Taylor v. State

In Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984), the Supreme Court established the now well-known two-pronged test for determining whether a criminal defendant received the effective assistance of counsel that *391is guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The test laid out in Strickland burdens the defendant with establishing both “that counsel’s performance was deficient” and that counsel’s errors “prejudiced the defense.” Id. at 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052. This general rule has an exception, however. The defendant is excused from proving…