Opinion ID: 1274350
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Was respondent prejudiced?

Text: The second prong of the Strickland test for ineffective assistance of counsel requires a PCR applicant to show prejudice, i.e., but for counsel's error, there is a reasonable probability the result of the trial would have been different. The PCR judge did not address this prong, although in granting post-conviction relief based on ineffective assistance of counsel he presumably found prejudice. The State argues the Court should reverse because respondent failed to show prejudice. We agree. Respondent was the only defense witness. On cross-examination, the State brought out respondent's prior drug-related arrests for impeachment purposes. This testimony was certainly damaging to respondent, and the damage was surely exacerbated by the failure of counsel to request, and the trial court to give, limiting instructions. [3] On the other hand, respondent explained the circumstances of the prior arrests and maintained his innocence of the charges for which he was being tried. Most importantly, respondent gave an innocent explanation for his presence in the apartment at the time of the raid and directly contradicted the testimony of the police officers about dropping the bag of crack cocaine from the window. Moreover, respondent's testimony in other respects was very favorable to him. We do not believe respondent was prejudiced, despite his assertion at his PCR hearing that he would not have testified at trial had he known his prior record would come out on cross-examination. On the whole, his testimony was more helpful to him than harmful. Furthermore, there is no reasonable probability the result of the trial would have been different had he chosen not to testify, because without his testimony, the jury would only have heard uncontroverted evidence of respondent's guilt. REVERSED. TOAL, MOORE, and WALLER, JJ., concur. FINNEY, C.J., dissenting in a separate opinion.