482
Opinion of the Court
case); Penson v. Ohio, 488 U. S. 75, 88-89 (1988) (claim that counsel in effect did not represent defendant on appeal); Smith v. Robbins, ante, p. 259 (claim that counsel neglected to file a merits brief on appeal); Smith v. Murray, 477 U. S. 527, 535-536 (1986) (claim that counsel failed to make a particular argument on appeal). In such circumstances, whether we require the defendant to show actual prejudice—"a reasonable probability that, but for counsel's unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different," Strickland, 466 U. S., at 694—or whether we instead presume prejudice turns on the magnitude of the deprivation of the right to effective assistance of counsel. That is because "the right to the effective assistance of counsel is recognized not for its own sake, but because of the effect it has on the ability of the accused to receive a fair trial," Cronic, supra, at 658, or a fair appeal, see Penson, supra, at 88-89. "Absent some effect of challenged conduct on the reliability of the . . . process, the [effective counsel] guarantee is generally not implicated." Cronic, supra, at 658.
We "normally apply a 'strong presumption of reliability' to judicial proceedings and require a defendant to overcome that presumption," Robbins, ante, at 286 (citing Strickland, supra, at 696), by "show[ing] how specific errors of counsel undermined the reliability of the finding of guilt," Cronic, supra, at 659, n. 26. Thus, in cases involving mere "attorney error," we require the defendant to demonstrate that the errors "actually had an adverse effect on the defense." Strickland, supra, at 693. See, e. g., Robbins, ante, at 287 (applying actual prejudice requirement where counsel followed all required procedures and was alleged to have missed a particular nonfrivolous argument); Strickland, supra, at 699-700 (rejecting claim in part because the evidence counsel failed to introduce probably would not have altered defendant's sentence).
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