Opinion ID: 1912344
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: juvenile history

Text: In claim (3)(c), Gudinas alleges that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to investigate and present more detail of Gudinas's institutional background with the DYS both directly and through mental health experts. He complains of counsel's failure to emphasize the lack of treatment he received as a juvenile. The trial court explained its evaluation of this claim: [Dr. Upson] testified during sentencing and the evidentiary hearing as to the sufficiency of the records provided to him. Furthermore, the doctor conducted a psychological evaluation and screened the Defendant for neuropsychological factors. This evidence was presented to the jury during sentencing. The Court accepted Dr. Upson's testimony that the Defendant was severely disturbed as mitigating evidence. The Defendant has not shown what further effort of defense counsel could have been exerted. ... Although part of defense counsel's strategy was to emphasize that the Defendant was housed instead of treated, defense counsel testified that they did not want to present the Defendant's entire treatment history to the jury. The evidence presented by defense counsel was consistent with the defense strategy and gave the jury sufficient information without specifically asking what effect the 105 placements would have had on the Defendant. The Defendant made no showing of either deficient performance or prejudice as to this claim. As the trial court noted and the record reflects, Gudinas's attorneys did, in fact, investigate his institutional background. The lawyers' testimony at the 3.850 hearing revealed that they were fully informed as to Gudinas's institutional background and made an informed choice to present his background in a limited fashion so as to paint him in the best possible light, as someone who was able to be rehabilitated, rather than someone who had rejected numerous attempts at rehabilitation. Although the sentencing court accorded the nonstatutory mitigators very little weight, it did find that Gudinas had the capacity to be rehabilitated, which is a mitigator that trial counsel testified he did not want to undermine by emphasizing Gudinas's institutional history in Massachusetts, as unsuccessful as it was. Further, as the trial court noted, Dr. Upson testified at the 3.850 hearing that the additional institutional background information given to him before that hearing would not have changed the opinion he actually gave at trial. The trial court summarized the opinions that Dr. Upson gave at trial: [T]hat the Defendant did not have any significant cognitive dysfunction; that he was severely disturbed and extremely frightened; that he was caught up in a perpetual cycle of being punished; that at least two instances of pretty severe abuse had occurred; and that he had a very disruptive childhood. This Court has stated, Strategic decisions do not constitute ineffective assistance if alternative courses of action have been considered and rejected. State v. Bolender, 503 So.2d 1247, 1250 (Fla.1987). Under this standard we cannot second-guess the trial court's determination after an evidentiary hearing that counsel was not deficient for not investigating and presenting Gudinas's institutional background in more depth and detail. Further, even if we assume counsel was deficient for not investigating and presenting Gudinas's institutional background more thoroughly, Gudinas has not demonstrated error in the trial court's determination that prejudice was not established, because he has not made a showing sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome of the penalty phase proceeding. See Strickland, 466 U.S. at 694, 104 S.Ct. 2052. Accordingly, based upon review of the extensive evidence offered both at trial and in the postconviction hearing, we do not find that Gudinas has established error by the trial court in its treatment of this claim.