Opinion ID: 1881529
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Failure to Employ Voluntary Intoxication Defense

Text: First, Stewart claims that trial counsel was ineffective in failing to employ a voluntary intoxication defense or request a jury instruction on the defense. We disagree. Claims expressing mere disagreement with trial counsel's strategy are insufficient: Counsel cannot be deemed ineffective merely because current counsel disagrees with trial counsel's strategic decisions. Moreover, 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. Occhicone v. State, 768 So.2d 1037, 1048 (Fla.2000) (citations omitted). The record of both the evidentiary hearing and trial demonstrates that trial counsel considered a voluntary intoxication defense but rejected it for strategic reasons. During the evidentiary hearing, Stewart's trial counsel, Rex Barbas, testified that he considered the defense of voluntary intoxication given the fact that some of the evidence in the case indicated that Stewart had been drinking on the day of the offense, but opted against it after determining it was not a viable defense for Stewart. Specifically, Barbas testified that his conversations with Stewart persuaded him that voluntary intoxication defense would be inappropriate given Stewart's detailed account of the crime, which included a statement to Barbas that he planned to shoot and rob the victims. Moreover, Barbas testified that further militating against the employment of a voluntary intoxication defense was the State's potential use of the experts who examined Stewart to determine his competency to stand trial. Drs. Mussenden and Gonzalez would have been available to testify about Stewart's detailed account of the circumstances of the crime. Barbas concluded that such testimony would more than negate any potential benefit of a voluntary intoxication defense. In sum, the record demonstrates that counsel made an informed and reasoned decision not to pursue a voluntary intoxication defense. See Occhicone, 768 So.2d at 1048 (affirming denial of petitioner's ineffectiveness claim for counsel's failure to present additional evidence in support of voluntary intoxication defense where defense counsel testified that they chose against presenting the additional evidence because of taped statements made by the petitioner to a psychologist which demonstrated that the defendant had a good recall of what transpired the night of the murders and therefore was not intoxicated to the level of not being able to premeditate the murders); Johnson v. State, 593 So.2d 206, 209 (Fla.1992) (holding that counsel's decision not to pursue voluntary intoxication defense was a strategic decision, not deficient performance, where defense counsel testified that he rejected the defense because the defendant recounted the incident with `great detail and particularity' in his confession). [7]