Answer to Question 1
The defendant who accepts an offer to plead guilty often faces consequences besides a reduced sentence or charge. Important rights are often waived, such as the right to appeal, the right to a jury trial, and the privilege against self-incrimination. Also, if the defendant supplies inaccurate information during the course of plea negotiations, he or she may not benefit from lenient treatment. Furthermore, in exchange for pleading guilty, the prosecution may require that the defendant testify against a codefendant.
Answer to Question 2
The two prongs announced in this case are now known as the performance prong and the prejudice prong. Most cases have focused on the performance prong. The Court noted in Strickland that the proper measure of attorney performance remains simply reasonableness under prevailing professional norms. Defense counsel's performance will be considered adequate if he or she avoids conflicts of interest, serves as an advocate for the defendant's case, and brings to bear such skill and knowledge as will render the trial a reliable adversarial testing process.
With regard to the prejudice prong, the Court stated in Strickland that actual or constructive denial of the assistance of counsel and various kinds of state interference with counsel's assistance are legally presumed to result in prejudice. State interference of this sort can occur when the defendant is either denied counsel or provided with counsel too late. Also, if the state blocks counsel's performance to some degree or otherwise interferes with the attorneyclient relationship, an ineffective assistance of counsel claim is likely to succeed. In other words, such action is prejudicial.
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