Opinion ID: 1276352
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Alleged Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Based on Counsel's Failure to Withdraw from the Case to Become a Witness.

Text: We next consider the defendant's contention that his trial counsel was guilty of ineffective assistance because he did not withdraw from the trial of the case and become a witness on defendant's behalf. In answering this contention, we will assume without deciding that this is a matter which may be raised for the first time on appeal. In support of this contention, it is urged that, because of his peculiar knowledge, defendant's trial counsel should have testified concerning his representation of defendant in some of the transactions with the bank upon which the criminal charges are based. Nowhere in his argument on appeal does defendant suggest whether and in what manner his counsel's version of the facts surrounding these transactions would have differed from the testimony of the State's witness, Gary Norcross. Without any suggestion on defendant's behalf concerning what the controverted areas of fact would have been, he has established no basis for a favorable resolution of his ineffective assistance claim.