Opinion ID: 853428
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Prejudice from Counsel's Errors

Text: Because counsel's performance was deemed adequate, there was no finding by the postconviction court on the prejudice, if any, resulting from the failure to redact the statements, the failure to raise a Bruton objection, or the suggestion of apparently inconsistent defenses. Each of these appears potentially harmful to the defense, but only the last of the three seems directly related to joint defense as opposed to inadequate performance whether or not the two defendants had common counsel. Under the standard set forth in Strickland, Latta has demonstrated that Studtmann's performance fell below prevailing norms, and there is a reasonable probability that, with effective representation, the result of the proceeding would have been different. The jury was confronted with numerous objections by Latta's own counsel intimating that she was directly involved in Brad's death and that it was not accidental. Given the other issues mentioned in Part III, we are satisfied that there is a reasonable probability that Latta would have been acquitted in this circumstantial case if she had been properly represented. We agree with the Court of Appeals that the postconviction court was clearly erroneous in finding that Studtmann's representation met acceptable performance standards. For the reasons explained in Part II, however, we do not agree with the court that joint representation is inherently a Sixth Amendment violation.