Opinion ID: 1727420
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 11

Heading: whether gary's trial and appellate counsel rendered ineffective assistance of counsel with regard to their failure to perfect a timely appeal

Text: ¶ 44. When evaluating an ineffective assistance of counsel claim, this Court applies the following standard: In order to prevail on a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, a defendant must prove (1) that his attorney's overall performance was deficient and (2) that the deficient performance, if any, was so substantial as to prejudice the defendant and deprive him of a fair trial. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 687, 104 S.Ct. at 2064. Both parts of the test must be satisfied before a defendant may prove ineffective assistance of counsel. Lindsay v. State, 720 So.2d 182, 184 (Miss. 1998). Furthermore, there is a presumption that trial counsel is competent and that counsel's conduct is reasonable. Id. ¶ 45. Gary's first court-appointed counsel was Jeff Bradley, who died in November of 1996. On January 29, 1998, Gary's next appointed counsel appealed but ultimately failed to file a brief on Gary's behalf resulting in the dismissal of the appeal on October 31, 1998. Although these delays were unfortunate and represented unprofessional lapses in timely performance, Gary fails to set forth how the failure to perfect a timely appeal has affected the outcome of his case. ¶ 46. Specifically, Gary must prove that, under the totality of the circumstances, prejudice resulted from a deficiency in counsel's performance. Earley v. State, 595 So.2d 430, 433 (Miss.1992). Although, the failure of counsel to timely perfect Gary's appeal is considered deficient, Gary has failed to show exactly how he was prejudiced by this deficiency. Potential prejudice cannot be shown until Gary is retried or resentenced at the trial court level. Therefore, Gary's assertion that he received ineffective assistance of counsel due to counsel's failure to timely appeal is without merit.