Opinion ID: 1588052
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Ineffective Assistance of Resentencing Counsel for Failure to Raise Pretextual Traffic Stop as Mitigating Factor

Text: Burns' second claim is that the postconviction court erred in denying his claim that resentencing counsel were ineffective for failing to present the nonstatutory mitigating circumstance that the initial traffic stop of Burns was pretextual. The postconviction court denied this claim, stating: [T]he alleged racial profiling . . . would not, however, be a circumstance of the offense of first-degree murder and would have been properly excludable. In any event, this Court cannot conclude that the failure to raise racial profiling as a non-statutory mitigating factor was outside of the range of reasonable professional assistance rendered to Burns at his resentencing proceeding. Postconviction Order at 15. Burns does not demonstrate how resentencing counsel was deficient for not presenting this evidence. Burns also does not demonstrate how Burns was prejudiced by the lack of this evidence. Therefore, we affirm the postconviction court's finding that Burns did not receive ineffective assistance of counsel for failing to present this evidence. See Strickland, 466 U.S. at 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052.