Getting advice from your attorney to go to trial instead of accepting an offered plea bargain might be considered to be ineffective assistance. The motion raised claims of ineffective assistance of trial counsel, which usually need to be deferred until after a direct appeal has concluded.First, the defendant must demonstrate that counsel's performance was deficient. Prosecutors err, judges err, and of course, defense lawyers err. But which errors matter? Lay out the facts of your case, focusing on the actions (or inactions) of your attorney that you believe constituted ineffective assistance. Claims of ineffective assistance of trial counsel shall be raised exclusively on direct appeal of a final judgment or order. Ineffective assistance of counsel Both the constitution of the United States and Pennsylvania mandates that defense counsel must be competent. The Hubbard rule simply provides that claims of ineffectiveness must be raised at the time a defendant gets new counsel. Must all New Jersey attorneys complete pro bono assignments?