What is the legal test for ineffective assistance at the trial of an alleged criminal defendant?

We have rejected appellant's misconduct claims above. To the extent that any of the instances cited as misconduct might be considered so, however, we note that "mere failure to object to prosecutorial argument ... rarely establishes incompetence on the part of defense counsel in the absence of some explanation on the record for counsel's action or inaction." (People v. Samayoa, supra, 15 Cal.4th at p. 855, 64 Cal.Rptr.2d 400, 938 P.2d 2.)

That is true here.

The same objective standard for assessing the competence of counsel applied at the guilt phase is applied to a claim of ineffective assistance at the subsequent phases of a trial. (People v. Samayoa, supra, 15 Cal.4th at p. 855, 64 Cal. Rptr.2d 400, 938 P.2d 2.)