Opinion ID: 1853745
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Failure to Retain Adequate Mental Health Experts and Provide Them with the Necessary Background Information to Render Competent Opinions

Text: Pooler next claims that counsel was ineffective for failing to retain adequate mental health experts and provide them with the necessary background information to render competent opinions. Specifically, Pooler argues that counsel rendered ineffective assistance by retaining as penalty phase mental health experts two court-appointed doctors who evaluated Pooler solely for competency prior to trial and two psychiatrists who treated Pooler while he was in jail. The record reveals that Drs. Stephen Alexander and Laurence Levine evaluated Pooler for competency prior to trial and testified at his competency hearing. At the pretrial competency hearing, Dr. Alexander questioned Pooler's ability to understand courtroom procedures and to communicate sufficiently with counsel, ultimately concluding that Pooler was not competent to stand trial. He estimated that Pooler's IQ was between 75 and 85 and found that Pooler was not suffering from any undue stress, mental illness, or personality disorder. Dr. Levine also expressed concern regarding Pooler's ability to assist his attorney in preparing a defense and in challenging the State's witnesses. He found Pooler to be of borderline intelligence and noted inconsistencies in the information Pooler gave him versus his test results. However, Dr. Levine ultimately determined that Pooler was competent to stand trial. Based on this testimony, the trial court determined that Pooler had an IQ of 80 and was competent to stand trial. During the penalty phase, Salnick called Drs. Levine and Alexander as defense mental health experts. They provided the same information regarding the results of their competency evaluations as they did at Pooler's competency hearing. Dr. Alexander further opined that Pooler's capacity to appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to conform to the requirements of the law was not impaired. In addition, Salnick elicited testimony from Drs. Michael Armstrong and Jude Desormeau, who treated Pooler while in jail. Dr. Armstrong testified that Pooler was depressed, complained of hearing a voice in his head, stated that he had no reason to live, and felt like he was going to explode. He diagnosed Pooler as suffering from judgment disorder with emotional features. Dr. Desormeau testified that he examined Pooler while in jail because he was a suicide risk. He was not aware that Pooler claimed to be hearing voices but testified that Pooler was suffering from depression as a result of his murder charge. At the postconviction evidentiary hearing, Pooler presented the testimony of Dr. Brannon, who tested Pooler for competency prior to the hearing and conducted a forensic mental health evaluation for the purpose of mitigation. Dr. Brannon ultimately concluded that Pooler was competent to proceed. However, Dr. Brannon testified that Pooler had a borderline retarded IQ of 75 and that he suffered neurological damage from head injuries. Pooler did not call any of his trial experts to testify at the evidentiary hearing. Following the hearing, the postconviction trial court denied this claim, concluding that the expert testimony presented by Salnick met the requirements of Strickland and Ake v. Oklahoma, 470 U.S. 68, 83, 105 S.Ct. 1087, 84 L.Ed.2d 53 (1985) (holding that a defendant must have access to a competent psychiatrist [or other mental health professional] who will conduct an appropriate examination and assist in evaluation, preparation, and presentation of the defense). We affirm the trial court's denial of this claim. As explained earlier, Salnick reasonably relied on Pooler's corroborated representations regarding his scholastic and military background. See Wiggins v. Smith, 539 U.S. 510, 533, 123 S.Ct. 2527, 156 L.Ed.2d 471 (2003) ( Strickland does not require counsel to investigate every conceivable line of mitigating evidence no matter how unlikely the effort would be to assist the defendant at sentencing.). Salnick communicated this information to the experts, and Pooler also gave the experts the same information during their evaluations of him. Furthermore, Salnick testified at the evidentiary hearing that he retained these experts because, given their neutrality, they would be more credible and difficult to impeach. This was a reasonable strategic decision. See Occhicone, 768 So.2d at 1048. Even if we assume counsel's decision to forego further testing constituted deficient performance, Pooler failed to establish that any prejudice resulted from it. He presented no evidence that the defense experts were incompetent or that they failed to assist in the evaluation, preparation, and presentation of the defense. See Jones v. State, 845 So.2d 55, 67-68 (Fla. 2003). Nor did Pooler identify anything of substance that a more in-depth psychoanalysis would have added. Dr. Brannon's finding that Pooler had neurological damage from head injuries was already indicated in Dr. Levine's evaluation. Also, Dr. Brannon's determination that Pooler had a borderline retarded IQ of 75 does not constitute a clear indication of actual mental retardation because it is within the range estimated by Dr. Alexander and is not substantially inconsistent with the trial court's finding that Pooler had an IQ of 80. Furthermore, because Pooler did not call any of his trial experts to testify at his postconviction hearing, he failed to demonstrate that they would have changed their opinions had they conducted more in-depth psychological evaluations or been provided with his records. Under these circumstances, a new sentencing proceeding is not mandated. See State v. Sireci, 502 So.2d 1221, 1224 (Fla.1987) ([A] new sentencing hearing is mandated in cases which entail psychiatric examinations so grossly insufficient that they ignore clear indications of either mental retardation or organic brain damage.).