Discover New Jersey's ineffective assistance of counsel standards for a claim involving trial, appellate, or plea agreement counsel. The appeal process is complicated and difficult to navigate.Call our team of California criminal appeals lawyers for a FREE consultation. Ellis's claim was that he was denied his Sixth Amendment right to effective counsel based on the fact that his attorney was racist. Claims of ineffective assistance of trial counsel shall be raised exclusively on direct appeal of a final judgment or order. You can get a new lawyer to file an appeal on the basis of ineffective assistance of counsel. Defendant raises the issue of ineffective assistance of counsel based on his counsel's decision not to subpoena a witness. You can make a motion for ineffective assistance of counsel during your trial if you feel that your lawyer is not performing their duties. A defendant who wishes to prove that he had incompetent or ineffective counsel at trial does not have an easy road to hoe in convincing the trial judge. Father contends he received ineffective assistance of counsel (IAC) at the selection and implementation hearing.