Barner v. Leeds

Opinion

GEORGE, C. J.

In Wiley v. County of San Diego (1998) 19 Cal.4th 532 [79 Cal.Rptr.2d 672, 966 P.2d 983], we held that in a legal malpractice action against an attorney for alleged negligence in representing the plaintiff (the accused in a criminal action), the plaintiff must establish, as a necessary element of the malpractice cause of action, that he or she is actually innocent of the offense charged in the underlying criminal proceeding. Our holding in Wiley applies to legal malpractice claims asserted against both private attorneys and public defenders, and in that case we were not…