Opinion ID: 172342
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Strickland Standard for Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

Text: The Sixth Amendment guarantees criminal defendants the right to effective assistance of counsel. Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 684-86, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984). A claim of ineffective assistance of counsel is an attack on the fundamental fairness of the proceeding. Id. at 697, 104 S.Ct. 2052. To establish an ineffective assistance of counsel claim, the defendant must show (1) that counsel's performance was deficient, and (2) that the deficient performance prejudiced the defense. Id. at 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052. In determining if counsel's performance was deficient, we judge the reasonableness of counsel's challenged conduct on the facts of the particular case, viewed as of the time of counsel's conduct. Id. at 690, 104 S.Ct. 2052. Additionally, a court must indulge a strong presumption that counsel's conduct falls within the wide range of reasonable professional assistance. Id. at 689, 104 S.Ct. 2052. In determining prejudice, [t]he defendant must show that there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel's unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different. A reasonable probability is a probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome. Id. at 694, 104 S.Ct. 2052. When a defendant challenges a conviction, the question is whether there is a reasonable probability that, absent the errors, the factfinder would have had a reasonable doubt respecting guilt. Id. at 695, 104 S.Ct. 2052.