Opinion ID: 2735768
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Strickland’s Two-Prong Standard

Text: 7 Case: 13-10254 Date Filed: 09/22/2014 Page: 8 of 15 To succeed on an ineffective assistance claim under Strickland, a petitioner must show that his Sixth Amendment right to counsel was violated because (1) his attorney’s performance was deficient, and (2) the deficient performance prejudiced his defense. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 687, 104 S. Ct. at 2064. We need not “address both components of the inquiry if the defendant makes an insufficient showing on one.” Id. at 697, 104 S. Ct. at 2069. Under Strickland, trial counsel’s performance is deficient only if it falls below an objective standard of reasonableness. Id. at 687-88, 104 S. Ct. at 2064. Stated differently, counsel’s error at trial “must be so egregious that no reasonably competent attorney would have acted similarly.” Harvey v. Warden, 629 F.3d 1228, 1239 (11th Cir. 2011). “We evaluate juror selection claims as we would any other Strickland claim,” and our evaluation “start[s] with the strong presumption that trial counsel’s performance was constitutionally adequate.” Id. at 1238, 1243. Moreover, “[a]n ambiguous or silent record is not sufficient to disprove the strong and continuing presumption of counsel’s competency.” Williams v. Allen, 598 F.3d 778, 794 (11th Cir. 2010) (quotation mark omitted). Under Strickland’s second prong, prejudice exists if there is a “reasonable probability that, but for counsel’s unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different.” Strickland, 466 U.S. at 694, 104 S. Ct. at 2068.