Opinion ID: 59634
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Hearing to Suppress Physical Evidence

Text: Martinez next contends that counsel rendered ineffective assistance by failing to demonstrate that he had standing to contest the improper seizure of physical evidence from the residences of his grandmother and Carolina Prado. At a hearing on the motion to suppress, the evidence demonstrated that the police obtained consent to search from his grandmother, and she directed the officers to a backpack and a closed paper bag. The backpack and bag contained a black leather vest, a t-shirt, a tie, and a digital watch. Also, Carolina Prado’s sister, Rosemary Ramirez, testified that after the murders she had returned to her sister’s home and inside a shed discovered a gym bag, which she brought to the police. The police opened this bag and found “adult” magazines.
On direct appeal, Martinez argued that his Fourth Amendment rights had been violated by the above described warrantless searches. With respect to the evidence obtained from his grandmother’s house, the State conceded, and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals found, that there were no exigent circumstances allowing the police to search the backpack and bag without a warrant. However, the Court held that “there is no possibility that the erroneously admitted clothing” moved the jury from a state of nonpersuasion to one of persuasion. The Court thus held that the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. In his motion for COA, Martinez asserts that counsel erred in failing to call Martinez as a witness at the suppression hearing and thus he “was not afforded an opportunity to explain the privacy interests he enjoyed at either location where his property was found, or to assert his standing in his personal property.” We note that in his motion he does not provide what his testimony 20 No. 06-70021 would have been at the hearing. Nonetheless, even assuming arguendo that counsel rendered ineffective assistance by failing to call Martinez as a witness, we are convinced that he cannot make a substantial showing that he was prejudiced. Martinez contends that clothing found at his grandmother’s house served to “bolster” the testimony of Belinda Prado. Martinez does not explain what or how it bolsters her testimony. In any event, Belinda did testify that the vest belonged to her uncle. She also testified that Martinez was wearing the vest when he left her house that morning after the murders. The fact that the clothing recovered matched Belinda’s description of Martinez’s clothing the morning of the murders does offer some corroboration of her testimony. However, such corroboration is of no moment because that testimony is with respect to undisputed facts. Martinez has admitted that both he and Belinda were at the scene of the crime. Thus, any corroboration of Belinda’s identification of Martinez on the morning of the murders is not prejudicial. Martinez has failed to make a substantial showing on the prejudice prong of this particular claim of ineffective assistance of counsel.
As previously set forth, Carolina Prado’s sister, Rosemary Ramirez, discovered a gym bag in a storage shed at the Prado residence. After determining that the bag belonged to Martinez, Ramirez turned the bag over to the police. The bag contained pornographic magazines. The actual magazines were not admitted into evidence at either phase of the trial. However, during the punishment phase, Martinez admitted on cross-examination that the magazines belonged to him. On direct appeal, Martinez argued that his Fourth Amendment rights were violated by the denial of the motion to suppress the magazines. The Court of Criminal Appeals found that because Martinez had abandoned that property, 21 No. 06-70021 he had no standing to challenge the search and seizure of the magazines. The evidence shows that Martinez left Prado’s residence in the early morning hours on July 11, and was arrested while staying at his grandmother’s two days later. Martinez points to no evidence to indicate that he intended to retrieve his bag. Under these circumstances, Martinez has not shown that he did not abandon the bag. See United States v. Piaget, 915 F.2d 138, 140 (5th Cir. 1990) (“Once a bag has been abandoned, and the abandonment is not a product of improper police conduct, the defendant cannot challenge the subsequent search of the bag.”). Thus, it does not appear that counsel’s performance was deficient. Assuming arguendo that Martinez made a substantial showing on the first Strickland prong, he cannot make a substantial showing of prejudice. As stated, Martinez’s admission that the magazines were his occurred during the punishment phase. To demonstrate prejudice, Martinez points to: (1) the State psychologist’s reference to Martinez’s interest in pornography in the context of making a “future dangerousness” determination; and (2) the prosecutor’s statements during closing argument that Martinez was a sexual deviate who collects pornography. Although we acknowledge that the evidence of Martinez’s ownership of pornographic magazines could be viewed as aggravating by the jury, we are persuaded that such evidence does not rise to a substantial showing of prejudice in view of all the evidence, including: (1) Martinez’s prior guilty plea to attempted sexual assault; (2) the assault victim’s testimony regarding the specifics of the attempted sexual assault; (3) eleven year-old Belinda’s testimony that Martinez sexually molested her after the murders; (4) Martinez’s prior burglary convictions; and (5) Martinez’s unremorseful testimony during the punishment phase.