Opinion ID: 1638451
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Newly Discovered Evidence Claim Relating to Other Forensic Evidence

Text: Johnston's next claim asserts that a recent report by the National Academy of Sciences titled Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward (2009), constitutes newly discovered evidence that proves he was convicted on infirm forensic evidence and that the trial court erred in summarily denying that claim. [5] The postconviction court summarily denied the claim, concluding that the report was not newly discovered evidence and that it did not establish that any particular test, test result, or testimony at Johnston's trial was faulty. As we explain below, we agree with the postconviction court that the report presented by Johnston does not constitute newly discovered evidence. A trial court's summary denial of a newly discovered evidence claim will be upheld if the motion is legally insufficient or its allegations are conclusively refuted by the record. Taylor v. State, 3 So.3d 986, 999 (Fla.2009). Further, as we have explained, in order to merit relief on the grounds of newly discovered evidence, two requirements must be satisfied: First, the evidence `must have been unknown by the trial court, by the party, or by counsel at the time of trial, and it must appear that defendant or his counsel could not have known [of it] by the use of diligence.' Jones II, 709 So.2d at 521 (quoting Torres-Arboleda v. Dugger, 636 So.2d 1321, 1324-25 (Fla.1994)). Second, if evidence is determined to be newly discovered, the evidence must be such that on retrial, the defendant would probably be acquitted. See id. The report cited by Johnston does not meet the test for newly discovered evidence. Pursuant to a 2005 federal law, a forensic science committee was created by the National Academy of Sciences to examine the status of and address the most important issues facing the forensic science community. [6] The committee considered testimony and other data from a diverse group of entities and individuals who play a role in the field of forensic science. The committee developed a number of recommendations directed at enhancing education, furthering research, and developing more consistency across the forensic science disciplines. These findings and recommendations are discussed in the report. Johnston argues that information contained in the report casts enough doubt on the forensic testing done in his case that, if it were introduced at trial, would result in his acquittal. First, we note that the report cites to existing publications, some of which were published even before Mary Hammond's murder. The majority of the remaining publications were published during the years when Johnston was pursuing postconviction relief. Therefore, we decline to conclude that the report is newly discovered evidence. Moreover, even if the report were newly discovered evidence, we conclude that the report lacks the specificity that would justify a conclusion that it provides a basis to find the forensic evidence admitted at trial to be infirm or faulty. The following statement in the report's executive summary is particularly telling: The committee decided early in its work that it would not be feasible to develop a detailed evaluation of each discipline in terms of its scientific underpinning, level of development, and ability to provide evidence to address the major types of questions raised in criminal prosecutions and civil litigation. As a result, we agree with the following observation of the postconviction court: The report does not establish that any particular test, test result, or specific testimony presented at Mr. Johnston's trial was faulty or otherwise subject to challenge. Furthermore, it is merely a new or updated discussion of issues regarding developments in forensic testing. It does not constitute evidence that was not known at trial and could not have been ascertained through due diligence. Nothing in the report renders the forensic techniques used in this case unreliable, and we note that Johnston has not identified how the article would demonstrate, in any specific way, that the testing methods or opinions in his case were deficient. Specifically, we reject Johnston's claim that use of the report would show the blood spatter evidence and testimony in his case was unreliable because the investigator who testified about it was trained by Judith Bunker. We have previously rejected claims targeting Judith Bunker's qualifications and her role in training experts who have testified in other trials. Further, in 1998, we found there was no merit to Johnston's postconviction claim that information about Bunker's qualifications constituted newly discovered evidence in this case. See Johnston, 708 So.2d at 593 n. 6 (citing Correll v. State, 698 So.2d 522 (Fla.1997)). Given that we rejected a postconviction challenge to Bunker in the Correll case, in which she actually testified, we decline to conclude that Johnston has provided newly discovered evidence in this case demonstrating infirmity in the testimony of a witness because he was trained by her. See Correll, 698 So.2d at 524 (concluding that Bunker's exaggerated credentials had little effect on the outcome of the case, especially given the undisputed fact that she worked on thousands of cases while in the employ of the medical examiner); see also Hannon v. State, 941 So.2d 1109, 1122-23 (Fla.2006) (same); Gorby v. State, 819 So.2d 664, 677 (Fla.2002) (same). We conclude that Johnston's assertions in this claim merit no relief. Next, we find no merit in Johnston's claim that the report renders the luminol testing on his clothing, which was the subject of testimony at his trial, unreliable. We note that neither the luminol testimony given at his trial nor the article upon which he bases this claim constitutes newly discovered evidence. Further, although Officer Donald Ostermeyer testified at trial that results of luminol testing on Johnston's clothing were presumptively positive for blood, the officer admitted that the test was inconclusive and could render false positive results. This testimony was available to the jury in their determination of how much weight, if any, to give the luminol results. In any event, serologist Keith Paul also testified at trial that he tested Johnston's clothing for blood in the laboratory and confirmed that the shirt and shorts, as well as one shoe, bore evidence of human blood. Thus, this claim is without merit. We also reject Johnston's challenge to the fingerprint analysis based on the National Academy of Science forensic report. Johnston contends that the fingerprint analysis completed in his case was faulty because four latent prints found at the crime scene were not compared with an individual named Jose Gutierrez who was in the vicinity on the evening of the murder and who, according to Johnston, was suspicious. Johnston does not explain how the report constitutes newly discovered evidence that assists him in that regard because both the unidentified fingerprints and the presence of Gutierrez in the neighborhood were known at the time of trial. Moreover, Gutierrez testified at trial and explained his presence in the neighborhood. He explained that he was a friend of the victim's granddaughter and her husband, and was waiting for them that night to go out to a social event. This fact was confirmed by the victim's granddaughter, who testified that she and her husband were supposed to meet Gutierrez that evening. Consequently, this claim has no merit. Finally, Johnston also asserts that the forensic science report constitutes newly discovered evidence demonstrating that the footwear analysis in his case was faulty, thus requiring a new trial. We disagree. The section of the report cited by Johnston that addresses footwear analysis cites to works published in 1970 and 1980, well before Johnston's trial. The report also cites to a number of works published during the intervening periodwhile Johnston pursued postconviction relief. The fact that existing data has now been consolidated into a report does not render the report newly discovered evidence. Thus, the postconviction court properly concluded that the committee's report is not newly discovered evidence. Moreover, we note that the expert shoeprint testimony was impeached during cross-examination at trial. When forensic expert Terrell Kingery testified at trial that a shoeprint found outside the victim's window could have been made by one of Johnston's shoes, his method for testing the shoeprint, and the alleged deficiencies in that method, were fully explored in cross-examination. The jury was apprised of the fact that Kingery put the shoes on his own feet and tested them in soil that was different from the victim's yard. Thus, there is no merit to this aspect of Johnston's claim. For all the foregoing reasons, we affirm the postconviction court's denial of Johnston's newly discovered evidence claim based on the National Academy of Sciences report titled Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward.