Opinion ID: 790090
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Pretrial Investigation of Witnesses

Text: 15 Davis also alleges that his trial counsel's performance was substandard when he failed to interview either the eyewitnesses or the officers involved in the pretrial identification procedures prior to trial. However, Davis's counsel reviewed all notes of interviews with the eyewitnesses, the officers' reports of the lineups, and the sketch artist's notes and sketches, and used the information in an attempt to suppress the witnesses' in-court identification prior to trial. Davis's counsel also used inconsistencies contained in the police interview notes during cross-examination in an attempt to impeach the witnesses, with some success. Both eyewitnesses testified on cross-examination that their pretrial identifications were less certain than their in-court identifications. Davis's counsel got one witness to concede that her description of the robber's clothes differed from the video tape of the robbery. In short, Davis's counsel elicited basically the same type of testimony that Davis says he would have been able to use had he interviewed the eyewitnesses prior to trial. Davis has failed to establish prejudice, that is, a reasonable probability that had his trial counsel interviewed the eyewitnesses prior to trial, the outcome of his trial would have been different. See Payne v. United States, 78 F.3d 343, 348 (8th Cir. 1996) (rejecting ineffective assistance claim where, even if counsel's performance was deficient for failing to interview or investigate witnesses, defendant failed to establish that interviewing witnesses would have changed the outcome). 16 Having carefully reviewed the entire record, we agree with the magistrate judge's careful and detailed analysis regarding the sufficiency of Davis's trial counsel's performance. Hindsight can often reveal a better tactical line of questioning, and time can often uncover a more effective expert witness, especially as the body of scientific knowledge grows. The Constitution does not guarantee the best representation, especially when measured through the lens of hindsight, but rather effective representation. We cannot say on this record that Davis's trial attorney provided him with constitutionally ineffective representation. 17