Opinion ID: 2633362
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 15

Heading: Denial of Right to Effective Assistance of Counsel

Text: [¶ 31] Schmidt claims that he was denied his right to effective assistance of counsel because his trial counsel: (1) Failed to request lesser included offense instructions, (2) failed to object to the limitation on his cross-examination of the victim, (3) failed to point out that he had not made a charge of recent fabrication (and thus prior consistent statements of the victim were not admissible), (4) failed to object to the prior inconsistent statements of Schmidt's son and niece, and (5) did not challenge the constitutionality of the indecent liberties statute or offer an instruction to the effect that something more than indecent exposure was required to sustain a conviction under that statute. [¶ 32] Our standard of review with respect to this issue counsels that the paramount determination is whether, in light of all the pertinent circumstances, trial counsel's acts or omissions were outside the range of professionally competent assistance. We indulge a strong presumption that counsel rendered adequate assistance and made all significant decisions in the exercise of reasonable professional judgment. An appellant claiming ineffective assistance of counsel must demonstrate on the record that counsel's performance was deficient and that prejudice resulted. We also inquire as to whether counsel's conduct so undermined the proper functioning of the adversarial process that the trial cannot be relied on as having produced a just result. Chapman v. State, 2001 WY 25, ¶ 6, 18 P.3d 1164, ¶ 6 (Wyo. 2001); Pearson v. State, 12 P.3d 686, 691-92 (Wyo.2000). [¶ 33] In this instance, we find no error in defense counsel's failure to request lesser-included offense instructions because neither instruction would have constituted a lesser-included offense instruction. The trial court properly limited cross-examination of the victim, and ineffective assistance of counsel is not implicated in the failure to object to that limitation. Trial counsel did make a charge of recent fabrication. Defense counsel's failure to object to the prior inconsistent statements of Schmidt's son and niece is likewise unavailing in this regard because the district court's admission of them does not meet the plain error standard. Finally, defense counsel's failure to challenge the constitutionality of the indecent liberties statute, or to offer an instruction to the effect that something more than indecent exposure was required to sustain a conviction under that statute, was nothing more than trial counsel's recognition that the law is, in those respects, well-settled.