Opinion ID: 2785252
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Rivas’s Direct Case

Text: Beyond the testimony of Ostuni, Rivas’s direct case was underwhelming. As Calle later testified, he did not appreciate at trial that the precise time of Hill’s death was important because he felt that Rivas had a strong alibi throughout the entire weekend. He therefore never considered calling an expert forensic pathologist to challenge Mitchell’s adjusted findings. See Section 440.10 Hearing Tr. at 85, 87. He did attempt to establish that Hill was alive on Saturday by calling a prosecution witness, Hill’s upstairs neighbor, to read from an affidavit in which she had stated that she had seen Hill in their shared basement that morning. However, on cross-examination by Fitzpatrick, the witness readily conceded that she had been mistaken in her affidavit and had in fact seen Hill on Friday morning, not the following day. See Trial Tr. at 927–932. Calle also attempted to establish Rivas’s alibi by calling a single witness who claimed to have seen Rivas at Albert’s in Cazenovia as early as 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Id. at 967. Finally, he called a witness who testified that Rivas was acting normally on Saturday night. Id. at 974. Rivas did not testify in his own defense, and claims that Calle never informed him of his right to do so. Section 440.10 Hearing Tr. at 17–18.