Opinion ID: 1579333
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Summary Denial of Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Claims

Text: In his next claim on appeal, Duest argues that the trial court erred in summarily denying his claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, in which he asserted that counsel's failure to present several witnesses to the jury at resentencing constituted deficient performance that resulted in prejudice. Duest asserts counsel's failure to present the witnesses was due to counsel's inadequate preparation for the resentencing. As stated previously, an evidentiary hearing must be held on an initial rule 3.851 motion whenever the movant makes a facially sufficient claim that requires a factual determination. See Amendments, 772 So.2d at 491 n. 2. This Court determines the facial sufficiency of an ineffective assistance of counsel claim by applying Strickland's two-pronged test of deficiency and prejudice. Spera v. State, 971 So.2d 754, 758 (Fla.2007). However, we need not resolve the issue of deficient performance because we conclude that prejudice cannot be demonstrated. See Whitfield v. State, 923 So.2d 375, 384 (Fla.2005) ([B]ecause the Strickland standard requires establishment of both [the deficient performance and prejudice] prongs, when a defendant fails to make a showing as to one prong, it is not necessary to delve into whether he has made a showing as to the other prong.) (quoting Stewart v. State, 801 So.2d 59, 65 (Fla.2001)). In reaching this conclusion, we have reviewed the record to determine if there is any need for factual development as to Duest's claim of prejudice. According to the record, counsel urged the trial court to set a certain date for the resentencing because he had eighteen witnesses coming in from Massachusetts. He again stated on June 29, 1998, while the court was considering a trial date, that he needed time to bring in his out-of-state witnesses. Subsequently, the court set September 28, 1998, as the resentencing trial date. However, the trial was postponed by one week due to a hurricane. On October 2, 1998, the court heard Duest's motion for a continuance [16] where counsel stated to the court that several out-of-state witnesses would be unavailable to testify at the resentencing. The court also heard from Duest, who stated that twelve out of twenty-six witnesses indicated that they would not be able to attend the proceeding because the trial had been delayed. The court denied the motion, but ruled that the unavailable witnesses could testify at any subsequent Spencer [17] hearing. Subsequently, at the resentencing, counsel presented the testimony of eleven witnesses who testified about Duest's difficult background and upbringing and his good qualities. After the jury recommended a sentence of death, the court held a Spencer hearing, at which counsel presented the testimony of seven additional witnesses through videotaped depositions. Even assuming an evidentiary hearing should have been held to explore what actions counsel took to prepare for the penalty phase and then for the unanticipated change of trial schedule due to the hurricane, we conclude that the record conclusively refutes any prejudice. Many cases assessing an ineffective assistance claim arising from counsel's failure to present additional mitigation at trial compared the testimony from trial with the testimony presented at the evidentiary hearing. See, e.g., Jones v. State, 949 So.2d 1021, 1036 (Fla.2006); Duckett v. State, 918 So.2d 224, 236 (Fla.2005). This case differs from those cases in that Duest is comparing the testimony presented before the jury at the penalty phase with the testimony presented at the Spencer hearing. Further, the additional witnesses presented at the Spencer hearing were lay witnesses as opposed to the mental health expert and lay witnesses presented by Duest at the penalty phase. In this regard, this case is in marked contrast to Williams v. State, 987 So.2d 1 (Fla.2008), where this Court concluded that ineffective assistance of counsel had been demonstrated because defense counsel failed to present any mental health expert to the jury and the mental health evidence outlined substantial evidence of mitigation that would have supported the jury's life recommendation and prevented the trial judge's override. See id. at 11-14. At the penalty phase, counsel presented the testimony of Nancy and Richard Duest, Duest's mother and father, Nancy Kerrigan, Duest's sister, Clare Guzzetti, Duest's cousin, Joseph Duveau, a childhood friend, and Maria Craig, a pen pal, as well as the testimony of John Boone, an expert in corrections, Michael Lynch, a Broward County Sheriff's Corrections Officer, John Gelosi, a Broward County Jail employee, Robert Huber, an employee at the Wooden Rogers Education Center, and expert testimony from Dr. Patricia Fleming, a psychologist. Mr. Boone testified about the institutional abuse that existed while Duest was imprisoned at Walpole State Prison. Mr. Gelosi stated that Duest had assisted him in translating sign language. Mr. Huber testified that Duest was a gifted artist. Mr. Lynch testified that Duest had saved his life by warning him that another inmate had planned to kill him and escape. Dr. Fleming testified that Duest was abused as a child, became addicted to drugs, and was extremely affected by his first incarceration. As to the testimony from Duest's family and friends, Ms. Craig testified that she knew Duest as her father and would talk to him about her family problems. Ms. Guzzetti testified that Duest was abused by his father and later converted to Christianity. Duest's mother, Mrs. Duest, Mr. Deaveau and Ms. Kerrigan testified that Duest had been abused by his father and the father admitted to the abuse. Finally, Mr. Deaveau and Ms. Kerrigan testified that Duest had a drug abuse problem. At the Spencer hearing, Mr. Llorente presented the videotaped depositions of seven witnessesDeborah Lavanche, Duest's sister, Paul Duest, Jr., Duest's brother, Edward Lavanche, Duest's friend, Lillian Duest, Duest's sister-in-law, and Duest's nieces, Jennifer Duest, Darlene Duest, and Leighanne Duest. Ms. Levanche testified about Duest's abusive childhood, his drug addiction and his artwork. Paul Duest, Jr., testified that his family loved Duest and that