LAW.coLAW.co

JEFFREY ALBERT BALOGH, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Nancy HOWTON, Superintendent, Oregon State Correctional Institution, Defendant-Respondent

Oregon Court of Appeals2010-02-17No. 07C13223; A139239
233 Or. App. 614227 P.3d 757

Authorities cited

No cited authorities resolved to law.co cases yet.

Opinion

majority opinion

PER CURIAM

Petitioner appeals a judgment denying his petition for post-conviction relief. He contends, in part, that, in the underlying criminal case, he received constitutionally inadequate assistance of counsel because his trial counsel failed to “challenge the admissibility of the state’s expert witness’s ‘diagnosis’ of sexual abuse[.]” That assignment of error is controlled by our recent decision in Umberger v. Czerniak, 232 Or App 563, 222 P3d 751 (2009) (trial counsel did not render constitutionally inadequate assistance where, before the Oregon Supreme Court rendered its decision in State v. Southard, 347 Or 127, 218 P3d 104 (2009), counsel failed to object to expert’s qualifications to testify about whether the victim had been sexually abused). As in Umberger, we conclude here that petitioner’s trial counsel did not fail to exercise reasonable professional skill and judgment when counsel failed to object to the expert testimony at issue. We reject petitioner’s other assignments of error without discussion.

Affirmed.