Opinion ID: 1133749
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Failure to Depose Ron Richardson or Request a Continuance

Text: Hannon asserts that trial counsel was deficient in failing to depose Ron Richardson after discovering during trial that Richardson was to testify against Hannon. Hannon claims that trial counsel had a duty to investigate Richardson's relationship with Hannon and his influence on Hannon, as well as to impeach Richardson. This Court has held that when a failure to depose is alleged as a part of an ineffective assistance of counsel claim, the appellant must specifically set forth the harm from the alleged omission. Brown v. State, 846 So.2d 1114, 1124 (Fla.2003) (citing Magill v. State, 457 So.2d 1367, 1370 (Fla.1984)). At the evidentiary hearing, Hannon's trial counsel testified that the defense theory was an alibi defense, specifically that neither Hannon nor Richardson was at the crime scene when the crimes were committed, and that both Hannon and Richardson were playing a drinking game at Richardson's house the night of the crimes. [6] Trial counsel testified that he did not direct any investigation into Richardson's background and did not remember if he had ever obtained Richardson's criminal history before the trial began. Trial counsel further testified that he did not obtain any additional investigative material concerning Richardson's relationship with Hannon after Richardson, in a surprise move, turned to testify for the State during trial. Trial counsel stated that the trial judge offered him an opportunity to depose Richardson after the State disclosed during trial that Richardson would be presented as a witness for the State but Hannon's trial counsel decided that he would not conduct a deposition at that point because he believed Richardson's story was totally fabricated, and that his best trial strategy was to question Richardson immediately in the presence of the jury instead of creating an opportunity for Richardson to rehearse his testimony during a deposition. Counsel cannot be deemed ineffective merely because postconviction counsel disagrees with trial counsel's strategic decisions. See Strickland, 466 U.S. at 689, 104 S.Ct. 2052 (A fair assessment of attorney performance requires that every effort be made to eliminate the distorting effects of hindsight. . . .); Cherry v. State, 659 So.2d 1069, 1073 (Fla.1995) (The standard is not how present counsel would have proceeded, in hindsight. . . .). In Occhicone v. State, 768 So.2d 1037, 1048 (Fla. 2000), this Court held that strategic decisions do not constitute ineffective assistance of counsel if alternative courses have been considered and rejected and counsel's decision was reasonable under the norms of professional conduct. The record demonstrates important time factors, although not considered by the dissent, and shows that on Friday, July 19, 1991, during the guilt phase of the trial, the State indicated for the first time to the trial court that it had received information that Richardson, who was listed as a defense witness for the trial in this case, might reverse himself and decide to be a prosecution witness against Hannon. On the morning of Monday, July 22, 1991, prior to resting its case, the State listed Richardson as a witness and at that late date provided Hannon's counsel with a copy of a statement by Richardson that had been taken only hours before at 8 p.m. the prior evening. The State had entered into an agreement with Richardson in which he would enter a guilty plea to one count of accessory after the fact and in return receive a sentence of only five years in prison in exchange for his testimony against Hannon. At that point, Hannon's counsel, believing that the evidence would disclose to the jury that Richardson's story was clearly fabricated for purposes of obtaining the deal with the State, decided that his best strategy was to continue with the innocence defense and the alibi basis. Trial counsel testified at the evidentiary hearing that he consciously and strategically decided that he would not depose Richardson after this last-minute turn of events because it was his strategy and approach to now use the element of total surprise in questioning Richardson with regard to the details of the crime and prevent the State from using the deposition to better prepare Richardson for his trial testimony. Moreover, trial counsel related that Richardson was an integral part of Hannon's alibi defense and, thus, his strategy and goal after Richardson turned to assist the State was to demonstrate and emphasize that Richardson was not familiar with any of the details of the crime scene, thereby bolstering Hannon's argument that neither Richardson nor Hannon was at the scene and that Richardson had changed his story to procure his last-minute agreement with the State. Trial counsel also testified that he was not interested in attempting to portray Richardson as a bad person or as a guilty party before the jury because that would also undermine Hannon's alibi defense, which was predicated on Hannon drinking with Richardson at the time of the murders. Hannon's trial counsel testified that his trial tactic and examination of Richardson was in fact ultimately successful, which the dissent does not consider, because on cross-examination, the defense elicited that Richardson actually knew very little with regard to the victims' apartment: Q. Please describe Mr. Snider and Mr. Carter's apartment or house, apartment house. A. I'm sorry. I can't do that. I'm not familiar with their apartment house. I've only been there one time prior to thisthis deal. Q. So you can't describe any of the rooms? A. Well, as you come in, you come straight into the living room, but that's as far as I've ever been in that house. Q. What color was the furniture? A. II couldn't tell you. Q. Did you ever notice any exercise equipment inside that apartment? A. No. Q. What kind of video equipment was in there? A. II wasn't familiar with the apartment. . . . . Q. Where was the aquarium located in that apartment? A. I'm not that familiar with that apartment, Joe. I couldn't tell you. Further, Richardson conveniently testified that he was leaving the apartment as the shooting of Snider occurred. Hannon's counsel also testified that it was his intention to impeach Richardson with the testimony of his brother, Mike, who was expected to testify that Hannon and Richardson were at Richardson's house at the time of the murder playing a drinking game. Hannon's counsel further stated that he chose not to request a continuance to investigate Richardson after he was disclosed to be a witness for the State because he believed a continuance would only give the State an edge by affording the State additional time to prepare Richardson for trial testimony to the detriment of his client, also a factor not considered by the dissent. The record supports trial counsel's testimony that Richardson was unable to provide any meaningful details of the victims' apartment for the jury. The record also clearly demonstrates that Hannon's counsel successfully revealed to the jury that Richardson had previously supported Hannon's alibi by stating that he and Hannon were playing a drinking game the night of the murders, and that he was not involved with the murder. Moreover, counsel elicited from Richardson that up until even the night before he testified, he denied seeing the wounds to Snider's throat, but within twenty-four hours had completely changed his story. Richardson claimed that he suddenly remembered the wounds; however, it cannot be disregarded that Richardson's memory was restored just in time for him to testify for the State in the case against Hannon. Further, when asked about his drastic change in testimony, Richardson affirmatively testified that he had lied not once, but several times previously. Finally, counsel highlighted to the jury that on the Sunday morning before Richardson's new testimony he was facing the death penalty for two counts of first-degree murder, but by the evening of that same day, in exchange for his testimony against Hannon, Richardson had received a deal for only five years in prison. Clearly, the record supports a carefully considered and planned defense strategy on behalf of Hannon by his trial counsel and provides a full and proper basis for the trial court's determination that Hannon failed to meet the first prong of Strickland in that he has failed to prove that counsel acted deficiently when he made a strategic decision not to take further steps with regard to Mr. Richardson, look into his background, determine his motive for testifying, or develop further information that could have been used to impeach him. Although current counsel may disagree with trial counsel's strategy at that time and would have chosen to abandon the alibi defense when Richardson changed at the last minute to assist the State during trial, such current disagreement does not render trial counsel's performance deficient. Accordingly, we conclude that Hannon has failed to demonstrate that trial counsel was deficient in strategically deciding not to depose Richardson, not to seek a continuance, or otherwise conduct an investigation into Richardson's background. Moreover, Hannon has failed to demonstrate any prejudice because he has not even suggested what evidence or information trial counsel would have procured had he deposed Richardson, or requested a continuance, or conducted further investigation, that would have so affected the proceeding that confidence in the outcome is undermined, nor does the dissent provide any insight into the subject. See Maxwell, 490 So.2d at 932. Based upon the foregoing analysis, this claim has no merit.