Opinion ID: 1800913
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Alleged Improper Comments on Jones' Credibility

Text: In his final habeas claim, Jones asserts that appellate counsel was ineffective for failing to argue on direct appeal that Detective Parker improperly commented on Jones' credibility. During his testimony, Parker was asked to relate the substance of his interviews with Jones. Parker noted several times that there were discrepancies in Jones' statements. Parker also recounted his specific responses to Jones during these interviews, in which he expressed doubt about Jones' honesty. We conclude that Parker's testimony relating to the substance of his interviews with Jones was not a prohibited comment on Jones' credibility. This Court has explained that allowing one witness to offer a personal view on the credibility of a fellow witness is an invasion of the province of the jury to determine a witness's credibility. Knowles v. State, 632 So.2d 62, 65-66 (Fla.1993) (emphasis supplied). Relying in part on this principle, the Court in Knowles held that for a number of reasons, it was improper for the State to ask the defendant whether he thought the State's witnesses were lying. See id. at 65. In Page v. State, 733 So.2d 1079, 1081 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999), which is cited by Jones in his petition, the court ruled that it was harmful error to fail to strike a police officer's testimony as to his opinion on the credibility of a confidential informant who also testified at trial. In this case, Detective Parker was testifying as to the circumstances that led to Jones' confession to murder. Although Parker's testimony indicated that he doubted the veracity of Jones' statements at the time of the interviews, Parker did not comment on the credibility of any witness that testified at trial. Thus, even if Jones had raised this issue on appeal, he would not have prevailed. We deny habeas relief on this claim.