Opinion ID: 2069959
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 12

Heading: Alleged Failure to Call Witness Iris Alvarez

Text: Johnson next posits that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to call Iris Alvarez (Alvarez) to refute the testimony of Robles, who testified that he visited Johnson at Reading Hospital and heard Johnson confess to participating in the murders of Damon and Gregory. To succeed on a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel for failure to present witnesses, a defendant must establish: (1) the witnesses existed; (2) the witnesses were available; (3) that counsel was informed of the existence of the witnesses or should have known of the witnesses' existence; (4) that the witnesses were available and prepared to cooperate and would have testified on [the defendant's] behalf; and (5) the absence of the testimony prejudiced the [defendant]. Commonwealth v. Crawley, 541 Pa. 408, 663 A.2d 676, 679-680 (1995), cert. denied, 517 U.S. 1212, 116 S.Ct. 1832, 134 L.Ed.2d 936 (1996). At the PCRA hearing, Alvarez testified that she was a former girlfriend of Johnson and a cousin of Robles. She told the PCRA court that, at the time Robles visited Johnson, Johnson had tubes in his mouth and could barely speak. She stated that Robles was never alone with Johnson at the hospital and that she never heard Johnson say anything about the shooting other than to state that Bridges shot him. N.T. PCRA, 5/11/01, pages 88-95. Alvarez admitted that she was subpoenaed to testify at the trial of Johnson, but stated that she told trial counsel that she could not attend because she was one-and-one-half months pregnant at the time and experiencing abdominal pains. Alvarez claimed at the PCRA hearing that she informed trial counsel that she could testify if the trial was postponed until after she gave birth. In direct contradistinction to these statements, trial counsel testified at the PCRA hearing that Alvarez was uncooperative and refused to come down [to Pennsylvania from Connecticut] and testify. Id. at 117. Trial counsel did not recall Alvarez asking him to request a continuance so that she could testify after she gave birth. Moreover, trial counsel testified that during his conversations with Alvarez in advance of the trial of Johnson, Alvarez never told him that she was always in the room with Robles and Johnson. Attorney Miller gave testimony consistent with that of trial counsel, stating that Alvarez told him that she did not have any interest in Johnson's situation. Id. at 180-181. The PCRA court, which had the opportunity to observe the demeanor of the witnesses, credited the testimony of trial counsel and Attorney Miller over the testimony of Alvarez. The PCRA court concluded that Alvarez simply refused to cooperate in any respect .... Opinion of the PCRA Court, October 10, 2001, page 19. Thus, we find that Johnson has failed to meet his burden of establishing that Alvarez was available and prepared to cooperate and testify on behalf of Johnson.