Opinion ID: 874801
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Impeaching State's witnesses

Text: Shackelford next argues that counsel failed to adequately impeach PJ Baker and Katherine Baker. He contends that trial counsel did not know about PJ's significant criminal record, other than a felony conviction related to a bombing, and a reasonably competent attorney would have vigorously impeached PJ on these matters. He asserts that had a more vigorous impeachment been conducted, the jury would not have believed PJ's testimony and the result of his trial would have been different. Shackelford contends that his trial counsel failed to adequately impeach Katherine because there were inconsistencies in her testimony that went unnoticed by counsel and thus by the jury. Again, he asserts that a more vigorous impeachment of Katherine would have weakened PJ's testimony and led the jury to not believe PJ. The State asserts that Shackelford has failed to explain how further impeachment of these two witnesses would have changed the outcome of his trial. The State explains that the jury was aware that PJ was a convicted felon and that the State had granted him immunity as concerned PJ's charge of handling of a firearm by a convicted felon. The State further contends that Shackelford's claim regarding Katherine fails because he has not demonstrated prejudice and counsel's actions were reasonable. As was expressed in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984), we need not address whether counsel's performance in impeaching the Bakers was deficient before examining whether Shackelford demonstrated that he was prejudiced as a result of the alleged deficiencies. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 697, 104 S.Ct. at 2069-70, 80 L.Ed.2d at 699. Shackelford has argued that the jury would not have believed the testimony of PJ and the outcome of the trial would have been different. However, he offers no explanation as to how the outcome would have differed and why the jury would not have believed PJ. In addition, the jury was aware that PJ was a convicted felon and that he had been granted immunity by the State. Shackelford has not shown how the evidence of any other crimes committed by PJ, even assuming they were admissible pursuant to I.R.E. 609, would have otherwise altered the jury's opinion of PJ. Furthermore, Shackelford failed to demonstrate how counsel's impeachment of Katherine prejudiced him. Thus, we find Shackelford's counsel were not ineffective in their impeachment of the State's witnesses as Shackelford has not demonstrated that counsel's conduct so undermined the proper functioning of the adversarial process that the trial cannot be relied on as having produced a just result. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 686, 104 S.Ct. at 2064, 80 L.Ed.2d at 692-93.