Commonwealth v. Balodis

I dissent. The Majority finds that counsel for Peter Balodis (Appellant) was ineffective for failing to preserve objections to the testimony of Maddi-Jane Sobel (Sobel). I disagree. Pursuant to Pennsylvania law, counsel is presumed effective and the burden is with Appellant to prove otherwise. Commonwealth v. Pierce, 515 Pa. 153, 157-61, 527 A.2d 973, 975-76 (1987). To do so, Appellant must show that his counsel had no reasonable basis in serving his client by making the chosen decisions during trial. Id. The test should not be whether he made the best available decision, but merely whether…