California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Moore, E057475 (Cal. App. 2014):
Defendant argues that any such forfeiture constituted ineffective assistance. "The decision whether to object to the admission of evidence is 'inherently tactical,' and a failure to object will rarely reflect deficient performance by counsel. [Citation.]" (People v. Castaneda, supra, 51 Cal.4th at p. 1335.) Here, defense counsel was not necessarily aware of the evidence in advance;2 that would explain why he did not specifically object to it during the motion in limine. Later, when it came out at trial, he "could . . . have decided that objecting would focus the jury's attention on the threat incident in ways that would not be helpful to the defense." (People v. Harris (2008) 43 Cal.4th 1269, 1290.)
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