Opinion ID: 1704647
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: ineffectiveness of counsel in suppression hearing

Text: Following the United States Supreme Court's decision in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984), this Court has held that for ineffective assistance of counsel claims to be successful, two requirements must be satisfied: First, the claimant must identify particular acts or omissions of the lawyer that are shown to be outside the broad range of reasonably competent performance under prevailing professional standards. Second, the clear, substantial deficiency shown must further be demonstrated to have so affected the fairness and reliability of the proceeding that confidence in the outcome is undermined. Maxwell v. Wainwright, 490 So.2d 927, 932 (Fla.1986). If a defendant fails to establish either requirement, we need only address that unmet prong. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 697, 104 S.Ct. 2052 ([T]here is no reason for a court deciding an ineffective assistance claim ... to address both components of the inquiry if the defendant makes an insufficient showing on one.). Because both prongs of the Strickland test present mixed questions of law and fact, this Court employs a mixed standard of review, deferring to the circuit court's factual findings that are supported by competent, substantial evidence, but reviewing the circuit court's legal conclusions de novo. See Sochor v. State, 883 So.2d 766, 771-72 (Fla.2004). In Davis's first claim, he argues that his counsel was ineffective for failing to present expert testimony during the suppression hearing. Davis argues that testimony such as that given by his postconviction experts, Dr. Robert Lee Smith and Dr. Janice Stevenson, established that Davis did not knowingly and voluntarily waive his rights or give his confession to the officers in Texas. Specifically, Davis argues that his experts' testimony established that the coercive combination of sleep deprivation, physical abuse, Davis's age, and Davis being under the influence of LSD made his confession involuntary. Because his confession was not voluntarily given, Davis argues that it should have been suppressed and that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to call an expert to achieve this result. The postconviction court denied this claim based on a review of the testimony from the evidentiary hearing and explained: The experts' testimony presented at the evidentiary hearing fails to support the argument that Mr. Traina's decision to not have an expert for his motion to suppress was deficient. Dr. Smith testified that [Davis] could have had perceptual distortions [from his use of LSD] that could have affected his ability to understand Miranda warnings; however, [Dr. Smith] could not explain those distortions. Additionally, Dr. Smith testified that sleep deprivation could have significantly diminished [Davis's] ability to knowingly waive his rights; however, Dr. Smith also admitted that he did not know how much sleep [Davis] had had. Dr. Smith also testified that the effects of LSD generally last for twelve hours, but law enforcement interviewed [Davis] approximately fifteen hours after his arrest. Unless [Davis] consumed LSD while in police custody, he would no longer have felt the effects of LSD when law enforcement interviewed him. Dr. Stevenson testified that [Davis] was at the mercy of his impulses and his emotions and unable to make a clear and conscious decision and that he made his confession so that he wouldn't be alone. However, the fear of being alone does not negate one's ability to comprehend and knowingly waive Miranda rights. State v. Davis, Case No. 98-CF-011873 (Fla. 13th Cir. Ct. order filed June 21, 2006) (Postconviction Order) at 8. Further, the postconviction court found that Davis had not demonstrated prejudice even if his counsel's performance was in fact deficient, stating: If Davis's confession had been suppressed, there is no reasonable probability that the results of [his] trial would have been different. See Wainwright v. State, 896 So.2d 695, 700 (Fla.2004) [(finding no prejudice because in addition to defendant's confession to police, State introduced defendant's confession to two inmates and DNA evidence linking defendant to crime) ]. At [Davis's] trial, the State presented the testimony of ... Jon Whispel, who was present during Vicki Robinson's murder. Additionally, Leanna Hayes, an inmate who was transported back to Florida with Defendant after his arrest, testified at [Davis's] trial that while they were being transported, he told her he had `cut her up' meaning the lady he killed. Postconviction order at 8-9 (record citations omitted). We affirm the postconviction court's denial of relief on this claim. Davis first alleges that his trial counsel should have presented an expert to testify as to the coercive effects that sleep deprivation and physical abuse had on him. However, we find no error in the postconviction court's determination that Davis was not entitled to relief on these claims. The two officers who interviewed Davis testified that he appeared coherent and not tired. Accordingly, we affirm the postconviction court's denial of relief on these claims. Next, Davis alleges that counsel should have presented an expert to testify as to the coercive effect of his age, nineteen. To the very limited extent that Davis's experts addressed his age, we find no error in the postconviction court's declining to find counsel ineffective for not arguing that Davis's age of nineteen rendered his confession involuntary. We affirm the denial of this claim. Finally, Davis argues that his counsel should have presented an expert to testify as to the effects his LSD use had on giving the confession. However, the testimony at the postconviction hearing does not support Davis's claim that he was under the effects of LSD. The postconviction court found that law enforcement interviewed [Davis] approximately fifteen hours after his arrest. Postconviction Order at 8. This finding is supported by competent, substantial evidence, as both Detective Iverson and trial counsel Traina testified that Davis had been in jail for approximately fifteen hours before his interview. Dr. Smith, however, testified that the effects of LSD generally last only twelve hours. Thus, the testimony of Davis's LSD expert failed to support Davis's claim that he was under the effects of LSD when he was questioned. Because Davis has not demonstrated that he was under the effects of LSD at his confession, he did not establish that LSD had a coercive impact on his confession or that counsel was deficient in declining to call an expert to so testify. Accordingly, as with Davis's sleep deprivation, physical abuse, and age claims, we affirm the denial of relief on this claim.