Case Name: Leo HARRIS v. STATE of Mississippi
Court: Mississippi Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Mississippi
Decision Date: 1997-02-06
Citations: 704 So. 2d 1286
Docket Number: No. 92-CT-00297-SCT
Parties: Leo HARRIS v. STATE of Mississippi.
Judges: PRATHER, P.J., and JAMES L. ROBERTS, Jr. and MILLS, JJ., concur.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 704
Pages: 1286–1306

Head Matter:
Leo HARRIS v. STATE of Mississippi.
No. 92-CT-00297-SCT.
Supreme Court of Mississippi.
Feb. 6, 1997.
W. Richard Johnson, Prewitt, Johnson & Vance, Vicksburg, for Appellant.
Leo Harris, Pearl, pro se.
Mchael C. Moore, Attorney General, Jeffrey A. Klingfuss, Sp. Asst. Attorney General, Jackson, for Appellee.

Opinion:
SMITH, Justice,
for the Court:
Harris, on Petition for Writ of Certiorari, asks that this Court reverse a unanimous Court of Appeals decision by which that court affirmed his conviction and sentence of sixteen years for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. His petition lacks any basis for review; we write today only in recognition of the need to develop guides and standards for this state's new appellate system.
The Court of Appeals initially issued an opinion which would have reversed Harris' conviction, but one day later, recalled that opinion sua sponte and issued another opinion affirming. The only issue raised by Harris is whether the Court of Appeals erred in recalling its initial opinion one day after it was handed down but prior to the issuance of the mandate. He cites no authority on that question, and this Court has held that it need not address issues submitted without sup porting authority. Matter of Estate of Mason, 616 So.2d 322, 327 (Miss.1993). Thus, this Court should not and does not consider Harris's claim on this one asserted ground for certiorari.
As Mississippi's present appellate system is still in its infancy, we have had little opportunity through case law to develop the standards of certiorari review which were established in the statutes and in the Mississippi Rules of Appellate Procedure. It is hoped that today we will contribute to that development. Certiorari is not a matter of right, and is to be considered only after the petitioner has sought review of the Court of Appeals decision by way of a petition for rehearing in that court, filed within fourteen days of entry of its judgment, unless additional time is allowed. That petition is a jurisdictional prerequisite for certiorari review by this Court. To hold otherwise would be to deny finality to Court of Appeals decisions, contrary to the express declaration of finality in M.R.A.P. 17(a) and Miss.Code Ann. § 9-4-3(2)(Supp.l996).
While the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeals is limited solely to those cases assigned to it by this Court, once such an assignment is made, that court considers and disposes of each case not by way of a preliminary review but as a fully empowered appellate court. Except as to those cases which by statute must be retained by this Court, no litigant has a right to further review by certiorari. Although Rule 17(a) provides a list of issues as to which review will ordinarily be limited, this Court may grant or decline to grant certiorari solely in its discretion. Furthermore, it is the obligation of the petitioner to state in the petition for certiorari the precise basis on which review is sought. See M.R.A.P. 17(a), (b). One who seeks successive review from this Court must comply with the formal and temporal requirements of the rules.
Harris did not seek a timely rehearing, nor has he set forth any cognizable ground for certiorari. After recalling its first opinion, the Court of Appeals issued a subsequent opinion which was entered on May 16, 1995. Having become informed of that decision, Harris on June 22,1995 filed a pro se motion with this Court seeking suspension of the Rules under M.R.A.P. 2(e). In that motion Harris stated that his attorney had failed to advise him of the later decision, which he learned of through the news media. That motion was assigned to the Court of Appeals upon finding that it was in the nature of a motion for leave to file a petition for rehearing out-of-time. Thereafter, on September 22, 1995, Harris filed with the Court of Appeals a pro se motion which he characterized as a motion to show cause, in which he asserted that his lawyer "appears to have relinquished his duty to represent Mr. Harris any further in this matter." The Court of Appeals, treating that motion too as one seeking leave for an out-of-time petition for rehearing, denied it. That order was entered on October 31, 1995. On December 8, 1995, Harris, pro se, filed his petition for certiorari.
