Opinion ID: 1465675
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Competency of Ashley Heath

Text: In order to impeach Ashley Heath, Mr. Johnson's counsel wanted access to records of Ashley's treatment by a therapist. The defense believed these treatment records would show that Ashley did not have a memory of the night of her mother's murder but had instead been coached into identifying Mr. Johnson. These records were kept sealed because of Ashley's privilege as a patient. Mr. Johnson contends his counsel was ineffective for (1) failing to present evidence that those records fell outside privilege because they were for the purpose of preparing for litigation, (2) failing to present additional impeachment evidence, including cross-examining Ashley about her memories, and (3) failing to offer an expert treatise in support of his request for appointment of an expert to examine the child for competency. Though Mr. Johnson mentions all three of these subpoints in his brief, he admits that testimony at the hearing did not support his first claim that counseling was for the purpose of litigation, so that defeats his first subpoint, and he makes no other argument for his second subpoint. Therefore, he has abandoned the first two subpoints and his only argument on this point concerns the treatise that he believes counsel should have introduced. Mr. Johnson asserts that the circuit court erred in its rulings on the issue, and then simply asserts without citation to authority or supporting argument that there is a reasonable probability that the motion for an expert would have been granted if the treatise had been proffered and that the expert would have concluded that Ashley was incompetent to testify. We have repeatedly held that we will not consider an argument on appeal that has no citation to authority or convincing legal argument. See Smith v. State, 354 Ark. 226, 118 S.W.3d 542 (2003); Kelly v. State, 350 Ark. 238, 85 S.W.3d 893 (2002). Because Mr. Johnson's argument is conclusory and cites no authority and makes no convincing legal argument in support of his contention, he has failed to show that the circuit court clearly erred in denying relief on this point.