In Re Russo

¶ 1. Petitioner, jailed for a term of twelve-to-fifteen years on a conviction for aggravated assault, sought post-conviction relief (PCR) on the grounds that he did not receive effective assistance of counsel at his trial. The PCR court agreed, concluding that petitioner’s trial attorney deprived him of effective representation by failing to engage a firearms expert to testify at trial and failing to test-fire the rifle at issue. The State appeals and argues that the trial attorney’s tactical decisions were within an acceptable range of professional judgment and, even if there were…