P. v. Cleland
Rebecca Cleland, whose previous conviction on charges of conspiracy to commit murder and first degree murder was overturned by this court,[1]appeals from the judgment entered after the jury on retrial again found her guilty on both charges. The jury also found true the special allegations the murder was committed for financial gain and while lying in wait. Cleland was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. She now contends she received ineffective assistance of counsel at her retrial, raising the question how unreasonable must a defense strategy be to warrant reversal on this ground. She also challenges (as she did unsuccessfully in her first appeal) the trial courts admission of evidence she retained counsel soon after the murder and prosecutorial comment on that evidence. Court affirm.
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