Rook v. Cupp

Petitioner for post-conviction relief (ORS 138.500 through 138.680) in this case seeks to have established a “determinable” standard of competence for indigents’ court-appointed counsel in criminal proceedings. Concomitant with this is the proposition that the frequently repeated test that such counsel must not be so inadequate as to render the proceeding a farce or mockery of justice is inadequate as a standard. ①

Petitioner was convicted of murder. He appealed and was represented by J. Marvin Kuhn of the Oregon Public Defender’s office, at that time a six-year veteran deputy, who was aided…