Duest was good to his children and a great artist. Mr. Lavanche and Lillian Duest also testified that Duest was a gifted artist. Lillian further testified that the communication Duest had with her daughters was positive. Jennifer Duest stated that Duest gave her good advice about school. Darlene Duest also testified that Duest would give her good advice. Finally, Leighanne Duest testified that she would communicate with Duest. The common theme throughout the testimony presented at the resentencing was Duest's troubled background, his artistic talent, and his good nature. More importantly, in considering whether the testimony is truly cumulative, we consider which witnesses were presented to the jury versus the witnesses presented only to the judge. In this case, there was both strong mental health testimony presented to the jury and testimony from those who knew Duest well. Importantly, the trial court found that the most notable testimony confirming the abuse Duest suffered by his father came from Duest's sister, Ms. Kerrigan, whose testimony was presented to the jury. At most, the testimony from these additional witnesses would support nonstatutory mitigation such as (1) physically and emotionally abusive childhood; (2) childhood traumatization and deprivation of love; (3) history of drug and alcohol abuse; and (4) artistic ability. Because the additional evidence presented at the Spencer hearing mirrored the lay testimony at the earlier resentencing, it was merely cumulative to the lay testimony presented before the jury. Accordingly, we conclude as a matter of law that Duest cannot demonstrate prejudice under Strickland such that the failure to present the witnesses at the penalty phase would undermine our confidence in the outcome of these proceedings, especially in light of the three aggravators found. For all of these reasons, we affirm the summary denial of Duest's ineffective assistance claim as to counsel's presentation of mitigation at the resentencing. Finally, Duest asserts that the trial court erred in denying his ineffective assistance claim regarding mental health expert testimony as procedurally barred. In his postconviction motion, Duest argued that counsel was ineffective by presenting the testimony of Dr. Patricia Fleming, a psychologist, during his resentencing. This mental health testimony, Duest alleges, was insignificant and allowed for Duest's prior criminal history to be introduced. We agree that the trial court improperly denied this ineffective assistance claim as procedurally barred, but conclude that no reversible error occurred because summary denial was otherwise proper. As part of his mitigation presentation at the resentencing, Duest presented Dr. Fleming. Upon cross-examination and over the objection of defense counsel, Dr. Fleming testified that she had reviewed Duest's criminal history in formulating her opinion of Duest. She then listed the crimes in his criminal history, which included larceny, breaking and entering of a building during the daytime and nighttime, firearm possession, and breaking and entering with intent to commit a felony. On direct appeal, this Court held that the trial court did not err in allowing the State to elicit testimony from Dr. Fleming identifying Duest's past crimes after she testified that she had considered his convictions in arriving at her opinions. Duest, 855 So.2d at 49 (citing Johnson v. State, 608 So.2d 4, 10-11 (Fla.1992) and § 90.705(1), Fla. Stat.). In its order on the case management conference, the trial court ruled that Duest's claim regarding Dr. Fleming's testimony was procedurally barred because it had been raised and rejected on direct appeal and thus summarily denied the claim. This conclusion was incorrect. As this Court stated in Bruno v. State, 807 So.2d 55 (Fla.2001): Whereas the main question on direct appeal is whether the trial court erred, the main question in a Strickland claim is whether trial counsel was ineffective. Both claims may arise from the same underlying facts, but the claims themselves are distinct andof necessity have different remedies: A claim of trial court error generally can be raised on direct appeal but not in a rule 3.850 motion, and a claim of ineffectiveness generally can be raised in a rule 3.850 motion but not on direct appeal. A defendant thus has little choice: As a rule, he or she can only raise an ineffectiveness claim via a rule 3.850 motion, even if the same underlying facts also supported, or could have supported, a claim of error on direct appeal. Id. at 63 (footnotes and emphasis omitted). Notwithstanding the trial court's error in finding a procedural bar, Duest's ineffective assistance claim was still properly denied without an evidentiary hearing. Although we take issue with Duest's assertion that Dr. Fleming's mental health testimony was insignificant, we also determine that no prejudice can be demonstrated because in the absence of Dr. Fleming's testimony, the jury still would have been aware of Duest's prior criminal history. First, the State indicated in its opening statement at the resentencing that it would present evidence that Duest had been previously convicted of other violent felonies. These prior violent felonies were armed robbery and escape with a weapon. Compared to these violent felonies, the crimes briefly brought out during Dr. Fleming's cross-examination consisted only of the less severe offenses of larceny, burglary, and firearm possession. Second, the defense presented testimony from Mr. Boone, the corrections expert and Commissioner of Corrections for Massachusetts while Duest was incarcerated, who testified concerning the dangerous conditions that existed at Walpole when Duest was transferred to the maximum security unit at age nineteen. Based on this testimony and the evidence of the prior violent felonies, the jury had before it evidence of Duest's previous criminal activity, irrespective of any testimony from Dr. Fleming. Because Duest's criminal history became apparent at the resentencing through other testimony and evidence presented at the proceeding, and because the cross-examination of Dr. Fleming on the criminal history was brief, Duest would be unable to demonstrate prejudice. Accordingly, we affirm the trial court's summary denial of this aspect of Duest's ineffective assistance claim. [18]