548
Scalia, J., dissenting
knew from the social services records." Ante, at 531. That is not true. Schlaich was never asked "what he knew from the social services records." With regard to the alleged sexual abuse in particular, Schlaich answered " '[y]es' " to the following question: " 'You also knew that where [sic] were reports of sexual abuse at one of his foster homes?' " This question did not "refe[r] to what [Schlaich] knew from the social services records," as the Court declares; and neither, by the way, did any of the other questions put to Schlaich regarding his knowledge of Wiggins' background. See App. 490-491. Wiggins' postconviction counsel simply never asked Schlaich to reveal the source of his knowledge.
Schlaich's most likely source of knowledge of the alleged sexual abuse was Wiggins himself; even Hans Selvog's extensive "social history" report unearthed no documentation or corroborating witnesses with respect to that claim. Id., at 464; see App. to Pet. for Cert. 177a, 193a. The Court, however, dismisses this possibility for two reasons. First, because "the record contains no evidence that counsel ever pursued this line of questioning with Wiggins." Ante, at 532. This statement calls for a timeout to get our bearings: The burden of proof here is on Wiggins to show that counsel made their decision without adequate knowledge. See Strickland, 466 U. S., at 687. And when counsel has testified, under oath, that he did have particular knowledge, the burden is not on counsel to show how he obtained it, but on Wiggins (if he wishes to impeach that testimony) to show that counsel could not have obtained it. Thus, the absence of evidence in the record as to whether or not Schlaich pursued this line of questioning with Wiggins dooms, rather than fortifies, Wiggins' ineffective-assistance claim. Wiggins has produced no evidence that anything in Hans Selvog's "social history" report was unknown to Schlaich, and no evidence that any source on which Selvog relied was not used by Schlaich.
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