Is there any evidence defense counsel was ineffective because his penalty phase argument was brief?
California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Dickey, 111 P.3d 921, 28 Cal.Rptr.3d 647, 35 Cal.4th 884 (Cal. 2005):
Defendant next contends defense counsel was ineffective because his
[28 Cal.Rptr.3d 680]
penalty phase argument was brief. It was brief; in transcript, three pages long. (The prosecutor's argument was longer by only a page.) However, the effectiveness of an advocate's oral presentation is difficult to judge accurately from a written transcript, and the length of an argument is not a sound measure of its quality. (Weaver, supra, 26 Cal.4th at p. 979, 111 Cal.Rptr.2d 2, 29 P.3d 103; People v. Cudjo (1993) 6 Cal.4th 585, 634-635, 25 Cal. Rptr.2d 390, 863 P.2d 635.)[28 Cal.Rptr.3d 680]
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