Harris's case has received a full appellate review by the Court of Appeals on the record and briefs of counsel. He was entitled to and had appellate counsel before that court. That was his right. Miss.Code Ann. § 99-35-101 (Supp.1994), provides that any person convicted in circuit court has a right to appeal to the Supreme Court, except when the conviction is upon a plea of guilty. Harden v. State, 460 So.2d 1194, 1200 (Miss.1984). Under our present appellate scheme, all appeals are to this Court, but are subject to assignment to the Court of Appeals. Miss.Code Ann. § 9-4-1 to 17 (Supp 1996). (See discussion of the appellate structure in Marshall v. State, 662 So.2d 566 (Miss.1995)). Furthermore, where states have incorporated appellate review as an integral part of the system for final adjudication of guilt or innocence, that review is raised to the plane of federal due process and equal protection. Evitts v. Lucey, 469 U.S. 387, 392, 105 S.Ct. 830, 833-34, 83 L.Ed.2d 821 (1985); Griffin v. Illinois, 351 U.S. 12, 18, 76 S.Ct. 585, 590, 100 L.Ed. 891 (1956).
Harris urges that his failure to seek timely rehearing and certiorari was the result of his attorney's failure to notify him of the decision by the Court of Appeals. In effeet, he argues that the rules should be suspended due to ineffectiveness of his counsel who he charges with failure to properly represent him after this ease was reviewed by the Court of Appeals. In this, his underlying premise — that he is entitled to counsel in pursuing further discretionary review by this Court — is flawed. The right to appointed counsel in criminal proceedings is not without limits; it is in fact limited by the statute which defines that right, Miss.Code Ann. § 99-15-15 (Rev.1994). That section declares:
When any person shall be charged with a felony, misdemeanor punishable by confinement for ninety (90) days, or more, or commission of an act of delinquency, the court or the judge in vacation, being satisfied that such person is an indigent person and is unable to employ counsel, may, in the discretion of the court, appoint counsel to defend him.
Such appointed counsel shall have free access to the accused who shall have process to compel the attendance of witnesses in his favor.
The accused shall have such representation available at every critical stage of the proceeding against him where a substantial right may be affected.
(emphasis added).
The crucial portion of the statute, for present purposes, is the limitation of appointment of counsel to those stages where a substantial right of the defendant is involved. Neither the protection guaranteed by the United States Constitution nor the examples found in sister states which allow only discretionary appellate review mandate appointment of counsel for such further review, or for its perfection. After a careful examination of those authorities, we conclude that this Court should not require continued assistance of appointed defense counsel where the defendant in criminal proceedings seeks certiorari.
In Ross v. Moffitt, 417 U.S. 600, 94 S.Ct. 2437, 41 L.Ed.2d 341 (1974) (citing Douglas v. California, 372 U.S. 353, 83 S.Ct. 814, 9 L.Ed.2d 811 (1963)), the United States Supreme Court held that although the Fourteenth Amendment requires appointed counsel on the first appeal for indigent defendants, it does not require appointed counsel to indigent defendants seeking discretionary, second-tier, appellate review. See Wainwright v. Torna, 455 U.S. 586, 102 S.Ct. 1300, 71 L.Ed.2d 475 (1982) (holding that since, under Ross the appellant had no constitutional right to counsel on a discretionary appeal, he was not deprived of effective assistance of counsel by his retained counsel's failure to timely file an application for certiorari in the Supreme Court of Florida). In Ross, having found that the North Carolina appellate system provides for review by the Court of Appeals as a matter of right and further review by the Supreme Court as discretionary, the Court then looked to the state statute providing for appointment of counsel and found that, as interpreted, it did not go beyond the mandate of Douglas, requiring- appointment only as to appeals which are matters of right. In Wainwright, it was urged that the appellant's retained counsel had promised to seek certiorari in the Supreme Court of Florida, that he failed to file the petition, and that it was Torna's reliance on that promise and the attorney's failure to fulfill it that prevented Torna from filing a timely pro se petition. The United States Supreme Court declared directly and clearly that because he had no absolute right to further appeal to the Supreme Court of Florida, he was not constitutionally entitled, constitutionally, to counsel and could not, therefore, be deprived of a constitutionally based right to effective counsel. Id. at 587-88, 102 S.Ct. at 1301-02. More recently, the United States Supreme Court, in Austin v. United States, 513 U.S. 5, 115 S.Ct. 380, 130 L.Ed.2d 219 (1994), held that appointed counsel is under no obligation to file a petition for certiorari if such petition would be frivolous, and in fact, that such filings are forbidden by the Supreme Court's own rules. The United States Supreme Court also stated in Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 87 S.Ct. 1396, 18 L.Ed.2d 493 (1967) that an appellant's right to have a brief filed on his behalf by an attorney did not extend to forums for discretionary review. Austin, 513 U.S. at 6-8, 115 S.Ct. at 381. See also United States v. Ferrell, 730 F.Supp. 1338 (E.D.Pa.1989) (alleged failure to notify appellant that Third Circuit had affirmed conviction could not rise to the level of a constitutional violation).
