Opinion ID: 1918267
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: whether goss received ineffective assistance of counsel.

Text: ¶ 10. Goss argues that he was denied due process of law because his appointed defense counsel, Honorable Robert Logan, possessed a conflict of interest which prejudiced his ability to represent the defendant. Mr. Logan served as attorney for the Newton County Board of Supervisors. In this capacity, Mr. Logan was currently representing Newton County Sheriff, James Hanna, in three (3) civil matters in federal district court. Because Mr. Logan expected Deputy Sheriff Ron Davis to be a material witness in the case against Goss, Mr. Logan filed a Motion to Withdraw as Counsel on March 31, 1995. However, according to Mr. Logan's statement regarding this matter, this motion was never heard by the trial judge because Judge Gordon indicated that no plea bargaining would be allowed after commencement of motion hearings. Also according to Mr. Logan, at this time, Judge Gordon asked Goss if he wanted to plea bargain and after Goss indicated he did want to plea bargain the parties retired from chambers and worked out a plea arrangement, which was subsequently approved by the Court. ¶ 11. The standard for reviewing claims of ineffective assistance of counsel was set forth in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984). Mississippi adopted the Strickland standard in Stringer v. State, 454 So.2d 468, 476-78 (Miss.1984) and has consistently applied this standard in subsequent cases. Neal v. State, 525 So.2d 1279, 1281 (Miss.1987) (citing Ferguson v. State, 507 So.2d 94, 95-97 (Miss. 1987); Waldrop v. State, 506 So.2d 273, 275-76 (Miss.1987); Alexander v. State, 503 So.2d 235, 240-41 (Miss.1987); King v. State, 503 So.2d 271, 273-76 (Miss.1987); Leatherwood v. State, 473 So.2d 964 (Miss.1985)). ¶ 12. Our inquiry under Strickland is twofold: (1) Was defense counsel's performance deficient when measured by the objective standard of reasonable professional competence, and if so (2) Was [the appellant] prejudiced by such failure to meet that standard? Hansen v. State, 649 So.2d 1256, 1259 (Miss. 1994). Additionally, [a]n ineffective assistance claim by its very nature refers to the totality of counsel's pre-trial and trial performance. Neal v. State, 525 So.2d 1279, 1281 (Miss.1987). At the outset, defense counsel is presumed competent and the burden of proving otherwise rests on [the appellant]. Hansen, 649 So.2d at 1258. ¶ 13. Goss does not allege that Mr. Logan's performance was deficient. Instead Goss argues that he was prejudiced by having Mr. Logan as counsel, since he was forced to plead guilty or go to trial and be represented by someone with an apparent conflict of interest. [3] However, there is nothing in the record to support Goss's assertion that the only reason he pled guilty was to avoid being represented at trial by Mr. Logan. Conversely, court transcripts reveal that Goss understood the rights he waived by pleading guilty, that he did not wish to ask the trial judge any questions concerning this matter, and that he was not threatened or intimidated in any way into pleading guilty. Additionally, there is nothing in Mr. Logan's statement that supports Goss's allegations. In fact, Mr. Logan's statement indicates that Goss advised the trial judge that he wanted to plea bargain before the arrangements were worked out. Once again, Goss has failed to provide any factual support of the allegations in his brief. See Ross v. State, 603 So.2d 857, 861 (Miss.1992). ¶ 14. Furthermore, Goss shows no prejudice. Had he not accepted the plea agreement, he would have been facing a mandatory life sentence upon conviction. Goss, of course, alleges that he was prejudiced by the State's recission of the original plea agreement wherein he would only receive a 10 year sentence with the possibility of parole. However, Goss has failed to provide any factual evidence showing that there was an original agreement. Moreover, even if there had been an original agreement, the parties were not bound by its terms since Goss had not yet entered his plea. Additionally, the trial judge is not bound by any plea agreement or any recommendations made by the parties. Accordingly, this Court finds that this issue is without merit.