California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Monroy, G052279 (Cal. App. 2017):
counsel's conduct so undermined the proper functioning of the adversarial process that the trial cannot be relied on as having produced a just result." (Strickland v. Washington (1984) 466 U.S. 668, 686.) A defendant alleging ineffective assistance of counsel must meet a two-pronged test: (1) defendant must show counsel's performance was deficient and (2) defendant must show he was prejudiced by the deficient performance. (Id. at p. 687.)
Here we need not decide whether counsel's performance was deficient, because we have already found defendant has not suffered prejudice. (People v. Camino (2010) 188 Cal.App.4th 1359, 1377 [court need not address both components of ineffective assistance inquiry if defendant makes insufficient showing on one]; Strickland v. Washington, supra, 466 U.S. at p. 691 ["An error by counsel, even if professionally unreasonable, does not warrant setting aside the judgment of a criminal proceeding if the error had no effect on the judgment"].)
The judgment is affirmed.
The above passage should not be considered legal advice. Reliable answers to complex legal questions require comprehensive research memos. To learn more visit www.alexi.com.