Opinion ID: 1991907
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: police presence in the courtroom

Text: Appellant complains that trial counsel failed to object to the significant number of police officers present in the courtroom during the trial. Appellant does not state the actual number of officers, but nevertheless alleges that their presence possibly influenced the jury, and thus counsel was deficient in not raising an objection. This case involved the murder of two police officers. As such, it was not unusual for fellow officers to be present, some in official capacity and others as spectators. We are not persuaded by Appellant's citation to Woods v. Dugger, 923 F.2d 1454 (11th Cir.1991), as that case involved the presence of over forty-five uniformed correctional officers. More importantly, as Appellant failed to raise on direct appeal any issue regarding prejudicial effect resulting from the officers' presence, he cannot now couch the claim as ineffective assistance of counsel in an RCr 11.42 proceeding. The record clearly reflects that Appellant received constitutionally sufficient representation by trial counsel. Counsel did the best job it could with the facts presented. The jury deliberated at length in both the penalty and guilt phases of trial, which is an indication that Appellant received competent and credible representation. Furthermore, the trial court properly determined that Appellant was not entitled to an evidentiary hearing on his RCr 11.42 motion. Clearly, there is no right to an evidentiary hearing even in a death penalty case. Stanford v. Commonwealth, Ky., 854 S.W.2d 742 (1993), cert. denied, 510 U.S. 1049, 114 S.Ct. 703, 126 L.Ed.2d 669 (1994); Skaggs v. Commonwealth, Ky., 803 S.W.2d 573 (1990), cert. denied, 502 U.S. 844, 112 S.Ct. 140, 116 L.Ed.2d 106 (1991); Wilson v. Commonwealth, Ky., 975 S.W.2d 901 (1998), cert. denied, 526 U.S. 1023, 119 S.Ct. 1263, 143 L.Ed.2d 359 (1999). Moreover, a defendant is not entitled to an evidentiary hearing to simply fish for claims, and such is not warranted if the record resolves all issues raised in the RCr 11.42 motion. Glass v. Commonwealth, Ky., 474 S.W.2d 400 (1972); Ford v. Commonwealth, Ky., 453 S.W.2d 551 (1970). The Rowan Circuit Court's denial of Appellant's motion for post conviction relief is affirmed. LAMBERT, C.J., COOPER, GRAVES, JOHNSTONE, KELLER, and WINTERSHEIMER, JJ., concur. STUMBO, J., dissents in a separate opinion.