States with systems of discretionary further review by their highest courts, generally conclude, in the absence of a special state statute or rule, that there is no right to counsel beyond the initial, mandatory, appellate consideration. Alabama guarantees, as a right, an appeal to the Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama. However, since certio-rari to her Supreme Court is discretionary, Alabama holds that there is no meritorious claim of ineffective assistance of counsel by failure of the attorney to file a petition for writ of certiorari. Jackson v. State, 612 So.2d 1356 (Ala.Cr.App.1992); Cunningham v. State, 611 So.2d 510 (Ala.Cr.App.1992).
Regarding the issue of whether counsel is even required to file a petition for rehearing, in Kinsey v. State, 545 So.2d 200 (Ala.Cr. App.1989), the Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama held that rehearing before that court is likewise a matter of discretion to which the right of counsel did not attach. The court, relying on Ross and Wainwright found the dispositive question to be "whether a rehearing in the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals is a matter of right or a matter of discretionary review." The court noted that by statute all persons convicted of criminal offenses have a right to appeal to the Court of Criminal Appeals; and that any subsequent review is by writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court of Alabama. The court concluded that "a rehearing by this Court lies somewhere between a defendant's first appeal as a matter of right and a subsequent discretionary review." Kinsey, 545 So.2d at 203.
In Patty v. State, 652 So.2d 337 (Ala.Crim.App.1994) it was also held that failure to file a petition for rehearing before the Court of Criminal Appeals would not provide a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel in view of the discretionary nature of rehearings. The case at bar is markedly similar to Kinsey. As in Kinsey and Patty, our appellate rules, contemplate discretionary second-tier appellate review; there is no Mississippi statute or rule which grants rehearing as a matter of right.
In 1974, the Supreme Court of Florida held that an attorney's failure to seek a writ of certiorari or alternatively to notify his client of his right to apply for it does not constitute a violation of the client's right to appeal. In so doing, that Court specifically held that certiorari is limited to specific situations and is discretionary with the Court. Rhome v. State, 293 So.2d 761 (Fla. DCA 3d Dist.1974). Shortly thereafter, the Fifth Circuit took a contrary view where a prisoner sought federal habeas corpus relief from a conviction in state court. Pressley v. Wainwright, 540 F.2d 818 (5th Cir.1976), cert. denied, 430 U.S. 987, 97 S.Ct. 1688, 52 L.Ed.2d 383 (1977). Pressley's conviction had been affirmed by a split panel of the Florida District Court of Appeals. His court-appointed counsel failed to file a timely petition for certiorari, and thus, failed to preserve his right to review under the Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure. Holding that Pressley's right to petition for certiorari was frustrated by ineffective assistance of counsel, the Fifth Circuit, affirming the federal district court, conditionally granted the writ of habeas corpus.
Torna v. Wainwright, 649 F.2d 290 (5th Cir.1981), grew out of the assertion that the failure of counsel to file a timely petition for certiorari with the Supreme Court of Florida was a deficiency so gross as to render the proceedings fundamentally unfair. The United States District Court denied Toma's petition for habeas corpus, finding that the attorney's action only prevented Toma from applying for further discretionary review, and the Fifth Circuit reversed, citing its own decision in Pressley. Torna v. Wainwright, 649 F.2d 290 (5th Cir.1981). In reversing the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the United States Supreme Court said:
In Ross v. Moffitt this Court held that a criminal defendant does not have a constitutional right to counsel to pursue discretionary state appeals or applications for review in this Court. Respondent does not contest the finding of the District Court that he had no absolute right to appeal his convictions to the Florida Supreme Court. Since respondent had no constitutional right to counsel, he could not be deprived of the effective assistance of counsel by his retained counsel's failure to file the application timely. The District Court was correct in dismissing the petition.
Wainwright, 455 U.S. at 587-88, 102 S.Ct. at 1301. (citations omitted) Under these decisions, a party, in Florida has neither a state based nor a federally constitutionally mandated right to claim a violation of his appellate rights when his attorney has failed to preserve his opportunity to seek discretionary review by the Supreme Court of Florida.
