Opinion ID: 2594137
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Issue II Ineffective Assistance

Text: [¶ 18] Magallanes contends that trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance. We evaluate Magallanes' claim under the following standard: In reviewing claims of ineffective assistance of counsel, our paramount consideration is whether, in light of all the circumstances, trial counsel's acts or omissions were outside the wide range of professionally competent assistance. Gleason v. State, 2002 WY 161, ¶ 44, 57 P.3d 332, [346-47] (Wyo.2002). An appellant claiming ineffective assistance of counsel must demonstrate on the record that counsel's performance was deficient. Id. (citing Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984)). Ordinarily, he must also demonstrate that prejudice resulted. Under this test, the inquiry is whether or not counsel rendered the assistance a reasonably competent attorney would have offered and, if not, whether his failure to do so prejudiced the defense of the case. Id. This two-part test, the Strickland test, is the test we normally apply in reviewing ineffectiveness claims . . . . We examine the conduct of defense counsel in light of all the circumstances in determining whether the identified acts or omissions fall outside the ambit of professionally competent assistance, bearing in mind the function of counsel is to make the adversarial testing process work in every case. Dickeson v. State, 843 P.2d 606, 609 (Wyo.1992). The benchmark for judging any claim of ineffectiveness must be whether counsel's conduct so undermined the proper functioning of the adversarial process that the trial cannot be relied upon as having produced a just result. Gleason, 2002 WY 161, 57 P.3d 332. We do not evaluate the efforts of counsel from a perspective of hindsight but endeavor to reconstruct the circumstances surrounding the challenged conduct and evaluate the professional efforts from the perspective of counsel at the time. Dickeson, 843 P.2d at 609. We invoke a strong presumption that counsel rendered adequate and reasonable assistance making all decisions within the bounds of reasonable professional judgment. Id. The burden is on the defendant to overcome this presumption that, in light of the circumstances, the challenged action or failure of the attorney might be considered sound trial strategy. Id. Leyva v. State, 2005 WY 22, ¶ 19, 106 P.3d 873, 878 (Wyo.2005) (quoting CLC v. State, 2004 WY 2, ¶ 11, 82 P.3d 1235, 1238-39 (Wyo. 2004)). We have also stated that an appellant assailing counsel's assistance must provide more than mere speculation or equivocal inferences. Duke v. State, 2004 WY 120, ¶ 36, 99 P.3d 928, 943 (Wyo.2004), cert. denied, 544 U.S. 1062, 125 S.Ct. 2513, 161 L.Ed.2d 1113 (2005). [¶ 19] Magallanes' allegations of ineffectiveness concern trial counsel's failure to have DNA testing performed on fingernail scrapings taken from Lopez, to have the car driven that night checked for fingerprints and tested for blood or other biological specimens, and to have testing performed on the shirt Lopez left at Sophia's house. Magallanes' attack on counsel's performance rests entirely on his speculation that such testing would have uncovered exculpatory evidence and discounts the possibility that it could have adversely affected the theory of defense presented at trial. [¶ 20] The record reveals that Magallanes defended against the charges on the theory that he was not in Cheyenne the night Lopez was killed, that the initial statements given by all who saw Lopez in Cheyenne that night indicated as much, and that those witnesses changed their stories only after being pressured to do so by law enforcement and Lopez's family. Defense counsel drew the jury's attention to such matters during his examination of witnesses and in his opening and closing statements. To complement that defense, trial counsel attacked the State extensively for not having tests performed to identify fingerprints and biological specimens that were gathered, or could have been gathered, during its investigation of the case. That attack, in part, addressed the very items which Magallanes now claims trial counsel should have tested. [¶ 21] It is clear from the record that trial counsel's strategy was to use the unknown nature of the untested evidence to Magellanes' advantage by suggesting it would have shown he had no contact with Lopez on the night of the murder, a defense that could not have been pursued had testing of that evidence linked Magallanes to the crime. Trial counsel further argued the State purposely did not test the evidence because it feared the results would weaken its case against Magallanes. Counsel would have had to sacrifice that aspect of Magallanes' defense if he had the evidence tested. When viewed in this context, trial counsel's strategic decision to forego testing was well within sound trial strategy of a reasonably competent attorney. We will not second guess counsel.