Opinion ID: 2070003
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Failure to Consult Independent DNA Expert

Text: Defense counsel called the government's expert, Alan Guisti, who testified that the primary source of the DNA on a sanitary napkin obtained from the victim after the crime was that of the victim herself. He testified that it was not possible to make a conclusive determination as to who the other DNA donor might be. With respect to a semen stain found on the sheet taken from N.V.'s mother's bed, Mr. Guisti testified that the semen donor was not Sanchez-Rengifo. Sanchez-Rengifo argues that more powerful evidence could have been secured if defense counsel had secured his own expert. In support of the argument, he appended to his post-trial motion a letter written by Dr. Amanda Sozer in which she states that there was insufficient data to report that there were two sources of DNA on the napkin. In her report, she wrote: There was no reaction with the HBGG B dot which would indicate the presence of DNA from the suspect. Sanchez-Rengifo contends that, if provided with this evidence, the jury would have had to conclude either: (1) that the sample was not a mixture, but came only from complainant; or (2) the sample was a mixture, but he was not the donor. [10] Such scientific evidence, he contends, would have created a reasonable doubt as to his guilt. As the trial court found, [t]his is not a case where defense counsel failed to analyze the DNA evidence. Instead, counsel decided to call as his own witness the expert who performed the analysis on the DNA evidence for the government, and elicited from him testimony favorable to the defense. The trial court viewed the decision as a tactical one, as defense counsel understood the scientific evidence and chose to utilize the favorable evidence available through government experts, rather than secure his own experts. We agree that the circumstances show that this is a case in which the challenged action `might be considered sound trial strategy.' Strickland, supra, 466 U.S. at 689, 104 S.Ct. 2052 (quoting Michel, supra, 350 U.S. at 101, 76 S.Ct. 158). Mere errors of judgment and tactics as disclosed by hindsight do not, by themselves, constitute ineffectiveness. Curry v. United States, 498 A.2d 534, 540 (D.C.1985) (citing Carter v. United States, 475 A.2d 1118, 1122 (D.C.1984), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 1226, 105 S.Ct. 1222, 84 L.Ed.2d 362 (1985) (footnote and other citations omitted)). We see no basis to conclude that the defense counsel's decision to take advantage of the type of favorable evidence available through a government witness under the circumstances presented here can be considered a departure from reasonable professional assistance. Even assuming for the sake of argument that defense counsel's strategy could be deemed to constitute ineffectiveness, Sanchez-Rengifo fails to show that the defense was prejudiced thereby under the Strickland standard. See Kinard, supra, 635 A.2d at 1305 ( citing Strickland, 466 U.S. at 694, 104 S.Ct. 2052). First, the DNA evidence relied upon by trial counsel was favorable to Sanchez-Rengifo. It is not clear that Dr. Sozer could state unequivocally that the sample was not a mixture, since she stated that it was below the threshold level of reporting to report it as a mixture. Second, the evidence against Sanchez-Rengifo was overwhelming, as the trial court observed in making its ruling on the § 23-110 motion. Sanchez-Rengifo's identification card with his photograph was found at the crime scene immediately after N.V. reported the rape to her mother. N.V., who had an extended opportunity to observe her assailant, identified Sanchez-Rengifo from his photograph on the card as the man who raped her. A neighbor identified Sanchez-Rengifo as the person who came to her door earlier that day wearing paint-splattered work clothes and claiming to be a painting contractor. The police found a U-Haul rental van parked in the area which, according to Sanchez-Rengifo's girlfriend, he had rented with her uncle to finish a painting job in Maryland. Although he was to return the van that day, he did not do so. The complaining witness also identified a pair of paint-stained pants and a blue and white striped shirt recovered from Sanchez-Rengifo's apartment as the clothes he was wearing when he assaulted her. Therefore, we conclude that Sanchez-Rengifo has failed to demonstrate Strickland prejudice. See Strickland, 466 U.S. at 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052.