Opinion ID: 1751322
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 10

Heading: Objecting During the Guilt and Penalty Phases

Text: Branch contends that the trial court erred in not finding his counsel ineffective for failing to object to certain actions of the prosecutor. First, he asserts that the prosecutor requested that a State witness speculate on an event without a good-faith basis to believe the event occurred and that counsel should have objected. We have reviewed the questioning asserted as improper and, like the trial court, find no basis for faulting trial counsel for not objecting. The questioning resulted in an explanation by the medical examiner that a ligature used to choke the victim could also have been used to control the free movement of the victim. On appeal, Branch has demonstrated no legal basis for excluding this testimony or counsel's neglect in not seeking its exclusion. The three remaining instances in which Branch finds counsel deficient for not objecting arose during the State's guilt phase closing argument. Branch asserts that the prosecutor improperly invoked sympathy for the victim during closing argument by citing his reference to her as this poor girl and look at what happened to that poor girl. After reviewing the arguments in context, we concur in the trial court's conclusion that no deficiency or prejudice has been shown. First, Branch has not demonstrated any error in the prosecutor's use of the adjective poor to describe the victim. Second, trial counsel testified during the evidentiary hearing that he confronted the issue of sympathy directly, rather than objecting to any particular references to the victim. The trial court found this to be a reasonable trial strategy. Next, Branch argues that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to object to the prosecutor's alleged improper bolstering or vouching for the testimony of Melissa Cowden: You had an opportunity to see Melissa Cowden testify, to be careful to tell you the truth regarding what she saw and she heard. She held nothing back. I'm sure her testimony was embarrassing for her with regard to some aspects of it but she told the truth. The Eric that killed Susan Morris had a cut on his hand. Trial counsel testified that he found nothing objectionable here, and he did not want to question Cowden's credibility unduly because he was relying on her testimony to support certain aspects of Branch's defense. Thus, he chose not to challenge her credibility directly so as to not affect the helpful aspects of her testimony, and also so as to not alienate the jury in keeping with his general strategy of not excessively objecting or cross-examining some State's witnesses. Finally, Branch argues that counsel was ineffective for not objecting to the prosecutor's suggestion that Branch was driving around in a vehicle he had improperly taken and that he wanted to steal another car. Trial counsel testified at the evidentiary hearing that he did not object because he believed the evidence generally supported this argument. The trial court rejected this claim by finding that the argument was a reasonable inference in light of the testimony at trial, and hence, counsel was not deficient in his decision not to object. We find no error by the trial court in rejecting these claims.