Opinion ID: 1912344
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: witness evans

Text: In claim (3)(b), Gudinas alleges that trial counsel was ineffective during the penalty phase for failing to call Gudinas's maternal aunt, Ellen Evans, as a witness to present mitigating evidence. He relies on trial counsel's fundamental duty to conduct a reasonable investigation into the defendant's background for possible mitigating evidence. See Rose v. State, 675 So.2d 567, 571 (Fla.1996). The Eleventh Circuit has succinctly outlined the analysis for determining whether counsel's failure to investigate and present mitigating evidence was deficient: First, it must be determined whether a reasonable investigation should have uncovered such mitigating evidence. If so, then a determination must be made whether the failure to put this evidence before the jury was a tactical choice by trial counsel. If so, such a choice must be given a strong presumption of correctness, and the inquiry is generally at an end. If, however, the failure to present the mitigating evidence was an oversight, and not a tactical decision, then a harmlessness review must be made to determine if there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel's unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different. Thus, it must be determined that defendant suffered actual prejudice due to the ineffectiveness of his trial counsel before relief will be granted. Middleton v. Dugger, 849 F.2d 491, 493 (11th Cir.1988) (citation omitted). Gudinas contends that in addition to testifying about facts that were already in evidence, Ms. Evans had knowledge of specific events that were not previously presented at trial: (1) that Gudinas's mother drank heavily while she was pregnant with him and during his childhood; (2) that Gudinas's mother physically abused him; (3) that Gudinas's mother worked in a massage parlor where customers could receive oral sex; (4) that his mother was put into a mental institution when Gudinas was a child; (5) that while Gudinas was in a state institution at age thirteen or fourteen, he was raped; (6) that Gudinas can sometimes get a blank stare; (7) that he has suffered from a lifelong foot ailment that affects his gait; and (8) that his mother allowed her boyfriends to beat Gudinas. In finding that prejudice had not been established on this claim, the trial court stated: [E]ven if Ms. Evans' testimony had been presented during the sentencing phase of the Defendant's trial, it is clear that very little would have been added to the sentencing presentation of defense counsel. The evidence of the abuse by the Defendant's father and the fact that the Defendant's father cross-dressed were presented. There was also substantial evidence presented as to the difficulty of the Defendant's childhood and his lack of treatment by the Massachusetts Youth Services. Any additional evidence that could have been provided by Ms. Evans would not have altered the outcome. In its order denying relief, the trial court found that much of Ms. Evans's testimony related to events that had already been raised during the penalty phase, i.e., that Gudinas's father was a cross-dresser, that Gudinas suffered physical abuse at the hands of his father, that Gudinas had a difficult childhood and that he was not properly treated by the Massachusetts Division of Youth Services (DYS). The trial court also concluded that had Ms. Evans testified, the additional family background she would have provided would still have inevitably been overwhelmed by the aggravating factors that were presented: that Gudinas had been previously convicted of a violent felony; that the murder was committed during the commission of a sexual battery; and that the murder was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel. See Breedlove v. State, 692 So.2d 874, 878 (Fla.1997) (holding that even if mitigating circumstances had been established by the witnesses, the three aggravating factors the Court previously affirmed would have overwhelmed whatever mitigation Breedlove's friends and family members could provide). At the 3.850 hearing, defense counsel LeBlanc testified that while he was researching Gudinas's background, he spoke several times with Ellen Evans to gather background information and that he considered what she told him in deciding what type of strategy to develop for the penalty phase. Defense cocounsel Irwin testified that he did not recall whether Ms. Evans was available to testify at trial. When asked at the 3.850 hearing why the defense did not call Ms. Evans during the penalty phase, Mr. LeBlanc stated that he did not remember. Ms. Evans testified that Gudinas's trial attorneys did not contact her but that if she had been contacted, she would have agreed to testify. Although neither of Gudinas's attorneys were queried or gave a reason for why they did not call Ms. Evans to testify at trial, we note that this is not a case where counsel failed to investigate or present evidence of mitigation. Counsel did investigate the defendant's background and presented extensive evidence, including voluminous juvenile records, of his troubled childhood. We outlined the presentation of that evidence in our prior opinion. See Gudinas, 693 So.2d at 958-59. In fact, based upon counsel's presentation of mitigating evidence, the trial court found one substantial statutory mental mitigator as well as some twelve nonstatutory mitigators. We find no error in the trial court's factual determination that Ms. Evans's testimony was in essence cumulative to the mitigation evidence actually presented at the penalty phase by experts and lay witnesses alike. In fact, much of Ms. Evans's 3.850 hearing testimony was similar to the mitigating evidence described in our previous opinion affirming the conviction and sentence. We cannot fault the trial court for not second-guessing defense counsels' work. While it was established that additional mitigating evidence existed, that is not the standard Strickland contemplates in evaluating counsel's performance. We also find no error in the trial court's determination that Gudinas has not demonstrated prejudice according to Strickland because he has not shown that if Ms. Evans had testified, her testimony would have provided a reasonable probability, sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome, that the outcome of the proceeding would have been different. See Strickland, 466 U.S. at 694, 104 S.Ct. 2052. [7]