Howard v. State

I respectfully dissent. The majority opinion holds that mere error by counsel in giving advice to a defendant is sufficient to establish that counsel’s performance was deficient. In doing so, it dilutes the test in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984), for determining ineffective assistance of counsel.

The Strickland court held that a guilty plea is attended by a strong presumption that counsel’s conduct falls within the range of reasonable professional assistance and that, if an error was made by the attorney, it must be one of such seriousness that the defendant was denied a fair…