Opinion ID: 1915707
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Post-Conviction Relief Standard of Review

Text: Staats contends that when the Superior Court considered his asserted grounds for relief, it improperly applied a higher standard than it would have applied if it had properly determined that his motion was not time-barred. Staats' argument fails, however, because the standard for analyzing claims of ineffective assistance of counsel in a motion for post-conviction relief is the same. The Strickland standards apply to ineffective assistance of counsel claims regardless of whether the claim has met the procedural requirements of Rule 61(i)(1) [15] or is evaluated under subsection (i)(5) for a colorable claim that a miscarriage of justice has occurred because of a Sixth Amendment violation. Accordingly, notwithstanding the Superior Court's error in calculating whether Staats had met the time requirements of Rule 61(i)(1), the court applied the appropriate Strickland standard of review when it evaluated Staats' motion under Rule 61(i)(5).