Opinion ID: 202184
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Failure to Object to Prior Consistent Statements

Text: 50 Knight argues that his counsel should have objected to the admission of testimony by Kelley stating that she had told her father and another person, two months after the victim's death, that she had been present when Knight had killed someone. Knight argues that these were prior consistent statements that were inadmissible, but the SJC found that Knight was going to try to impeach Kelley and that her statements were, therefore, admissible to defend against the argument of recent contrivance. Knight, 773 N.E.2d at 399-400 (quoting Commonwealth v. Saarela, 376 Mass. 720, 383 N.E.2d 501 (1978)). To the extent that Knight argues on appeal that the SJC erred in affirming the admission of the statements, that claim does not warrant federal habeas review because the SJC, which has the final word on questions of Massachusetts state law, affirmed their admission on the basis of state law. See Estelle v. McGuire, 502 U.S. 62, 67-68, 112 S.Ct. 475, 116 L.Ed.2d 385 (1991). Knight's counsel could not have rendered ineffective assistance in failing to object to alleged errors of state evidentiary law that were either non-prejudicial or nonexistent. Vieux v. Pepe, 184 F.3d 59, 64 (1st Cir.1999) (failing to pursue a futile tactic does not amount to constitutional ineffectiveness), cert. denied, 528 U.S. 1163, 120 S.Ct. 1178, 145 L.Ed.2d 1086 (2000). Therefore, Knight's counsel was not ineffective when he failed to object to the admission of the prior consistent statements. 51