Opinion ID: 1797214
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 15

Heading: Whether Trial Counsel's Failure to Object and Otherwise Preserve Reversible Error Constitutes Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

Text: Here, Foster puts in a vague overly broad catch-all assignment of error in his petition for post-conviction relief. He states that under the totality of the circumstances Foster's counsel's effectiveness is lacking as he failed to properly preserve claims in the trial court of numerous issues of judicial and prosecutorial misconduct, citing Foster v. State, 639 So.2d 1263, 1282, 1286, 1287, 1289, 1290, 1291, 1302 (Miss. 1994). Foster believes that these unspecified assignment of errors that exist on the cited pages cumulatively prejudiced his defense. No further argument is provided. [I]n order to receive a hearing on [a] claim of ineffective assistance, the post-conviction applicant to this Court must demonstrate with specificity and detail the elements of the claim. Woodward, 635 So.2d at 808. (emphasis added). Here, Foster has failed to do so and makes us guess at what he is asserting is ineffective counsel. Vague allegations of failure of counsel to object does not meet the burden of proving ineffective assistance of counsel. Knox v. State, 502 So.2d 672 (Miss. 1987). In the direct appeal, every assignment of error was deliberated on and addressed by this Court. Foster v. State, 639 So.2d 1263, 1272-1304 (Miss. 1994). Even the assignment of error that alleged that the cumulative error in this case requires a reversal in Foster's death sentence, was addressed. Id. at 1303. Thus, the rehashing of the cumulative errors issue is res judicata. The only issue this Court could possibly answer faced with this overly broad and vague assertion is whether the alleged cumulative errors of counsel was sufficient enough to prejudice Foster's defense. Basically, Foster hopes that this Court will abandon the proof of prejudice requirement as expressed in Strickland and adopted in Stringer in favor of an inference of prejudice which has been outright rejected by the United States Supreme Court in United States v. Cronic, 466 U.S. 648, 104 S.Ct. 2039, 80 L.Ed.2d 657 (1984). See also Schwander v. Blackburn, 750 F.2d 494, 501-502 (5th Cir.1985). It is a well known principle that where there is no error in any one of the alleged assignment of errors, there can be no error cumulatively. Davis v. State, 660 So.2d 1228, 1261 (Miss. 1995); Wilburn v. State, 608 So.2d 702, 705 (Miss. 1992) (where there is no reversible error in any part, there is no reversible error to the whole). Thus, even on the merits, this issue fails to prove ineffective assistance of counsel.