Opinion ID: 1753481
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 21

Heading: Terry MartinezToxicologist

Text: The motion court found trial counsel ineffective for failing to call a toxicologist such as Dr. Terry Martinez to testify about how Glass's intoxication on the night of the murder may have affected Glass's ability to appreciate the criminality of his conduct. Counsel's notes indicate that he contacted Martinez prior to trial, though he does not recall it. When asked why he contacted Martinez, counsel said he suspected that he would have asked Martinez for his opinions about Glass's level of intoxication and how that would have affected him on the night of the crime. Counsel did not further investigate Martinez because counsel was planning to admit evidence about Glass's alcohol consumption through Dr. Smith, who counsel decided not to call right before trial. Martinez evaluated Glass after trial. Glass told Martinez that on the night of the murder, he consumed approximately a fifth of tequila and 16 beers. Based on Glass's memories as to the amount he drank on the night of the murder four years earlier, as well as witness accounts of Glass drinking, Martinez could have testified that Glass would have had a blood alcohol level of approximately .30, that he would have had had a loss of inhibition, that his memory would have been impaired, [1] that he would have had a diminished thinking capacity, and that he was under the influence of extreme mental or emotional disturbance from a pharmacological or toxicological perspective. Here, counsel investigated and consulted an expert who could have testified about Glass's intoxication on the night of the murder: Dr. Smith. Dr. Smith was prepared to testify that due to a combination of Glass's mental disorders and intoxication at the time of the crime, Glass's capacity to appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law was substantially impaired, and that he acted under the influence of extreme mental or emotional disturbance. Counsel did not make the decision not to call Dr. Smith until right before trial, when the trial court unexpectedly granted counsel's motion to exclude evidence of the child pornography and other items found in Glass's home. As previously discussed, Glass conceded that counsel provided a reasonable trial strategy for not calling Dr. Smith. Counsel made a strategic decision to develop the evidence of intoxication through Dr. Smith instead of Dr. Martinez. Counsel is not ineffective for failing to investigate and call another expert who would have been cumulative to Dr. Smith.