Gary Tassone v. State of Rhode Island

Syllabus

The petitioner, Gary Tassone, sought review of a Superior Court judgment denying his application for postconviction relief. Specifically, the petitioner argued that counsel rendered ineffective assistance when he failed to (1) present Linda Hazard as a witness; (2) litigate effectively issues relating to four statements; (3) challenge the blood evidence; (4) raise a third-party-perpetrator defense; (5) retain an expert in sand evidence; and (6) engage an investigator to examine the lighting conditions on Route 195. The Supreme Court rejected the petitioner's claims. The Supreme Court concluded that the petitioner failed to satisfy both prongs of the test enunciated in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984). Notably, the petitioner failed to reconstruct the circumstances of counsel's challenged conduct; and, therefore, the Court had no basis to evaluate the reasonableness of counsel's actions. Additionally, in light of the overwhelming evidence of guilt, the petitioner suffered no prejudice from counsel's alleged unprofessional errors. The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the Superior Court.