Supreme Court of Delaware

Smith v. State

May 24, 2018

Summary

The Supreme Court of Delaware affirmed the denial of Damon Smith’s postconviction motion alleging ineffective assistance of counsel. The court held that counsel’s decision not to subpoena three witnesses was objectively reasonable because two lacked useful proximity or observations and the third was available and present on the day of trial. Smith therefore failed to establish deficient performance under the governing two-pronged test.