P. v. Mendoza CA3
Defendant Rebecca Lee Mendoza challenges her conviction of second degree murder of her husband Michael Bradford, with personal and intentional discharge of a firearm causing death. On appeal, defendant argues her trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance of counsel by failing to present expert testimony and request jury instruction on “intimate partner battering [(IPB)] and its effects.” IPB and its effects was previously known as Battered Women’s Syndrome (BWS). (In re Walker (2007) 147 Cal.App.4th 533, 536, fn. 1 (Walker).) We reject defendant’s contentions, because defendant’s trial counsel expressly stated on the record that he decided not to present an expert “as a matter of trial strategy,” and defendant fails to show that there could be no conceivable explanation for this tactical decision or that counsel failed her regarding jury instructions.
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