No criminal defendant should be left to the "mercies of incompetent counsel"

Wow. Strong language from the Supreme Court. In a landmark decision on March 31, 2010, the Court declared: "It is our responsibility under the Constitution to ensure that no criminal defendant - whether a citizen or not - is left to the 'mercies of incompetent counsel.'" Padilla v. Kentucky, No. 08-651.

Tens of thousands of criminal defendants are victims of incompetent counsels. Thousands of incompetent counsels are running around victimizing them. There are two cases in which we (with my son Noel Tipon who served with the Marines) are helping clients victimized by ineffective counsel go to appellate court.  One involved similar facts as the case decided by the Supreme Court. Another involved a lawyer who did not present any evidence in defense of a Filipino charged with drug dealing. Two Caucasian lawyers and I have cases charging lawyers with ineffectiveness, one similar to the Supreme Court case and another involved a woman lawyer who ineffectively defended in immigration court a Filipino with a drug conviction.

Dear kailians, fellow officers, members and supporters,

May the Peace of the Lord be with you.

The culmination of the Miss Magsingal Organization of America's Grand Coronation held on March 27, 2010 at the Hilton of Stockton, Stockton, CA was awesome, memorable, wonderful and a tremendous success.

The overbooked coronation  was witnessed by more than 400 toddler to frail attendees who were donned for the grandeur Investiture of the new Miss MOA 2010-13 and her Royal Court. They are:

Her Majesty Queen Darelle I
Ist Princess Joyce
2nd Princess Desiree

Candlelights flicker from every window and sometimes on the fences as they faintly brighten the unpaved dusty streets where people peacefully await the approaching procession called libut. The priest surrounded by religious elderly approaches leading a crowd of people praying fervently in unison and singing church hymns to the beat of drums and trumpets from the rear of the formation. As the procession passes by, some people on the street inconspicuously march in when they recognize friends among the scattered formation, or simply trail behind the statues that devout men carry on their shoulders. They walk for miles around the town, stopping momentarily at intersections where a ramada, a tall shed-like structure adorned with foods, stands. The crowd prays and continues on to its final destination – the church in the middle of the town built probably generations earlier.

Photos of the ramadas in the different barangays in poblacion.