Court Opinion

ID: 9517137
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 00:05:25.034782+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:43:35.372366
License: Public Domain

*149RUCKER, Judge,
concurring.
I agree with the majority that the trial court properly denied Smith's petition for post-conviction relief. However, I do not fully agree with the majority's determination concerning Smith's claim of ineffective assistance of counsel.
Two days after Smith was charged with rape as a Class A felony and confinement as a Class B felony, counsel entered his appearance in this case. A month and a half later, with assistance of the same counsel, Smith pled guilty without a plea agreement. He received the maximum sentence on both charges. Trial counsel did not request discovery, deposed no witnesses, made no attempt to suppress Smith's pretrial statement, and apparently made no effort to negotiate an agreement with State. This conduct is deficient and unacceptable. Counsel has a duty and responsibility to defend his client zealously within the bounds of law. That counsel was of the opinion "there was little hope in a verdict other than guilty" did not excuse him from at least exploring reasonable avenues of defense.
In my view, Smith has carried his burden of demonstrating that counsel's representation fell below an objective standard of reasonableness. However, in the context of guilty plea proceedings, the familiar two-pronged test for evaluating claims of ineffective assistance of counsel articulated in Strickland v. Washington (1984), 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 is slightly modified. Namely, the petitioner must not only show that his counsel's representation fell below an objective standard of reasonableness, he must also show that but for counsel's errors he would not have pled guilty and would have insisted on going to trial. Hill v. Lockhart (1985), 474 U.S. 52, 106 S.Ct. 366, 88 LEd.2d 203. I agree with the majority that Smith has failed to carry his burden on the second prong of the test.
For the foregoing reasons I concur.