In Georgia, certiorari was granted in Wooten v. State, 245 Ga. 724, 266 S.E.2d 927 (1980) in order to decide whether appointed counsel has the duty to apply for a writ of certiorari after the conviction has been affirmed by the Court of Appeals. Citing Strozier v. Hopper, 234 Ga. 597, 216 S.E.2d 847 (1975) and Ross v. Moffitt at 417 U.S. 616, 94 S.Ct. 2446-47, the Georgia Supreme Court found that there is no such duty. Wooten, 266 S.E.2d at 927.
In Foy v. State, 17 Kan.App.2d 775, 844 P.2d 744 (1993), the Court of Appeals of Kansas, relying on Waimmight, rejected Foj^s claim of ineffective assistance of counsel based upon the failure of his appointed attorney to inform him that he could seek review in the Supreme Court of Kansas. Foy's claim that he had been denied a due process right of access to the state's appellate courts was also denied. The court also held that Foy had no constitutional right to pursue a discretionary appeal to the Supreme Court of Kansas and was not deprived of effective assistance of counsel by counsel's failure to file a petition for review.
In Talley v. Maggio, 451 So.2d 1358 (La. Ct.App.1984), referring to the state constitution and right to counsel, the Court of Appeals of Louisiana found that the failure of appellate counsél to inform the appellant when to apply for further review through rehearing or writs does not constitute ineffective assistance of counsel. The court also found that although there was a right to judicial review under the Louisiana constitution, Talley "had already received the benefit of that right by his appeal to the Court of Appeals." The court concluded that since there was no constitutional right to further review, the failure to inform Talley of when to apply for such review was not a deprivation of the right to counsel.
Colorado reaches a different conclusion, but only after consideration of her own statutes and rules. There, although review on certiorari may be considered discretionary, the filing of a petition for rehearing and a petition for certiorari are rights, and an attorney's failure to pursue the filing constitutes ineffective assistance. People v. Valdez, 789 P.2d 406 (Colo.1990) (holding that, in that case, the failure was not prejudicial.) See also People v. Williams, 736 P.2d 1229 (Colo.App.1986) (recognizing that the filing of a petition for rehearing is a matter of right.) In Valdez v. Gunter, 768 F.Supp. 299 (D.Colo., 1991), the United States District Court for the District of Colorado reviewed Valdez's claim on a petition for habeas corpus. That court held that whatever right there may be to file the petitions under state law, such right was not mandated by the federal constitution.
In Tennessee, through legislation, ride making and decisions, a system exists whereby a defendant in a criminal ease is given some degree of right to counsel on certiorari review. In Hutchins v. State, 504 S.W.2d 758 (Tenn.1974) the Supreme Court of Tennessee held that under its statutes, particularly T.C.A. 40-2018 (Orig. ed.) providing that appointed counsel shall represent the defendant "at all stages" of the proceedings before the appointing court and upon "any appeal," the right to appellate counsel extends through certiorari review. The court observed the similarity of that language and that of Fed. Rules Crim.Proc. 44(a) (requiring counsel "at every stage of the proceeding . through appeal") and the Criminal Justice Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3006A(e) (also requiring counsel "at every stage" through appeal including ancillary matters), and correctly pointed out that the federal courts have held that language to- guarantee counsel through certiorari review. Soon thereafter, that court observed that Hutchins, decided, of course, prior to Ross, rested "on the implicit expectation that the United States Supreme Court would require that the state track the federal system by mandating lawyer prepared certiorari petitions for indigent defendants at the second tier discretionary level." State v. Williams, 529 S.W.2d 714, 716 (Tenn.1975). In 1976 the statute was amended to provide that "appointed counsel . is not required to pursue the matter through a second tier discretionary appeal, by applying to the supreme court for writ of certiorari." Acts 1965, ch. 217, § 5; 1796, ch. 645, § 1; T.C.A. 40-2018 (Orig. ed.); T.C.A. 40-14-203 (Rev.1990); Tolliver v. State, 629 S.W.2d 913 (Tenn.Crim.App.1981). In Tolliver, it was held that, due to the express provisions of Rule 14 of the Tennessee Supreme Court Rules, an indigent's counsel is required, in order to withdraw after a final adverse decision in the Court of Criminal Appeals, to take certain formal steps including advising the defendant of the right to file a pro se application for permission to appeal to the Supreme Court of Tennessee.
In Texas, there is also no right to counsel on petition for certiorari. Peterson v. Jones, 894 S.W.2d 370 (Tex.Crim.App.1995) (holding that court appointed-counsel who files a petition for certiorari is not entitled to compensation); Ex parte Jarrett, 891 S.W.2d 935 (Tex.Cr.App.1994); Ayala v. State, 633 S.W.2d 526 (Tex.Crim.App.1982). Texas, however, does subscribe to the minority view that there is a duty on the part of appellate counsel to advise the client of his right to seek certiorari pro se, and that failure to so notify will constitute a deprivation of his right to apply for such additional review. Jarrett, 891 S.W.2d at 939.
