Opinion ID: 1561776
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Failure to Challenge the Admission of the Bloody Shirt

Text: Beasley next maintains that counsel should have attempted to exclude the bloody shirt based on a break in the evidentiary chain of custody. The postconviction court denied this claim because Beasley did not present any evidence that the shirt or any other evidence collected was tampered with after law enforcement obtained custody of the evidence, despite a small delay in placing the evidence in the property room. Without evidence of tampering, the postconviction court did not find a basis to exclude the shirt because of an alleged break in the chain of custody. During the postconviction hearing, trial counsel testified that his strategic analysis determined that it was the weight of the evidence that was at issue during trial, not the admissibility of the evidence. Where counsel has a reasonable basis to believe that pursuing certain lines of defense would be fruitless, counsel does not act unreasonably in not pursuing them. See Reed v. State, 875 So.2d 415, 432 (Fla. 2004). A motion to exclude the shirt based on a break in the chain of custody required specific allegations of probable tampering. See Bernard v. State, 275 So.2d 34, 35 (Fla. 3d DCA 1973). Trial counsel testified that there was no indication of tampering, and the defense team did not believe that they possessed a basis to exclude the shirt. Postconviction counsel has alluded to a discrepancy between when the shirt was collected and the time that the evidence log reflected the shirt was placed in the evidence locker. However, postconviction counsel did not produce the log as evidence to demonstrate this discrepancy. Postconviction counsel also did not request DNA testing under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.853 to demonstrate a different basis for exclusion. Hypothetically, it may be possible that tampering occurred and there may have been a break in the chain of custody; however, the postconviction record does not support either factor other than postconviction counsel's speculative argument. Beasley also asserted that counsel was ineffective for failing to hire a DNA expert to test the shirt and to provide confirmation that the DNA evidence was contaminated. Trial counsel testified that the defense team did not consider hiring a DNA expert, but in retrospect, would not have done so because it may have revealed that only Beasley and the victim's DNA were on the shirt. It may have been helpful if a DNA analysis had produced another suspect, but Beasley admitted that the shirt belonged to him. Therefore, the risk was great that a DNA test would have provided further support for the State's case. Cf. Reed, 875 So.2d at 432. Without evidence to support Beasley's postconviction claim, the record does not demonstrate that counsel was ineffective for failing to file a motion to exclude the shirt.