The following excerpt is from U.S. v. Tinkle, 116 F.3d 1487 (9th Cir. 1997):
Consideration of this appeal begins with "a strong presumption that counsel's conduct falls within the wide range of reasonable professional assistance." Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 689 (1984). To merit reversal, the defendant must show "that counsel made errors so serious that counsel was not functioning as the 'counsel' guaranteed the defendant by the Sixth Amendment." Id. at 687.
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