Mississippi has neither statute nor rule which would compel the appointment of counsel in a second-tier review. Rule 6(b)(1) of the Mississippi Rules of Appellate Procedure concerns appointed counsel on appeal being required to continue unless relieved by order of the trial court prior to perfection of the appeal, or by order to this Court after perfection of the appeal. Rule 46 addresses withdrawal of appellate counsel. These rules do not, however, address the duty of counsel as to discretionary second-tier appellate review. If it should be determined that such continued representation is to be required, that should be accomplished by amendment of Rule 6 or by statute, not by stretching the application of existing rules.
Appointed counsel is not required by our constitution, statutes, or rules at the posteonviction relief stages of the appellate process, even though there is a right to file such proceedings. In Neal v. State, 422 So.2d 747 (Miss.1982), this Court held that an appellant's right to counsel exists only during the direct appeal; thus, an indigent prisoner seeking post-conviction relief was not entitled to appointed counsel. Why, having refused to extend the right to counsel on post-conviction relief cases, would this Court proceed to extend counsel to the discretionary second-tier appellate level, such as the filing of petitions for rehearing before the Court of Appeals and petitions for writ of certiorari before this Court? Unnecessarily adopting such a practice would absolutely overwhelm the public defenders, especially those in small, less populated, rural counties.
In summary, there is no right based in the United States Constitution to counsel on discretionary successive review of a state appellate court's decision. Although in federal prosecutions there is such a right, that right is grounded not in constitutional guarantees but specifically in the Criminal Justice Act and federal rules. There being no right to counsel in state discretionary review, there can be no challenge to the adequacy of counsel at that stage. The majority view, and in our judgment the prudent one, is that, in the absence of a specific state statute or rule, the failure of counsel to advise his client of the possibility of further review does not require suspension of the rules for an out-of-time consideration of a party's petition for writ of certiorari.
Those members of the Court dissenting from this opinion would suspend the rules in order to review an issue which was well considered by the Court of Appeals and as to which Harris does not seek certiorari review. Specifically, they are concerned that Harris may have been improperly denied the right to impeach a key witness during his trial. Only under the most extreme ease should this Court ever consider addressing issues never assigned within the petition for certiorari, if we address the issues at all. It is only out of respect for their views that we write on that issue.
The issue herein surfaced due to an overnight revelation by Harris to his counsel of matters which had been known to Harris for several days — that is, of a prior conversation -with Elmer Durrell, a State witness, wherein supposedly Durrell told Harris that the district attorney's office was pressuring him to testify by threatening him with revocation of his probation. Harris also revealed to counsel, for the first time, that he in fact had a taped recording of one of these conversations with Durrell. Harris, completely aware of all this, had remained silent during the direct and cross-examination of Durrell and never told defense counsel about these prior conversations with Durrell or the existence of the tape recording. After Durrell completed his testimony and had been cross-examined, he was excused by the court, without objection by the defendant. In addition to ruling that some foundation for the impeachment should have been laid by Harris's counsel, the trial court also held that Harris's failure to timely advise his counsel of the existence of the tape substantially caused or contributed to this problem to such a degree that Harris could not then complain that his rights were violated. This failure negates any argument that Harris was deprived of his rights.
In Government of Virgin Islands v. Martinez, 642 F.Supp. 1571 (D. Virgin Islands 1986), where Martinez failed to disclose facts concerning a confession made four days prior to trial to his attorney, the court held, "[t]he bottom line is that the confession was material to Martinez's defense solely because of his own untruthfulness. Under these facts, the established rule in this circuit is that independent discovery of the [nondisclosed Brady material] . negates any argument that the defendant was deprived of rights assured by the Constitution." Martinez, 642 F.Supp. at 1583.
