Opinion ID: 6109557
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Failure to Rebut Prior Assault Convictions

Text: Mr. McFadden admits the circuit court did not err in admitting certified records showing he was convicted of two counts each of first-degree assault and armed criminal action for attacking Daryl Bryant and Jermaine Burns. But he alleges counsel were ineffective in their cross-examination of a State's witness as to how the assaults occurred and in failing to offer rebuttal evidence. In particular, Shonte Addison testified she saw Mr. McFadden threaten the victims with a gun and saw one victim had a big hole in his side, a lot of blood, and I dragged him in the hospital. On cross-examination, counsel got Shonte to admit she did not witness the shooting and did not know who fired the first shot. Mr. McFadden now argues defense counsel should have offered rebuttal evidence that the crime did not occur as Shonte claimed and that the injury to the victim's side was not nearly as bad as she testified. But there was no question the wound was substantial and required hospital treatment; whether the witness exaggerated its size was of minimal probative value. Further, the motion court found the investigator who Mr. McFadden said should have been called was not certified in ballistics or in crime scene interpretation and has never qualified as an expert  witness in Missouri. The motion court did not find his alternative version of the facts credible. This Court defers to the motion court's superior opportunity to judge the credibility of witnesses. Barton, 432 S.W.3d at 760 . Even were the testimony sufficiently credible, counsel testified as a matter of strategy they wanted to limit evidence of the prior assault convictions. The State could have put on even more prejudicial and inflammatory evidence supporting the convictions. The motion court did not clearly err in finding defense counsel were reasonable in not highlighting these convictions. 11 McLaughlin, 378 S.W.3d at 337 .