Is it ineffective assistance of counsel to advise defendant to plead no contest to multiple possession charges?

^1. We are compelled to note that if indeed there was no evidence to support distinct charges consistent with the reasoning in Hertzig and Manfredi, it would likely have constituted ineffective assistance of counsel to advise defendant to plead no contest to multiple possession counts. The record does not reveal the reasons for counsel's actions or whether they reflect a reasonable strategic choice, and defendant has therefore not raised an ineffective assistance claim on appeal. (See People v. Lopez (2008) 42 Cal.4th 960, 967.) Under these circumstances, such a claim would be more appropriately raised in a petition for habeas corpus (Ibid.), and defendant acknowledges as much in his reply brief. As the issue is not before us on appeal, we express no opinion as to its viability.