Does a defendant have a valid argument to argue that a recorded phone conversation with an informant was obtained in violation of his right to due process?

Defendant contends that the recorded jailhouse conversation with an informant was obtained in violation of his right to due process and should have been excluded. Defendant acknowledges that he did not object on this precise ground in the trial court, although his trial counsel had the opportunity to do so at the time the court ruled that the conversation was admissible. Defendant asks that we not deem the issue forfeited, arguing that his trial counsel's failure to properly object to the evidence constituted ineffective assistance of counsel in violation of his Sixth Amendment right to counsel. We will address defendant's due process contention "'on the merits to the extent necessary to decide the ineffective assistance claim.' [Citation.]" (People v. Ochoa (1998) 19 Cal.4th 353, 431.)