Balbirnie v. State

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF KANSAS No. 115,650 JOHN BALBIRNIE, Appellant, v. STATE OF KANSAS, Appellee. SYLLABUS BY THE COURT 1. The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees the right to effective assistance of counsel, and denial of the right can lead to reversal of a jury verdict. Courts consider whether a reversible denial of the right occurred by applying a two-prong test stated by the United States Supreme Court in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S. Ct. 2052,

80 L. Ed. 2d 674

(1984). A convicted defendant must first establish deficient performance,…