Opinion ID: 1702221
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Whether Bishop was denied his Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel at the guilt and sentencing phases of the trial within the meaning of Strickland v. Washington , and corresponding portions of the Mississippi Constitution. [1]

Text: ¶ 6. This Court has stated the following regarding ineffective assistance of counsel: The standard for determining if a defendant received effective assistance of counsel is well settled. The benchmark for judging any claim of ineffectiveness [of counsel] must be whether 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 v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 686, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984). A defendant must demonstrate that his counsel's performance was deficient and that the deficiency prejudiced the defense of the case. Id. at 687, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674. Unless a defendant makes both showings, it cannot be said that the conviction or death sentence resulted from a breakdown in the adversary process that renders the result unreliable. Stringer v. State, 454 So.2d 468, 477 (Miss.1984) (citing Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. at 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052). The focus of the inquiry must be whether counsel's assistance was reasonable considering all the circumstances. Id. Burns v. State, 813 So.2d 668, 673 (Miss.2001) (emphasis in original). Bishop argues that his trial counsels' performance was deficient in four areas: failing to file a motion for change of venue; failure to conduct an adequate and sufficient investigation for purposes of mitigation and their failure to present mitigation evidence constituted ineffective assistance of counsel; failing to present an adequate and sufficient defense in the guilt/innocence phase of the trial; and failing to adequately prepare for trial. Bishop asserts that counsels' performance was so deficient that he suffered prejudice and, but for those deficiencies, it is likely that the outcome would have been different.