California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. McCormick, H038603 (Cal. App. 2013):
To prevail on a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, a defendant must establish not only deficient performance, i.e., representation below an objective standard of reasonableness, but also resultant prejudice. (Strickland v. Washington (1984) 466 U.S. 668, 687.) A court must indulge a strong presumption that counsel's conduct falls within the wide range of reasonable professional assistance. (Id. at p. 689.) Tactical errors are generally not deemed reversible, and counsel's decision making must be evaluated in the context of the available facts. (Id. at p. 690.) To the extent the record on
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appeal fails to disclose why counsel acted or failed to act in the manner challenged, we will affirm the judgment unless counsel was asked for an explanation and failed to provide one, or unless there simply could be no satisfactory explanation. (People v. Mendoza Tello (1997) 15 Cal.4th 264, 266.)
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