Opinion ID: 1561776
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Failure to Consult Experts in Forensic Crime Scene Investigation or Blood Spatter

Text: Beasley maintains that he received ineffective assistance of counsel for the failure to consult with, and present the testimony of, expert witnesses in the areas of forensic crime scene investigation or blood spatter to support the defense theory that the bloody shirt had been planted after the crime scene technicians released the scene to the family. Beasley asserts that the omission of expert testimony prevented the jury from considering evidence on proper crime scene procedures and whether the actual killer could have worn the shirt during the murder and later placed it under the bed. According to Beasley, if counsel had presented expert testimony on the thoroughness of the crime scene investigation and on the likelihood that blood would have dripped from the shirt onto the white carpet when the assailant placed the shirt under the bed, the crucial evidence of the bloody shirt would have been compromised and the outcome of the trial would have been different. [4] Beasley did not present independent evidence to establish this assertion and relied solely on the cross-examination of trial counsel and the argument of postconviction counsel. In denying this claim, the postconviction court ruled that there was no deficient performance because counsel testified that the defense effectively advanced the theory that the crime scene technicians either neglected to examine under the bed during their initial investigation or that the bloody shirt was placed there after the initial investigation concluded. In finding that defense counsel's strategy was not deficient, the postconviction court could only review the testimony of trial counsel with regard to their performance because Beasley did not present any other witnesses. The evidence presented revealed that the defense strategy was to use effective cross-examination to challenge the legitimacy of the theory that Beasley placed the shirt under the bed after he murdered Mrs. Monfort. Through this cross-examination, defense counsel sought to advance the theory that the shirt had been planted after the fact because the crime scene technicians performed a thorough investigation, which included a search under the bed, and the assailant could not have placed the bloody shirt underneath the bed after the murder without leaving evidence of blood on the white carpet. Trial counsel testified that there were methods available to prove this theory: (1) attack the investigators for their failure to conduct a proper investigation and thus missing the shirt; or (2) establish that the investigators did conduct a thorough investigation and that the shirt was absent because it was planted after the initial search. The defense team opted to follow the latter strategy because it would have been unusual for a ten-hour investigation to overlook a bloody shirt under a bed in a room that the defendant inhabited, especially when one of the technicians knelt at the foot of the bed to collect a small piece of copper wire from the floor within visual range of the shirt. Defense counsel relied on the cross-examination of law enforcement officers and crime scene technicians to advance this theory. Moreover, trial counsel testified that they concluded that an expert was not needed because the impeachment of the officers and the crime scene team was effective: We made a major issue out of that faux pas. That is one of the most suspicious circumstances I personally have ever seen in a murder investigation. . . . [When the defense] cross-examined Detective Cash about it[,] . . . we lit into her and we brought those points out on cross-examination in no uncertain terms. . . . [M]y memory of it is that it was so obvious to us that I don't know that I even thought about the advisability of having an expert. I mean, we have pristine white carpet and a shirt with considerable amounts of blood on it. We have a laundry room where the blood is literally all over all four walls. And this person is supposed to have gone into the bedroom and taken the shirt off and not left a drop of blood. . . . [T]hat's beyond the range of believability, in my opinion. So I don't know that I ever really thought much about [hiring an expert]. There was testimony during a deposition that the cross-examination left the crime scene technicians with egg on their face[s]. One investigator was distressed after the cross-examination, and trial counsel did not believe that an expert was needed to explain that law enforcement botched the investigation because this conclusion was self-evident. Thus, defense counsel had a reasonable strategy for not presenting an expert witness. See Darling v. State, 966 So.2d 366, 378 (Fla.2007) (stating that trial counsel is not ineffective for failing to present cumulative evidence). To establish ineffective assistance, Beasley must also demonstrate prejudice from counsel's alleged deficient performance. During the postconviction hearing, Beasley presented no witness or other material to demonstrate what further evidence was available to the defense or what should have been presented during trial. In essence, postconviction counsel here has utilized the same strategy as trial counsel to address this claim: inference developed through argument and cross-examination. Absent any evidence of what an expert could and would have presented, other than postconviction counsel's argument, Beasley has not established a reasonable probability that the testimony of either type of expert during his capital trial would have impacted the original trial in a manner that would undermine our confidence in the verdict. Based on the presentation to the postconviction court, which consisted solely of trial counsel's testimony and the argument of postconviction counsel, there was no evidence that an expert would have provided different information during Beasley's capital trial. Thus, we deny relief on this claim because Beasley has failed to satisfy either the deficient performance or prejudice prongs of Strickland.