Opinion ID: 1694762
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Wainwright's Statements and Admissions

Text: Wainwright alleges trial counsel was ineffective with respect to incriminating statements Wainwright made to law enforcement officers between May 9 and May 20, 1994. On direct appeal, Wainwright claimed the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress these statements, and this Court noted the facts specific to this claim: [Wainwright] was arrested in Mississippi and voluntarily returned to Florida. On his return, officers reached an agreement with Wainwright and his lawyer [3] whereby the State would not seek the death penalty if Wainwright met three conditions: (1) He did not contribute to Gayheart's death; (2) he was truthful in his conversations with police; and (3) he passed a lie detector test. Pursuant to this agreement, Wainwright made a number of incriminating statements from May 9 to May 20, 1994, and assisted officers in recovering evidence of the crime. When he was transported to the State Attorney's office on May 20, however, he conferred with his lawyer, admitted for the first time that had [sic] sexually assaulted Gayheart, and refused to take the lie detector test. Police had no further contact with Wainwright after that point. Wainwright, 704 So.2d at 513. This Court upheld the trial court's denial of the motion to suppress, finding that by the time Wainwright made the incriminating statements, the agreement between the parties was a fait accompli. There was no need for `free and open discussions,' i.e., privileged discussions, since the deal already had been sealed. No public policy would be furthered by suppressing such statements. Id. at 514. As his postconviction claim, Wainwright first argued that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to preserve this issue for appeal. The trial court denied this claim without an evidentiary hearing, finding that the issue was procedurally barred and that the allegation of ineffectiveness is insufficient to overcome the procedural bar. The trial court properly denied this claim. The record rebuts Wainwright's allegation. During trial, trial counsel filed a motion to suppress the statements Wainwright made on May 9, 11, and 20. The trial court heard arguments on the motion and denied the motion, and this Court addressed the issue on direct appeal. To the extent Wainwright argues that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to move for a Richardson [4] hearing on Wainwright's May 10 statement, the trial court properly denied the claim on that basis as well. Although trial counsel did not specifically move for a Richardson hearing, the matter of the May 10 statement was extensively discussed at trial in response to a defense motion to suppress the statement. The following explains what occurred at trial. Sheriff Reid, a law enforcement officer involved in the investigation, was deposed by the defense and testified to Wainwright's May 11 statement. After the deposition, Sheriff Reid informed the State that Wainwright had made another statement on May 10. The prosecutor stated he did not disclose it because I was not aware of the fact that, really, that had not been brought out in the deposition. When the prosecutor reviewed the deposition, it became apparent to him that the defense was not put on notice of the May 10 statement, and he informed trial counsel of the statement and alerted the trial court to the inadvertent discovery violation. In response, trial counsel argued that the defense was prejudiced by the statement and that the State had committed a discovery violation. The trial court ruled that it would allow the statement and find that it is a procedural technical violation, which does not deprive the Defense of any other opportunities they would have had to rebut or confront such testimony. Wainwright has demonstrated neither deficient performance nor prejudice. Trial counsel properly preserved the issue for review, filed motions to suppress the statements, and argued the merits of those motions. At trial, counsel thoroughly cross-examined Sheriff Reid about the statements. Wainwright has also failed to demonstrate prejudice. No reasonable probability exists that, but for counsel's alleged errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different. In addition to Wainwright's incriminating statements, the State presented Wainwright's confessions to fellow inmates Robert Murphy and Gary Gunter, as well as DNA evidence linking him to the crime. The trial court properly denied this claim.