Wiley v. County of San Diego

Public defender Jimenez (defendant), representing Wiley (plaintiff) on burglary and assault charges, hired an investigator who failed to locate neighbors who later swore they saw a different man, not Wiley, at the scene; Wiley was convicted based partly on testimony from the victim's young son. After the son recanted and the missed witnesses came forward, a second habeas petition succeeded, finding an inadequate investigation had deprived Wiley of defense witnesses, and the case against him was dismissed. Wiley then sued Jimenez and the County (defendants) for malpractice; the trial court ruled that Wiley's actual innocence was not an issue and would not be submitted to the jury, which found for Wiley and awarded $162,500. The appellate court rejected the defendants' challenge to that ruling, and they sought review.

Whether a criminal defendant must establish actual innocence of the charged crime in order to prevail on a subsequent civil legal malpractice claim against his criminal defense attorney.