Opinion ID: 2322936
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Strickland Analysis

Text: The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, [2] applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment, and Article 21 of the Maryland Declaration of Rights [3] guarantee criminal defendants the right to the assistance of counsel at critical stages of the proceedings. United States v. Cronic, 466 U.S. 648, 659, 104 S.Ct. 2039, 2047, 80 L.Ed.2d 657, 668 (1984); Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 684-85, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 2063, 80 L.Ed.2d 674, 691 (1984); Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335, 343, 83 S.Ct. 792, 796, 9 L.Ed.2d 799, 805 (1963); Glasser v. United States, 315 U.S. 60, 69-70, 62 S.Ct. 457, 464-65, 86 L.Ed. 680, 699 (1942); Lettley v. State, 358 Md. 26, 33, 746 A.2d 392, 396 (2000); State v. Wischhusen, 342 Md. 530, 537, 677 A.2d 595, 598 (1996)(discussing the constitutional right to counsel at critical stages of the criminal case); Austin v. State, 327 Md. 375, 381, 609 A.2d 728, 730-31 (1992); Harris v. State, 303 Md. 685, 695 n. 3, 496 A.2d 1074, 1079 n. 3 (1985)(stating [t]his Court has not distinguished between the right to counsel guaranteed by the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments and the right provided by Art. 21 of the Maryland Declaration of Rights) (hereinafter  Harris III ). Integral to this right is the right to effective assistance of counsel. See Kimmelman v. Morrison, 477 U.S. 365, 377, 106 S.Ct. 2574, 2584, 91 L.Ed.2d 305, 321 (1986); Strickland, 466 U.S. at 686, 104 S.Ct. at 2063, 80 L.Ed.2d at 692; In re Parris W., 363 Md. 717, 724, 770 A.2d 202, 206 (2001); State v. Tichnell, 306 Md. 428, 440, 509 A.2d 1179, 1185 (1986). The Supreme Court established in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. at 687, 104 S.Ct. at 2064, 80 L.Ed.2d at 693, that a defendant must prove that counsel's competence failed to meet an objective standard of reasonableness and that counsel's performance prejudiced the defense in order to be successful in an ineffectiveness of counsel claim. See also In re Parris W., 363 Md. at 725, 770 A.2d at 206. This two-pronged test serves to correct the adversarial process when it has failed to render a reliable trial result. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 687, 104 S.Ct. at 2064, 80 L.Ed.2d at 693 (stating that [u]nless a defendant makes both showings, it cannot be said that the conviction or death sentence resulted from a breakdown in the adversary process that renders the result unreliable). When a defendant is denied effective assistance of counsel, it is the integrity of the adversarial process that is compromised. Id. at 686, 104 S.Ct. at 2064, 80 L.Ed.2d at 692-93 (stating that [t]he benchmark for judging any claim of ineffectiveness must be whether counsel's conduct so undermined the proper functioning of the adversarial process that the trial cannot be relied on as having produced a just result). With respect to the first prong, the Strickland court explained that the proper standard for attorney performance is that of reasonably effective assistance. Id. at 687, 104 S.Ct. at 2064, 80 L.Ed.2d at 693. Prevailing professional norms define what constitutes reasonably effective assistance, and all of the circumstances surrounding counsel's performance must be considered. Id. at 688, 104 S.Ct. at 2065, 80 L.Ed.2d at 694. Because it is tempting for both a defendant and a court to second-guess a counsel's conduct after conviction, courts must be highly deferential when they scrutinize counsel's performance. Id. at 689, 104 S.Ct. at 2065, 80 L.Ed.2d at 694. Reviewing courts must thus assume, until proven otherwise, that counsel's conduct fell within a broad range of reasonable professional judgment, and that counsel's conduct derived not from error but from trial strategy. Harris III, 303 Md. at 698, 496 A.2d at 1081. With respect to the second prong of the test, prejudice, the Strickland court explained that [a]n error by counsel, even if professionally unreasonable, does not warrant setting aside the judgment of a criminal proceeding if the error had no effect on the judgment. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 691, 104 S.Ct. at 2066, 80 L.Ed.2d at 696. Because the ultimate goal of the adversarial process is to produce reliable trial results, the defendant must also be prejudiced by counsel's deficient performance in order to succeed under an ineffective assistance of counsel claim. Id. at 692, 104 S.Ct. at 2067, 80 L.Ed.2d at 696. A limited exception to the requirement of prejudice arises in claims involving conflict of interest. Id. (explaining that, although the conflict of interest rule is not  per se,  there is a fairly rigid rule of presumed prejudice for conflicts of interest).