State v. Strode, 264 P.3d 562

Strode was convicted of attempted murder in Utah; on appeal he argues trial counsel was ineffective for not moving to dismiss based on the State's failure to preserve a text message.
The text message allegedly from the victim to a witness urged the witness to help in beating Strode; the message was cited in a police affidavit for a search warrant.
The witness who received the text message was unavailable at trial, but a police interview video of the witness was admitted and shown to the jury.
The video showed the witness received a message asking for help in harming Strode; the jury was thus aware the victim intended to harm Strode.
Strode raised self-defense at trial; the court applied the standard for ineffective assistance (deficient performance and prejudice) and upheld the conviction.
The court affirmed, holding that any deficiency did not prejudice Strode because the jury heard the substance of the text message and there was no demonstrable probability of a more favorable outcome if the case had been dismissed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Ineffective assistance based on failure to preserve evidence	Strode argues failure to preserve the text message prejudiced defense	State contends no prejudice and no likelihood of different outcome	No prejudice; affirmed

State v. Litherland, 12 P.3d 92 (Utah 2000) (ineffective-assistance standard; prejudice required)
State v. Chacon, 962 P.2d 48 (Utah 1998) (prejudice requires a reasonable probability of a more favorable result)