Opinion ID: 6346047
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Ineffective Assistance of Pretrial Counsel

Text: Sirkaneo alleges that his “pre-trial” counsel3 was ineffective by failing to investigate the unknown DNA found on clothing recovered from Sirkaneo and other passengers when Smith’s car was intercepted and its occupants arrested. The DNA supervisor for the state crime lab testified that the head covering and gloves recovered from Smith’s vehicle had multiple DNA contributors and that the findings were therefore inconclusive. The DNA supervisor noted that a dominant DNA component was found on the head covering that did not match Sirkaneo or any of the other passengers in the car, while the minor DNA component was inconclusive. Finally, Sirkaneo’s DNA was found on the pants he was wearing at the time of his arrest. 3 In the petition filed below, Sirkaneo alleged that his trial counsel was ineffective. This claim was rejected by the trial court on the basis that a defendant who elects to represent himself cannot later complain that the quality of his own defense amounted to a denial of effective assistance of counsel. See Pierce v. State, 362 Ark. 491, 209 S.W.3d 364 (2005). On appeal, Sirkaneo has limited the claim to an alleged failure on the part of counsel at the pretrial stage of his criminal trial. 10 Sirkaneo fails to explain how the failure to investigate the DNA recovered from clothing seized from Smith’s vehicle on the day the crimes were committed could have been prejudicial. There is no evidence that another individual was near the Bankses’ residence when the crimes were committed, and there is no evidence that another individual was in Smith’s car on the day that police pulled it over shortly after the crimes had occurred. Furthermore, the evidence connecting Sirkaneo to the crimes and to the weapon used in the crimes was such that an identification of an unknown contributor to DNA found on the head covering would not have changed the trial’s outcome. Under the Strickland standard, to prevail on a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, the petitioner must show that trial counsel’s performance was deficient and that prejudice resulted from that deficient performance. Reynolds, 2020 Ark. 174, 599 S.W.3d 120. Unless a petitioner makes both showings, the allegations do not meet the benchmark on review for granting relief on a claim of ineffective assistance. Id.