Opinion ID: 1129333
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Intentional Deception

Text: Smith next claims that in several instances the State intentionally deceived or misled the defendant and the trier of fact in violation of Giglio, 405 U.S. at 150, 92 S.Ct. 763. To establish a Giglio violation, it must be shown that: (1) the testimony given was false; (2) the prosecutor knew the testimony was false; and (3) the statement was material. Guzman v. State, 868 So.2d 498, 505 (Fla.2003). The third prong of the test is not identical to the materiality prong of the Strickler test for a Brady violation. Instead, on the issue of materiality or prejudice, the question is whether there is any reasonable likelihood that the false testimony could have affected the jury's verdict. In other words, the State has the burden to demonstrate that the false testimony was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Smith argues that the prosecutor's investigatory notes indicating that codefendant Johnson and eyewitness Jones once encountered each other in a holding cell demonstrates that Jones and Johnson gave false testimony and that the State knew this and failed to correct it. Smith alleges, however, that Jones gave the perjurious testimony in his deposition taken before the first trial and that both Jones and Johnson testified falsely at the first trial. At retrial, however, neither Jones nor Johnson was questioned about even the possibility that they colluded on their testimony. Smith has thus failed to show that any of the retrial testimony was false and that the State failed to correct it. Accordingly, Smith's Giglio claim is unsubstantiated and we affirm the trial court's denial of relief. In his second Giglio claim, Smith urges that the State allowed Jones to testify falsely at retrial regarding the deal Jones made with the State in exchange for his testimony and how much time he served as part of the deal. First, as the circuit court correctly found, the claim was insufficiently pled. Second, it is refuted by the record. There is no evidence that the State gave Jones a deal regarding his unrelated felony charges to obtain his trial testimony, and Smith has not shown any of Jones's testimony to be false. Smith thus failed to establish the elements of a Giglio claim. Finally, Smith alleges that the circuit court failed to give cumulative consideration to his Giglio claims. As explained above, Smith failed to demonstrate that any false or misleading testimony was given at retrial. We find no error in the court's cumulative error analysis.