Hill v. Lockhart

Summary

The Court, through Justice Rehnquist, held that Strickland's two-part ineffective-assistance test governs challenges to guilty pleas. To establish prejudice, a defendant must show a reasonable probability that, absent counsel's errors, he would have rejected the plea and insisted on trial. Hill's allegations did not satisfy that requirement, so the Court affirmed the denial of relief without an evidentiary hearing, leaving unresolved whether erroneous parole-eligibility advice can constitute deficient performance. Justice White, joined by Justice Stevens, concurred in the judgment. He considered Hill's prejudice allegations sufficient but concluded that Hill failed to allege that counsel knew of the prior conviction that triggered the longer parole-eligibility period.