Lancaster v. State3/28/2002
Q: What, if anything, did he tell you?
28
A: He identified himself as Norman.
Q: Okay. Did you make any attempt, yourself, to look at the wallet to determine identification?
A: I did.
Q: And what was the identification contained in that wallet?
A: His driver's license said his name was James Norman Lancaster.
Q: Was that the name that had been given to you by the Casper Police Department?
A: It was.
[ ] The appellant contends that this warrantless search of his wallet was not justified by any exception to the constitutional requirement for a warrant. Further, he insists that, without the warrantless search, the State would not have obtained a New Mexico identification card that linked him to the purchase of the rifle.
STANDARD OF REVIEW
[ ] The standard for appellate review of a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel is the same under the state and federal constitutions. In Interest of LDO, 858 P.2d 553, 556 (Wyo. 1993). As we stated in Eustice v. State, 11 P.3d 897, 901-02 (Wyo. 2000) (quoting Beadles v. State, 984 P.2d 1083, 1085-86 (Wyo. 1999)), such claims are reviewed under the standard set forth in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 2064, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984):
"First, the defendant must show that counsel's performance was deficient. This requires showing that counsel made errors so serious that counsel was not functioning as the 'counsel' guaranteed the defendant by the Sixth Amendment. Second, the defendant must show that the deficient performance prejudiced the defense. This requires showing that counsel's errors were so serious as to deprive the defendant of a fair trial, a trial whose result is reliable. Unless a defendant makes both showings, it cannot be said that the conviction or death sentence resulted from a breakdown in the adversary process that renders the result unreliable."
[ ] In reviewing claims of ineffective assistance of counsel, we invoke a strong presumption that counsel rendered adequate assistance and made all significant decisions in the exercise of reasonable judgment. Eustice, 11 P.3d at 902 (quoting Beadles, 984 P.2d at 1085-86); Sorensen v. State, 6 P.3d 657, 660 (Wyo. 2000), cert. denied, 531 U.S. 1093 (2001) (quoting Jackson v. State, 902 P.2d 1292, 1295 (Wyo. 1995)). "'[T]he paramount determination is whether, in light of all the circumstances, trial counsel's acts or omissions were outside the wide range of professionally competent assistance.'" Sorensen, 6 P.3d at 660 (quoting Jackson, 902 P.2d at 1295). See also Herdt v. State, 891 P.2d 793, 796 (Wyo. 1995). The burden of proving ineffective assistance of counsel rests with the appellant. Sorensen, 6 P.3d at 660.
[ ] The failure to file a suppression motion does not constitute ineffective assistance of counsel per se. Bloomquist v. State, 914 P.2d 812, 821 (Wyo. 1996); Dickeson v. State, 843 P.2d 606, 610 (Wyo. 1992). Instead, the reasonableness of counsel's action or inaction is evaluated from the perspective of counsel at the time and in light of all the circumstances of the case. Bloomquist, 914 P.2d at 821; Dickeson, 843 P.2d at 610. For instance, where counsel fails to move to suppress his client's statement, and that failure is based on counsel's failure to investigate and discover a Miranda violation that likely would have made the statement inadmissible, such failure is ineffective assistance of counsel. In Interest of LDO, 858 P.2d at 559. However, where the decision not to file a motion to suppress is part of counsel's trial strategy, "it will not, in hindsight, be judged as unconstitutionally ineffective assistance of counsel." Hornecker
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Wyoming DUI Attorneys
DUI Lawyers
|