Opinion ID: 3049318
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Strickland Principles

Text: Because Digsby asserts that his appellate counsel rendered ineffective assistance, our analysis begins with the familiar rule that the Sixth Amendment affords a criminal defendant the right to “the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.” U.S. Const. amend. VI. Under the test set forth in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S. Ct. 2052 (1984), when a defendant claims ineffective assistance of counsel, he must show both that (1) his counsel’s performance was deficient; and (2) the deficient performance prejudiced his defense. Id. at 687, 104 S. Ct. at 2064. “For performance to be deficient, it must be established that, in light of all the circumstances, counsel’s performance was outside the wide range of professional competence.” Putman v. Head, 268 F.3d 1223, 1243 (11th Cir. 2001). Courts must be highly deferential in reviewing counsel’s performance, and must apply the strong presumption that counsel’s performance was reasonable. Chandler v. United States, 218 F.3d 1305, 1314 (11th Cir. 2000) (en banc). Under the prejudice prong, the defendant must show 16 “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. Our standard of review is “doubly deferential” when “a Strickland claim [is] evaluated under the § 2254(d)(1) standard.” Knowles v. Mirzayance, 556 U.S. __, 129 S. Ct. 1411, 1420 (2009). “The question is not whether a federal court believes the state court’s determination under the Strickland standard was incorrect but whether that determination was unreasonable – a substantially higher threshold.” Id. (quotation marks omitted).