Opinion ID: 2452857
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Claims of Failure to Produce Effective Witnesses

Text: Hall asserts his counsel was ineffective for 1) failing to call certain experts to testify about blood and gunpowder evidence; 2) failing to rebut a state's witness; and 3) failing to call Hall's relatives as penalty phase witnesses.
Hall claims his counsel was ineffective when she failed to present expert testimony that the blood evidence and gunpowder evidence were inconsistent with Hicks' account of the shooting. Hall asserts that the expert testimony of Dr. Jay Dix would have corroborated Hall's testimony and discredited Hicks' testimony. Hall claims that expert testimony and lab reports would have established that the amount of blood pooled on White's chair and the gunpowder residue on White's hand would support Hall's account of what happened after he shot White. Dr. Dix testified at the evidentiary hearing. Dr. Dix's analysis of the evidence was that White died in his chair and that he was in the chair long enough for blood to accumulate on the seat of the chair. Dr. Dix also concluded that the gunshot residue test indicated that White's right hand was near the gun when it was fired. Dr. Dix could not tell whether there was a struggle and he could not calculate the positions of Hall and White at the time the shot was fired. The motion court found that Dr. Dix was unable to support Hall's testimony that White was shot accidentally and during a struggle. The motion court therefore concluded that the outcome of Hall's trial would not have been different had Dr. Dix testified. The motion court did not err in its finding. Point denied.
Hall also asserts that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to call Hall as a witness to rebut Kimball Morton's testimony. The record directly refutes Hall's assertion. First, trial counsel did in fact call Hall as a witness to rebut Morton's testimony. Second, elsewhere in Hall's motion, Hall asserts that his trial counsel forced him to testify because she failed to call other defense witnesses, and that Hall did not understand that he had a right not to testify. The motion court directly addressed the issue of Morton's testimony and of Hall's voluntary decision to testify. The motion court did not err by finding that Hall's counsel did allow Hall to rebut Morton's testimony. Point denied.
Hall asserts that his trial counsel was ineffective by failing to call Hall's father and brothers to testify during the penalty phase of Hall's trial. Charlie Mooney, Hall's father, testified at the evidentiary hearing that he was not closely acquainted with Hall. He testified that he was aware Hall was to be on trial, but he did not know when or the nature of the charges against Hall. He testified that he was in Mexico at the time of Hall's trial and did not try to attend Hall's trial or sentencing. The attorney representing Hall during the penalty phase testified that Charlie Mooney and his wife told her that they would be of no help to Hall because Hall had been away from the family for a very long time. Hall's brother Jeff Mooney testified at the evidentiary hearing that he lived in Missouri at the time of Hall's trial, he knew Hall was on trial for murder, and that he made no attempt to contact Hall or Hall's trial counsel. Hall's brother Kelley Mooney testified that he was living in Missouri at the time of Hall's trial but he did not know there was a trial and did not know Hall was charged with first-degree murder. The motion court recognized that Hall's father and brothers appeared to be productive citizens with stable employment, but the court also noted that they were not close to Hall. The motion court further noted that at the penalty phase Hall's trial counsel called other witnesses to testify on behalf of Hall. LeRoy Carpenter testified that he and Hall had been in prison together and that he had been out of prison for eleven years and had not been rearrested. Carpenter stated that he and Hall maintained a close friendship and asked the jury to spare Hall's life. John Mahan, Hall's son, testified that he and Hall were close and asked the jury to spare Hall's life. Missouri law does not impose on trial counsel an absolute duty to present mitigating character evidence during the penalty phase of trial. Schneider v. State, 787 S.W.2d 718, 721 (Mo. banc 1990), cert. denied 498 U.S. 882, 111 S.Ct. 231, 112 L.Ed.2d 186 (1990); Jones v. State, 767 S.W.2d 41, 44 (Mo. banc 1989), cert. denied 493 U.S. 874, 110 S.Ct. 207, 107 L.Ed.2d 160 (1989). The motion court properly found that Hall's trial counsel met her obligation to investigate possible mitigating circumstances. Hall's counsel presented evidence she believed would be most beneficial to Hall. The motion court did not err in finding that counsel's decisions regarding evidence to present during the penalty phase constituted sound trial strategy. Schneider, 787 S.W.2d at 721. Point denied.