Opinion ID: 1597347
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 13

Heading: Sonya Davis

Text: The trial court denied Taylor's claim that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to present the testimony of the victim's daughter, Sonya Davis, because the record clearly shows Ms. Davis would not have been willing to testify in the prior proceedings. Additionally, the trial court denied the claim for being untimely since the evidence of Ms. Davis was known at trial. The trial court denied admission of Davis's deposition because the deposition would not have been admissible at trial and because the postconviction claim allegedly supported by the deposition was untimely asserted. None of these findings have been demonstrated to have been erroneous. The summary denial of a newly discovered evidence claim will be upheld if the motion is legally insufficient or its allegations are conclusively refuted by the record. McLin v. State, 827 So.2d 948, 954 (Fla.2002). It is evident from the record that Taylor was aware of Davis's existence prior to the trial, and that Davis would have been unwilling to testify for Taylor. Additionally, as the State correctly points out, even if Taylor had succeeded in introducing this evidence, it would have served to impeach his own testimony and to impugn his theory of defense. Cf. Antone v. State, 410 So.2d 157, 162 (Fla.1982) (holding that newly discovered evidence that would have impeached defendant's testimony and changed totally his theory of defense did not meet the test that the alleged facts must be of such a vital nature that they would have prevented entry of the judgment). Accordingly, the trial court properly denied this claim.