In
Strickland, the Supreme Court stated that “[t]he benchmark for judging any claim of ineffectiveness must be whether counsel's conduct so undermined the proper functioning of the adversarial process that the trial cannot be relied on as having produced a just result.”
466 U.S. at 686, 104 S.Ct. at 2064. Respondent claims that defense counsel protected Ballard's rights fully and faithfully. Lardner requested and participated in pre-trial hearings, noted objections during the hearings and the subsequent trial, cross-examined the prosecution's witnesses, presented defense witnesses during the hearings, attempted to clarify Ballard's name change, gave a closing address to the jury, made jury charge requests, and “strenuously objected,”
see Tr. 437, to the introduction of Ballard's prior convictions. The trial record clearly indicates that defense counsel's conduct both before and during trial comported with the adversarial nature of a criminal proceeding, and that counsel provided adequate, effective, and meaningful assistance.