Opinion ID: 2494563
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 11

Heading: Failure to request Richardson hearing when Zeigler's name was revealed at trial

Text: Taylor asserts that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to request a Richardson hearing when Zeigler's name was revealed for the first time at trial. First, Taylor fails to establish any deficient performance stemming from trial counsel's failure to request a Richardson hearing. As articulated by this Court in Sinclair v. State, 657 So.2d 1138, 1140 (Fla.1995): [W]hen the State violates a discovery rule, the trial court has discretion to determine whether the violation resulted in harm or prejudice to the defendant, but this discretion can be properly exercised only after adequate inquiry into all the surrounding circumstances. State v. Hall, 509 So.2d 1093 (Fla.1987). In making such an inquiry, the trial judge must first determine whether a discovery violation occurred. If a violation is found, the court must assess whether the State's discovery violation was inadvertent or willful, whether the violation was trivial or substantial, and most importantly, what affect it had on the defendant's ability to prepare for trial. (Emphasis supplied.) Here, the State had provided defense trial counsel with the calculated fragment report upon which Zeigler's initials appeared. Trial counsel was therefore aware of Zeigler's existence, and although trial counsel may not have known Zeigler's full name, the State certainly did not inadvertently or willfully conceal her identity. Trial counsel, therefore, cannot be said to have been deficient in failing to request a Richardson hearing when such a hearing was not appropriate under the circumstances. Even if trial counsel's failure did amount to deficient performance, Taylor has failed to establish any prejudice. The record reveals that although Zeigler testified during postconviction proceedings that there were differences between her report and that of Dr. Pollock, she did not disagree with Dr. Pollock's ultimate findings. Accordingly, any potential error in failing to request a Richardson hearing was harmless. Taylor therefore fails to meet his burden under the prejudice prong of Strickland. Taylor has failed to establish either of the two prongs required by Strickland, so relief is not warranted for this claim.