Opinion ID: 1129333
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Undiscovered Witness

Text: Smith argues that the circuit court erred in determining that he was not prejudiced by trial counsel's failure to locate witness Vincent Gibson, also referred to as Ventura Gibson. He claims that Gibson's testimony would have proven Jones's eyewitness testimony was false. Jones had told police that Gibson dropped him off near his home that night, and Jones then witnessed the murder as he walked home. At the postconviction evidentiary hearing, Gibson testified that he did not remember taking Jones home, that he did not take Jones home, and that he would not have taken Jones home that late at night. Based on this testimony, the circuit court found that Smith met the first prong of Strickland, but not the second. We hold that Smith failed to meet either prong of the standard. Gibson's testimony does not prove Jones was not an eyewitness to the murder. At best, his testimony calls into question Jones's statement of how he arrived at the crime scenea minor, collateral issue. The fact that Jones lived within a block of the crime scene explains his presence there. Accordingly, counsel's failure to interview Gibson on this collateral matter does not constitute a serious error under Strickland. Further, Smith failed to establish prejudice. Using Gibson's equivocal testimony to impeach Jones on how he got to the crime scene would be of little value. Jones told his wife that he had witnessed a murder when he arrived home shortly after the murder occurred. In fact, because of the proximity of Jones's home to the crime scene, the police conducting a neighborhood canvass for information came to Jones's house shortly after the murder. Further, Jones's eyewitness testimony was not the only evidence placing Smith at the crime scene with a gun. In fact, Smith admitted having shot the cab driver to friends within hours of committing the crime. Accordingly, our confidence in the verdict is not undermined.