Stephen Gerard Smith v. State of Tennessee

Syllabus

The Petitioner, Stephen Gerard Smith, was convicted by a jury of aggravated assault, attempted aggravated assault, and three counts of domestic assault for offenses committed against his wife, and he received an effective twenty-five-year sentence. He sought and was denied post-conviction relief based on numerous allegations of ineffective assistance of counsel. On appeal, he alleges that he received ineffective assistance when trial counsel: (1) gave deficient advice regarding a plea offer (2) failed to challenge a prospective juror (3) argued in closing argument that the Petitioner was guilty of the misdemeanor offenses (4) failed to object to testimony referring to the Petitioner's prior incarceration (5) failed to object to the prosecutor's comment on the victim's credibility (6) failed to call witnesses and (7) failed to interview witnesses. Because we conclude that the Petitioner has not established either deficiency or prejudice for each claim, we affirm the denial of post-conviction relief.