Smith v. State, 923 N.W.2d 149 (2019)

Feb. 21, 2019 · North Dakota Supreme Court · No. 20180276

923 N.W.2d 149

Michael Keondre SMITH, Petitioner and Appellant
v.
STATE of North Dakota, Respondent and Appellee

No. 20180276

Supreme Court of North Dakota.

Filed February 21, 2019

Scott O. Diamond, Fargo, ND, for petitioner and appellant; submitted on brief.

Marina Spahr, Assistant State's Attorney, Bismarck, ND, for respondent and appellee; submitted on brief.

Per Curiam.

[¶1] Michael Keondre Smith appealed from a district court order denying his application for post-conviction relief. Smith argues that he received ineffective assistance of counsel based on his trial counsel's failure to reasonably investigate prior to trial and failure to call a police officer as a witness. We summarily affirm under N.D.R.App.P. 35.1(a)(2). See Steinbach v. State , 2015 ND 34, ¶ 10, 859 N.W.2d 1 ("[t]he applicant must first overcome the strong presumption counsel's representation fell within the wide range of reasonable professional assistance.").

[¶2] Gerald W. VandeWalle, C.J.

Jerod E. Tufte

Daniel J. Crothers

Lisa Fair McEvers

Jon J. Jensen