Opinion ID: 799074
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 14

Heading: Failure to neutralize Stephens' prior violent felony conviction

Text: Stephens also contends that counsel was ineffective for failing to challenge or neutralize a 1992 burglary conviction that the State introduced as a prior violent felony aggravator. The Florida Supreme Court found that counsel did, in fact, conduct discovery with respect to the prior violent felony aggravator, but made the strategic decision not to call a neutralizing witness, because he did not want to draw further attention to the incident: With regard to the failure to neutralize the burglary conviction as an aggravator, counsel testified at the evidentiary hearing that he deposed Latonya Jackson, the victim of the burglary, and looked at the police reports of the burglary conviction and understood that there was damaging information about it. Counsel testified that he knew that even if he objected to the introduction of the aggravator, the burglary conviction was nonetheless going to come in. As a result, counsel made a strategic decision not to focus on introducing evidence to possibly lessen the weight of the aggravator because he believed it could backfire. Stephens II, 975 So.2d at 415. Because counsel made a strategic decision not to present this evidence, we cannot find that the Florida Supreme Court's resolution of this claim was contrary to or an unreasonable application of clearly established federal law.