Commonwealth v. Mahar

I concur in the court’s analysis that nothing in defense counsel’s assessment of what jury instruction would be given on the element of “entry” fell measurably below the standard of an ordinary fallible lawyer, and that the defendant has therefore failed to satisfy even the first prong of his claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, let alone the second prong. Ante at 17-19. See Commonwealth v. Saferian, 366 Mass. 89, 96 (1974). Where the factual premise of the claim has not been established, it is unnecessary — and in my view unadvisable — to endorse the theory that poor advice about a…