Crime Victim assistance of counsel prejudice

To establish ineffective assistance of counsel, a defendant must show both deficient performance and resulting prejudice. Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687, 104 S. Ct. 2052, 80 L. Ed. 2d 674 (1984). Deficient performance occurs when counsel's performance falls below an objective standard of reasonableness. State v. Stenson, 132 Wn.2d 668, 705-06, 940 P.2d 1239 (1997). A strong presumption of effective assistance exists, and the defendant bears the burden of demonstrating an absence in the record of a strategic basis for the challenged conduct. State v. McFarland, 127 Wn.2d 322, 335, 899 P.2d 1251 (1995). Prejudice occurs if there is a reasonable probability that the outcome of the proceedings would have been different had counsel's performance not been deficient. McFarland, 127 Wn.2d at 335. Failure to establish either prong of the test is fatal to the claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 697

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