Is a defendant's trial attorney ineffective for failing to object to the prosecutor's closing argument?

California, United States of America

The following excerpt is from People v. Darley, C087161 (Cal. App. 2020):

Because we reject the argument that the prosecutor engaged in misconduct during closing argument, we also conclude defendant's trial attorney was not ineffective for failure to object. "Counsel's failure to make a meritless objection does not constitute deficient performance." (People v. Mitcham (1992) 1 Cal.4th 1027, 1080 (Mitcham).) Accordingly, we reject defendant's claim of ineffective assistance of counsel regarding the lack of objection to the prosecutor's closing argument.

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