Criminal Procedure — ineffective assistance

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United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit

Criminal

Criminal Procedure — ineffective assistance

It was not ineffective assistance for the defendant’s attorney not to call as a witness a person who had given statements to police implicating the defendant.

“There can be no doubt that Berg’s counsel made a strategic decision not to call Peynetsa—the trial judge specifically observed that this was ‘one of those decisions that sounds strategic,’ and Berg’s trial counsel agreed. (Trial Tr. Vol. II at 427.) Moreover, that strategic decision was reasonable. As both defense counsel and the trial judge noted, calling Peynetsa would have allowed the government to introduce post-arrest interviews in which Peynetsa implicated Berg. (Id. at 426-27.) A reasonable attorney could easily conclude that the harm caused by these interviews would outweigh any benefit from Peynetsa’s testimony. Accordingly, Berg cannot show that his attorney performed deficiently.”

Affirmed.

12-2118 U.S. v. Berg

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Griesbach, J., Kanne, J.