Opinion ID: 1751322
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: Guilt Phase Investigation

Text: Branch contends that he demonstrated below that trial counsel was ineffective based upon his failure to investigate in relation to the guilt phase of trial. However, in rejecting Branch's claim, the court below explained: [T]he Defendant failed to present any substantive evidence at the hearing to support this claim, instead relying on speculation. This is especially significant because the Defendant has had over ten years between the time of his trial and the date the evidentiary hearing to further investigate his case. Yet, the Defendant could not produce one single piece of material evidence which went undiscovered by his trial counsel. Although both defense counsel testified extensively as to their efforts on behalf of Branch, postconviction counsel for Branch failed to present evidence that there was other significant defense evidence that counsel failed to explore or uncover. We find no error in the trial court's rejection of this claim on the basis of a failure of proof at the postconviction hearing.