Opinion ID: 1561133
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 11

Heading: Denial of Mitigating Evidence

Text: Foley complains that he was not allowed to present relevant mitigating evidence during the testimony of four witnesses at the RCr 11.42 hearing. Foley argues that the evidence was highly relevant to the issue of his character both as a child in school and as a grown adult. All of the evidence he wanted to present was placed in the record by avowal. An examination of it indicates that it is clearly unreliable, inadmissible hearsay. KRE 802. None of the information would have been admissible at trial even through the hearsay exception route. KRE 803 and 804. Thus, it was not ineffective assistance of counsel for the defense lawyer not to have produced it at trial. The hearsay testimony offered here meets none of the criteria of reliability noted by the United States Supreme Court in Green v. Georgia, 442 U.S. 95, 99 S.Ct. 2150, 60 L.Ed.2d 738 (1979). In any event all the testimony was recorded by avowal and we conclude that the trial court did not commit any error in excluding it. We conclude that Foley did not receive ineffective assistance of counsel pursuant to RCr 11.42. He has not demonstrated a professional performance that was so deficient that it prejudiced the defense. There is no showing that the alleged errors of defense counsel were so serious that the result of the trial was unreliable. See Strickland ; Gall; McQueen ; Sanborn. The decision of the circuit court is affirmed in all respects. All concur.