Opinion ID: 2631199
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 18

Heading: Counsel's Failure to Personally Interview and Prepare For the Testimony of Dr. Brady

Text: Petitioner claims that Leatherman's preparation for examining Dr. William J. Brady, the medical examiner, was deficient. PRP at 54. Leatherman himself did not interview Dr. Brady but left it to his investigator, Jeff Walker. Id. Leatherman was unprepared when Dr. Brady testified that the wound to the head of Hoerner had been caused by a nunchaku, a martial arts weapon. Id. at 55. Leatherman did not anticipate such a conclusion because Brady had told Walker he could not tell that the wounds were inflicted by a nunchaku. Id. On the stand, Brady explained the discrepancy by saying that Walker had not shown him photos of nunchakus that had been shown him by the prosecutor at the time of his testimony. Id. The testimony is damaging to Stenson because he was a martial arts instructor who owned several nunchakus, which are wooden baton weapons. Stenson, 132 Wash.2d at 679, 940 P.2d 1239; RTP 481-83. Brady's testimony that Hoerner's head injury was caused by nunchakus would make it more probable that an expert in their use, Stenson, rather than a nonexpert, would use them. Although a nunchaku with Hoerner's blood on it was never found, there was an empty peg in the room in which Stenson's other nunchakus were displayed. PRP at 55-56; Stenson, 132 Wash.2d at 679, 940 P.2d 1239. Leatherman's performance with respect to Dr. Brady was not deficient because it appears that Brady changed his story. Leatherman on crossexamination read what Brady had told Walker: `Can I tell you if it's a nun-chu-ka? Damned if I know. Have I seen or been shown any photos which would line up? I have not.` RTP at 521. Brady responded, That's right. I have not been shown any photos either then or now that would line them up. The photographs that we have seen today I, frankly, had not seen at the time that your investigator was down there. Id. Petitioner appears to argue that Leatherman should have interviewed Brady himself before trial and should have showed him pictures of nunchakus at the interview. PRP at 55-56. What made Dr. Brady change from saying, Damned if I know, when asked whether a nunchaku caused Hoerner's injury to saying nunchakus were the weapon within a reasonable medical certainty? RTP at 521. Petitioner implies that Brady did not know what nunchakus were at the time of Walker's interview and that it was deficient performance not to have shown him photographs of them. But it is clear from the record that Brady had examined nunchakus at the murder scene. RTP at 481. Brady also appears to argue that the photographs of nunchakus shown to him by the prosecution make him medically certain they were the weapon. The photos line up with the wounds. It is not clear why photos of nunchakus are more informative of their properties than the nunchakus themselves. Leatherman's crossexamination of Brady did not go well because Brady was a difficult witness, not because of deficient preparation. Petitioner says that the State's argument pointing to the empty peg on the wall and implying that the weapon used in the crime was kept there but now is missing could have been rebutted by the testimony of a witness who was not called. PRP at 56. The witness would have testified that he received a nunchaku from Stenson's martial arts room as a gift on his 18th birthday. Id. Yet that birthday was more than two years before the murders took place. Without more information, for example, that nunchakus are rare and that Stenson had to go to Japan to get them, this information would be of marginal exculpatory value. Stenson himself incorrectly remembers the time period between his giving the nunchaku and the gift as two months. Letter to Stacey at 13. The shorter time period is more supportive of Stenson's account, but also inaccurate. Petitioner claims Leatherman should have called Mike Grubb to rebut Brady's testimony concerning the nunchaku. Pet'r's Reply Br. at 18-20. At Leatherman's deposition, Petitioner's counsel quoted from notes Leatherman made: `Mr. Grubb had said the shape of the blunt trauma wound ( {a} rectangle with sharp corners) is not consistent in his opinion with nunchakus because it is too short and has four sharp corners. He believed some other type of object was likely responsible such as the butt end of a hatchet handle or something like that.' Dep. of Leatherman at 128. Leatherman did not cross-examine Grubb on this point. Since he could have done so without any risk to his client, it may be deficient performance for him not to have done so. However, Petitioner still must show prejudice. What he says is, The issue of what weapon caused the injury to Frank Hoerner's head was critical as it related to Mr. Stenson's claim of innocence. Pet'r's Reply Br. at 20. Petitioner must show that there is a reasonable probability that, but for Leatherman's unprofessional error, the result of the proceeding would have been different. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 695, 104 S.Ct. 2052. This is a difficult burden because as far as the jury is concerned only three adults were at the murder scene. Two of them were dead. Evidence shows one dead person who appears to have committed suicide was actually murdered. Stenson was the only adult to have survived. Stenson had Hoerner's blood on his pants in areas inconsistent with finding Hoerner dead on the floor. In the abstract, the use of nunchakus incriminates Stenson because he knew how to use them. But in the context of the rest of the evidence, it makes little difference whether a nunchaku or a hatchet handle was used. The evidence still points to Stenson as the person who inflicted the injury. Prejudice has not been shown. We reject this claim. Issues briefed by the parties but not discussed in this opinion are duplicative, moot, or unsupported by admissible evidence.