Opinion ID: 1684899
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Failure to Investigate Alibi or Alternative Theories of the Crime

Text: Overton contends that his counsel was ineffective for the failure to investigate alibi or alternative theories of the crime. We conclude that this claim fails on the merits. The decisions by counsel to not present a work alibi defense that Overton was working at the Amoco gas station at the time of the MacIvor murders and alternative theories of the MacIvor murders were reasonable strategic decisions. The decision with regard to the work alibi defense was made only after an adequate investigation revealed that there was no evidence that Overton worked at Amoco on the night of the MacIvor murders. During the evidentiary hearing, Overton testified that he had worked at the Amoco station for just over one year at the time of the MacIvor murders in August 1991. The defense hired investigators Jeff Galler and Dave Burns to investigate the work alibi defense. Documents (timecards and receipts) that would have established whether Overton worked the night of the murders were no longer available for these investigators to review. Moreover, co-workers could not recall whether Overton worked that night. Multiple managers at Amoco at the time testified that they could not remember whether Overton worked the late shift that night, which covered from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. A non-manager who normally worked the morning shift testified that she could not remember whether Overton worked that night. Defense counsel considered an alibi defense, but . . . were unable to come up with specific witnesses. Additionally, Overton has not established that this evidence would have illustrated that Overton worked that night even if these witnesses had memory or if timecards had been available. See Pardo v. State, 941 So.2d 1057, 1065 (Fla.2006) (holding that the claim with regard to the failure to present an alibi was insufficiently pled because the motion did not describe how the alibi witness would have supported the alibi with exculpatory evidence (citing Jacobs v. State, 880 So.2d 548 (Fla. 2004))); Lott v. State, 931 So.2d 807, 815 (Fla.2006) (holding that the failure to investigate the alibi did not constitute ineffective assistance as there was no prejudice because the one alibi witness that was offered during the evidentiary hearing could not pinpoint the date of the conversation, so his testimony would have possessed minimal value as alibi evidence). Moreover, there was no prejudice from the failure to present the alibi defense because even if Overton's counsel had established that Overton was working that night, sufficient time remained for him to commit the murders. At best, the work alibi was an incomplete alibi. Susan and Michael were last seen alive at a childbirth class on August 21, 1991, which ended at about 9 p.m., and their bodies were not found until the next morning by concerned co-workers and a neighbor. See Overton, 801 So.2d at 881. It is clear that the murders could have occurred between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. The record does not provide any support that the murders occurred after 11 p.m. Due to the location of the Amoco station being only a couple of minutes away from the MacIvor home, see id. at 884, Overton could have easily committed the murders and still arrived timely for his shift. Therefore, this is an additional reason that the failure to present a work alibi defense did not constitute deficient performance, and in the alternative, there also was no prejudice. See Lott, 931 So.2d at 815 (holding that the failure to investigate the alibi did not constitute ineffective assistance as there was no prejudice because even if the jury believed that Lott did speak with Jones on the Sunday afternoon in question, it still would have left plenty of room in the twenty-seven hour timeline for Lott to have committed the murder); Reed v. State, 875 So.2d 415, 429-30 (Fla.2004) (holding that there was not deficient performance with regard to the failure to investigate the alibi defense claim because the available testimony provided, at best, an incomplete alibi as the testimony still allowed for a two- to three-hour window for the defendant to commit the murder). Overton further asserts that alternative theories for the murders were not presented. The record establishes that the other leads and suspects were considered and strategically rejected by Overton's counsel. Counsel were aware of the other leads and suspects that law enforcement had pursued, but there was nothing that [they] could come up with solid to put on when they explored these leads and suspects. For example, counsel considered the alleged involvement of Hector Hernandez, [17] but a strategic decision was made to not explore that avenue during trial after it was discussed with Overton. In addition to their belief that the statements of Hector Hernandez were not credible, Overton's counsel recognized that the Hernandez theory also clearly placed Overton at the murder scene. This was inconsistent with the defense theory that was consistently presented at trial that Overton was not present and his DNA had been planted by law enforcement. Overton's specific claim that an alternative theory of the murders [18] should have been presented during trial is without merit. Notwithstanding that the rationale provided by Katsnelson for this alternative theory may be argued as reasonable, there are numerous sound reasons why it was not presented by Overton's counsel. For example, Overton's counsel could have reasonably concluded that Katsnelson's opinion was not credible due to his questionable qualifications as an expert witness. Evidence of his qualifications included the following: (1) he is currently unemployed; (2) he graduated from medical school outside the United States; and (3) he has never been in the private practice of medicine in the United States. Even though Katsnelson subscribed to an alternative opinion theory, this does not support the contention that another expert in the field would have come to a similar conclusion. See Johnson v. State, 769 So.2d 990, 1005 (Fla.2000) (refusing to find ineffective assistance simply because new expert doctors had a different opinion than prior doctors, in support of court's conclusion that there had been no showing that the attorneys' conduct was ineffective in hiring the experts or in the material furnished). Moreover, Overton's counsel did present the expert testimony of Dr. Wright during trial, who was recommended and well known as one of the most qualified experts in the field of forensic pathology. The theory for a defense was discussed with Wright. Wright generally agreed with the conclusions of Dr. Nelms, who performed the autopsy of the MacIvors, and Overton's counsel reasonably explored all possible alternate theories of defense with Dr. Wright. The testimony of Dr. Wright during the trial explored alternatives that: (1) the MacIvors could have been killed somewhere other than the house; (2) there was little evidence of a struggle at the scene; and (3) evidence existed to suggest there was more than one perpetrator. Wright rejected the opinion that Susan had not been sexually assaulted. Thus, the particular theory of Katsnelson was partially covered. See Whitfield, 923 So.2d at 381. Therefore, for all these reasons, the decision to not present the alternative theory does not constitute ineffective assistance.