Scroll down below the chart for important information on how to fill out these forms. Note that claiming ineffective assistance of counsel means that you give up some of your attorney-client confidentiality privileges with that attorney. For a guilty verdict in a criminal trial. You can make a motion for ineffective assistance of counsel during your trial if you feel that your lawyer is not performing their duties. Waiver of a meritorious issue at trial may be overcome on appeal if trial counsel was ineffective in failing to preserve the issue. Are you eligible for an appeal based on ineffective assistance of counsel? A lawyer who does the bare minimum is not providing effective representation.