05/13/96 Jesse S. Tidwell V. State Tennessee

The appellant, Jesse S. Tidwell, appeals the trial court's denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. At issue is whether his trial counsel's failure to require the prosecutor to elect the particular offenses upon which convictions would be sought deprived him of his constitutional right to the effective assistance of counsel. *fn1 We have carefully examined the trial and post-conviction transcripts and have thoroughly considered the contentions of both parties. For the reasons discussed below, we find that counsel's performance failed to satisfy the criteria established in Baxter v. Rose, 523 S.W.2d 930 (Tenn. 1975) and in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 80 L. Ed. 2d 674, 104 S. Ct. 2052 (1984). The appellant has made the requisite showing of prejudice for all but the incidents on which the testimony at the original trial was detailed and specific.