Harris's counsel could not lay a foundation for impeachment of Durrell solely because of the fault of Harris. Defense counsel Johnson admitted to the trial judge that he did not know about the prior conversations until after his cross-examination of Durrell. Johnson stated, "Otherwise, I would have cross-examined him on the stand about it." Nor did defense counsel reveal the tape pursuant to discovery requirements when trial commenced again the following day. He simply waited and attempted during Harris's direct testimony to elicit this information. Obviously concerned by the fact that Durrell had been released as a witness and had left the courtroom, as well as by the fact that Harris apparently had known this for days and failed to tell his own counsel, the trial judge noted that the impeachment testimony could not be offered " — unless you wanted to call Mr. Durrell back' — and you didn't tell me to keep him, so I didn't keep him." (emphasis added)
The Court of Appeals correctly held that the trial judge committed no error in excluding Harris's impeachment testimony and the tape in view of his failure to lay a proper predicate and failure to disclose the tape. Under Rule 613 of the Mississippi Rules of Evidence, impeachment no longer requires the detailed prior examination of the party with a disclosure of the exact place, time, and persons present on the occasion.of a prior inconsistent statement. However, this still requires a reasonable predicate to be laid and that extrinsic evidence be admitted for impeachment only where "the witness is afforded an opportunity to explain or deny the same and the opposite party is afforded an opportunity to interrogate him thereon, or the interest of justice otherwise requires." M.R.E. 613(b).
The dissent would have us declare that the decision of the Court of Appeals is in conflict with Marcum v. Mississippi Valley Gas Co., Inc., 587 So.2d 223 (Miss.1991) (overruled by Whigham v. State, 611 So.2d 988 (1992))and Whigham v. State, 611 So.2d 988 (Miss.1992). But under both Marcum and Whigham there must be either some degree of predicate established or an opportunity for the declar-ant to fully explain or deny the supposed inconsistent statement, if that inconsistent statement is to be admitted in the first place. In Whigham, the Court stated that counsel for the appellant "surely knew prior to trial about the statements defendant sought to introduce" and that Whigham's counsel thus had the opportunity to lay a foundation for the introduction of evidence of a prior inconsistent statement. Id. at 994. Yet, in contrast, Harris's counsel was unaware of Dur-rell's statement and the tape at the time Durrell was on the stand; he thus had no opportunity to lay a foundation. As the Comment to Rule 613 states, it is "to allow for such eventualities as the witness becoming unavailable by the time the statement is discovered, [that] a measure of discretion is conferred upon the judge." It would be inappropriate and unwise for us to speculate as to whether Durrell could have been recalled as there is no evidence of any attempt to ascertain Durrell's availability for recall.
Rather than engaging in speculation, we should examine exactly what the record does reveal. In fact, the record reflects that Durrell had been released by the court at the conclusion of his testimony on the previous day. The record does not reflect an objection by Harris to Durrell's release as a witness. The case was recessed at that time until the following day. This is precisely a situation in which the trial judge "has discretion of admitting a pretrial inconsistent statement of a witness into evidence for which no predicate was laid of the witness, but only after the court has seen to it that the witness is available for recall, and given an opportunity to deny." Whigham, 611 So.2d at 994. Here, the trial court released Durrell the previous day, without objection. In addition, because Harris had withheld vital information from his attorney, the trial judge's exercise of his discretion was proper. This is especially applicable where there was no compliance with discovery to the State. The fault for this entire situation lies with Harris. We can see no reason why the State should be penalized for Harris's negligence or, if it was such, his tactical decision not to advise his counsel of the conversation or the tape.
In his brief before the Court of Appeals, Harris recasts the impeachment issue as one of a denial of cross-examination. In fact, considering the merits of the issue under the facts of this case, Harris was neither denied adequate cross-examination nor erroneously denied an opportunity to impeach the State's confidential informant. The record reflects that, not only was counsel afforded opportunity for complete cross-examination, counsel extensively and very effectively elicited from Durrell facts concerning Durrell's arrest, conviction, probation, an additional warrant for his arrest, pressure from the district attorney's office, the implication that his probation could be revoked if his testimony was not favorable, and that the prosecutor might not prosecute if Durrell testified against Harris. Counsel even accomplished the seemingly impossible. He succeeded in getting Durrell to confess to selling cocaine. This was a very effective cross-examination, which clearly presented the issues of involvement, motivation and bias of Durrell to the jury.
The decision of the Court of Appeals is affirmed.
AFFIRMED.
PRATHER, P.J., and JAMES L. ROBERTS, Jr. and MILLS, JJ., concur.
DAN LEE, C.J., concurs in part and dissents in part with separate written opinion.
PITTMAN, J., concurs in part and dissents in part with separate written opinion.
McRAE, J., concurs in part and dissents in part with separate written opinion joined in part by DAN LEE, C.J.
BANKS, J., dissents with separate written opinion joined by SULLIVAN, P.J., and in part by DAN LEE, C.J., and McRAE, J.