Opinion ID: 1490004
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 12

Heading: Rape Crisis Center Records

Text: Brown's cross-appeal also asks this Court to affirm the vacating of his convictions because the hearing justice apparently determined that John Brown was inadequate because he did not seek certain records from the Rape Crisis Center, where Emily may have received counseling in 1994. The hearing justice said: Also, the pre-sentence report reveals that the victim had been going to counseling at the Rape Crisis Center four months before the trial. Yet no records of those sessions were provided to the defendant. During the evidentiary hearing, prosecutor John McMahon testified that he asked the victim about the counseling and received a `negative response.' He added, `   we looked into it    she never had counseling    only intake.' Yet the pre-sentence report clearly states that `   in August of 1994 [Emily] sought counseling with Katy Roth of the RI Rape Crisis Center. She continues to attend bi-weekly counseling sessions.' Despite the surfacing of this information, defense counsel failed to seek those records and/or file a motion for a new trial based upon new evidentiary information. Brown urges that this was yet another failing of his trial counsel and that the hearing justice's explicit recognition of this failure demonstrates that this contributed to her finding of ineffective assistance of counsel. There is nothing in the record about the nature and extent of the counseling that may have been provided to Emily. In fact, when attorney Ciresi moved to withdraw from this case, she advised the Superior Court that a subpoena duces tecum was issued to the Rape Crisis Center by Brown's former counsel and that it responded with a letter stating that there was no record of Emily with the facility. Despite the reference in the presentence report that Emily attended counseling, the fact that the Rape Crisis Center indicated that it did not have a record of Emily makes it difficult for us to rule that John Brown was deficient in this regard or how any potential deficiency could constitute an error so serious that it contributed to a prejudice of Brown's defense and a deprivation of his right to a fair trial. 4