Opinion ID: 1912344
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: dr o'brian

Text: In claim (3)(g), Gudinas alleges that trial counsel was ineffective during his penalty phase for failing to provide pharmacologist Dr. James O'Brian with necessary background information. At trial, Dr. O'Brian opined that on the night of the murder, Gudinas's ability to conform his behavior to the requirements of the law was impaired substantially on the basis of the alcohol and his underlying psychological makeup. On cross-examination, he admitted that he was not given the actual trial testimony of the witnesses, but rather he conceded he relied upon defense counsel who told him that other witnesses said Gudinas was intoxicated. At the 3.850 hearing, attorney Irwin stated that he could not recall why Dr. O'Brian did not sit through the actual trial testimony, but he thought that it had to do with the fact that Dr. O'Brian was from Connecticut. Mr. Irwin stated that he would have preferred to have Dr. O'Brian sit in on the trial, but instead they had phone conversations where he kept Dr. O'Brian abreast of the witnesses' trial and deposition testimony. In the sentencing order, the trial court rejected the mitigator that the capacity of Gudinas to appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of law was substantially impaired. The trial court cited to four reasons for rejecting the mitigator. One of the reasons was that Dr. O'Brian's testimony on this issue was not sufficient to establish the mitigator because it was too heavily based upon unsupported facts from what he was told other witnesses were going to testify about concerning the issues of intoxication. The reliability of Dr. O'Brian's testimony was not the only reason that the trial court rejected the mitigator that the capacity of Gudinas to appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of law was substantially impaired. The trial court stated in the sentencing order that it was not convinced that this mitigating circumstance existed for three other reasons: (1) no witnesses who saw Gudinas that night testified that he was substantially impaired to the extent that he did not know what he was doing; (2) Gudinas stealthily approached Rachelle Smith's car and attempted to gain entry to her vehicle, but fled once she sounded the horn; and (3) when Gudinas attacked Michelle McGrath, he took her to a place of concealment to perpetrate acts on her. In its denial of this 3.850 claim, the trial court stated that there was no further evidence presented at trial which would have provided a better foundation for [Dr. O'Brian's] opinion. Because a number of circumstances unrelated to Dr. O'Brian's testimony persuaded the trial court that this statutory mitigator was not present, we find no error in the trial court's determination that Gudinas has not shown that there is a reasonable probability, sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome, that but for counsel's errors, the proceeding would have been different. See Strickland, 466 U.S. at 694, 104 S.Ct. 2052.