Davis v. Kelly

To establish that counsel rendered inadequate assistance, it must be proven that (1) the trial counsel "failed to exercise reasonable professional skill and judgment, and (2) a prejudice element - in this context, that counsel's failure had 'a tendency to affect the result of his trial.'" Johnson v. Premo, 361 Or 688, 699, 399 P3d 431 (2017).

Petitioner appealed the post-conviction court's determination denying him a new trial for ineffective assistance of counsel.  Petitioner assigned error to the court's determination that deficiencies in the trial did not prejudice him.  Petitioner argued that his counsel failed to discredit testimony used against Petitioner, failed to object to videotape evidence of a witness who died before the trial, and failed to establish that witnesses had opportunity to collaborate against Petitioner.  The Superintendent argued that the court did not err in its determinations because the deficiencies were not proven to have prejudiced the petitioner.  To establish that counsel rendered inadequate assistance, it must be proven that (1) the trial counsel "failed to exercise reasonable professional skill and judgment, and (2) a prejudice element - in this context, that counsel's failure had 'a tendency to affect the result of his trial.'" Johnson v. Premo, 361 Or 688, 699, 399 P3d 431 (2017).  The Court held that Petitioner failed to demonstrate that his counsel's decisions amounted to deficient performance, and even if it were deficient, it was unproven that those deficiencies prejudiced Petitioner.  Affirmed.