Court Opinion

ID: 9702689
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-25 23:21:11.47066+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:21:40.610364
License: Public Domain

SABERS, Justice
(concurring in result).
I concur in result but I do not accept the majority’s position that defense counsel’s performance was adequate. I think it was deficient in several respects, including the
1) Failure to call Peggy Poppe Basham;
2) Failure to investigate Fast Horse’s claim that Dale mailed him the satellite tracking system in California;
3) Failure to talk to and identify an employee who overheard a phone conversation between Dale and Peggy Poppe Basham[.]
The fact that a defendant is less than honest with his own lawyer does not excuse inadequate investigation or performance. In fact, in some cases, it may increase one’s obligation of professional responsibility.
However, under Strickland v. Washington, the defendant must also show that counsel’s deficient performance prejudiced the defense. 466 U.S. at 687, 104 S.Ct. at 2064, 80 L.Ed.2d at 693. I am not convinced that the second prong of the Strickland v. Washington test has been satisfied and, therefore, I concur in result.