Opinion ID: 1611878
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Prejudice Component.

Text: Once the applicant proves ineffective assistance, it must also be shown that the error caused prejudice. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 693, 104 S.Ct. at 2067, 80 L.Ed.2d at 697; Westeen, 591 N.W.2d at 211. To sustain this burden, the applicant must demonstrate that there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel's unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 694, 104 S.Ct. at 2068, 80 L.Ed.2d at 698; see Artzer, 609 N.W.2d at 531; Tracy, 482 N.W.2d at 680. A reasonable probability is a probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 694, 104 S.Ct. at 2068, 80 L.Ed.2d at 698; see Wissing, 528 N.W.2d at 564; Bumpus, 459 N.W.2d at 627. In defining this prejudice prong in Strickland v. Washington , the Supreme Court rejected the claim by the defendant that prejudice was established when the attorney's unprofessional errors resulted in a mere impairment of the presentation of the defense. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 693, 104 S.Ct. at 2067-68, 80 L.Ed.2d at 697. It found that if such a standard were adopted, every criminal defense attorney would be subjected to a successful ineffective assistance claim, as every error by counsel would conceivably impair a defense. Id. On the other hand, the Court did not want the standard to be so stringent that no defendant could ever satisfy the prejudice prong. Thus, the Court also rejected the stringent outcome-determinative test of requiring a defendant to show that counsel's deficient conduct more likely than not altered the outcome in the case. Id. at 693, 104 S.Ct. at 2068, 80 L.Ed.2d at 697. Instead, the Court crafted the governing question to be whether there is a reasonable probability that, absent the errors, the fact finder would have had a reasonable doubt respecting guilt. Id. at 695, 104 S.Ct. at 2068, 80 L.Ed.2d at 698. To satisfy this requirement, an applicant must meet the burden of showing that the decision reached would reasonably likely have been different absent the errors. Id. at 696, 104 S.Ct. at 2069, 80 L.Ed.2d at 699. In explaining the application of the prejudice standard, the Court stressed that the ultimate concern should be the overriding fundamental fairness of the proceeding. Id. Yet, this concern over fundamental fairness does not serve to supplement the prejudice inquiry except in those instances where a defendant attempts to demonstrate prejudice by urging considerations that do not deprive the defendant of substantive or procedural rights recognized under the law. Williams, 529 U.S. at 392-93, 120 S.Ct. at 1513, 146 L.Ed.2d at 417-18. In those cases where the performance of counsel does deprive a defendant of a procedural or substantive right recognized in the law, the straightforward prejudice test pronounced in Strickland guides the analysis. Id. at 391, 120 S.Ct. at 1512-13, 146 L.Ed.2d at 417-18. We first defined the standard for determining whether a defendant has demonstrated the requisite prejudice in State v. Miles, 344 N.W.2d 231, 234 (Iowa 1984). In Miles, we interpreted the prejudice prong to require a defendant to prove his attorney's error worked to his actual and substantial disadvantage, infecting his entire trial with error of constitutional dimensions. Miles, 344 N.W.2d at 234 (quoting United States v. Frady, 456 U.S. 152, 170, 102 S.Ct. 1584, 1596, 71 L.Ed.2d 816, 832 (1982)). However, Miles was issued prior to the Supreme Court's pronouncement in Strickland v. Washington . Moreover, Miles relied upon the Fifth Circuit case, Washington v. Strickland, 693 F.2d 1243 (5th Cir.1982), rev'd, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984), in forming its definition of prejudice, which case was subsequently reversed by the Court in its Strickland decision. We have never disavowed our analysis of the prejudice prong set forth in Miles. Instead, we have labeled that interpretation an actual prejudice standard, finding it to be the same standard adopted in Strickland. State v. Propps, 376 N.W.2d 619, 623 (Iowa 1985). However, in Taylor v. State, 352 N.W.2d 683, 685 (Iowa 1984), we expressly adopted the reasonable probability of a different result test articulated in Strickland for analyzing resultant prejudice. See Propps, 376 N.W.2d at 623; Mark v. State, 370 N.W.2d 609, 612 (Iowa Ct.App.1985). Since Taylor, we have applied the Strickland test as the appropriate prejudice standard. See Artzer, 609 N.W.2d at 531; Carrillo, 597 N.W.2d at 500; Wissing, 528 N.W.2d at 564; Tracy, 482 N.W.2d at 680; State v. Hill, 449 N.W.2d 626, 628 (Iowa 1989); Risdal, 404 N.W.2d at 132; Propps, 376 N.W.2d at 623. The fundamental fairness of the proceedings is not utilized by our courts as the standard, unless it fits into one of those unique situations described in Williams v. Taylor. See Wanatee v. Ault, 101 F.Supp.2d 1189, 1197 (N.D.Iowa 2000). Although we have at times considered the fundamental fairness of the proceeding, we believe the reasonable probability of a different result is our governing inquiry. In applying this standard it is also necessary to consider what is meant by a different result. Strickland seemed to define result as the decision rendered. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 696, 104 S.Ct. at 2069, 80 L.Ed.2d at 699. Many courts also interpret result in the same manner, requiring a showing of the reasonable probability of a different verdict, or that the fact finder would have possessed reasonable doubt. See Abdur'Rahman v. Bell, 226 F.3d 696, 707 (6th Cir.2000); Montoya v. Johnson, 226 F.3d 399, 408 (5th Cir.2000); Espy v. State, 246 Ga.App. 1, 539 S.E.2d 513, 516 (2000); Watson v. State, 243 Ga.App. 636, 534 S.E.2d 93, 96 (2000); Vogel v. State, 31 S.W.3d 130, 136 (Mo.Ct.App.2000); McAllister v. State, 28 S.W.3d 72, 76 (Tex.App.2000); Burruss v. State, 20 S.W.3d 179, 186 (Tex.App.2000). We believe this is how result should be interpreted in Iowa, and how it has most often been interpreted. See Westeen, 591 N.W.2d at 211; Tracy, 482 N.W.2d at 680; Bumpus, 459 N.W.2d at 627; Hill, 449 N.W.2d at 629; Taylor, 352 N.W.2d at 686; see also Wanatee, 101 F.Supp.2d at 1197-98; Burgess, 585 N.W.2d at 847. Finally, it is important to observe that Strickland defines the legal standard to govern the prejudice component of a claim for ineffective assistance of counsel. Strickland establishes that prejudice exists when there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel's unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 694, 104 S.Ct. at 2068, 80 L.Ed.2d at 698. This standard does not modify our requirement for the defendant to establish the elements of a claim for ineffective assistance of counsel by a preponderance of the evidence. See Oetken, 613 N.W.2d at 683; Carrillo, 597 N.W.2d at 499; Wissing, 528 N.W.2d at 563. Instead, in making the decision whether there is a reasonable probability that the result of the trial would have been different, the burden of proof is on the defendant to establish this standard by a preponderance of the evidence. With this in mind, we now apply these concepts to the specific claims raised in this case.