The American system of criminal justice is an adversarial system. As a society, we have determined that the best way to obtain a reliable result in a criminal trial is through an adversarial process. In this adversarial process, the prosecutor and the defense counsel test the strengths and weaknesses of the evidence in the crucible of the courtroom. The trier of fact observes the adversarial contest and passes judgment in the form of a verdict of guilty or not guilty. However, because our system is adversarial, the reliability of the verdict rests heavily on the strength of the advocacy of the opposing counsel. If counsel for either side are incompetent, unprepared, or otherwise fail to zealously advocate for their client, then the result is unreliable and the system fails. Therefore, it is incumbent upon counsel to be equipped to perform at their optimal level every time they set foot in a courtroom.
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