Opinion ID: 78361
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Steve Slack

Text: Lamarca alleges trial counsel was ineffective for failing to call Steve Slack as a witness to refute Tonya Flynn's version of what occurred when she returned to the bar after the alleged rape. Lamarca notes Slack told trial counsel, under oath, that Flynn did not discuss her husband's whereabouts with him or seem concerned following the alleged sexual battery. Lamarca maintains this statement contradicts Flynn's trial testimony. Lamarca originally raised this ground for relief in claim 9 of his 3.851 motion. At the state evidentiary hearing, Lamarca's lead guilt phase counsel, Ron Eide, testified he decided not to call Slack because Slack had been drinking on the night of the murder and had provided inconsistent statements to investigators. Eide also believed Slack could have been a damaging witness for the defense; Slack testified in his deposition that Lamarca was upset when he left the bar, that Tonya Flynn was upset when she returned to the bar, and that Tonya said Lamarca had raped Tina, his other daughter. [7] After hearing both Eide's and Slack's testimony, the state trial court found Eide's explanation for not calling Slack was well within the range of prevailing professional standards, and concluded Lamarca had failed to show, as required by Strickland, that his counsel's performance was deficient. On appeal, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed, finding the decision not to call Slack was a reasonable strategy. Lamarca II, 931 So.2d at 849. The court articulated the test for ineffective assistance of counsel under Strickland, id. at 846-47, and then considered Eide's testimony at the state evidentiary hearing, id. at 849. Concluding the facts underlying trial counsel's assessment of Slack's credibility were substantiated, the court determined the claim was properly denied. Id. Lamarca again raised this claim in his § 2254 petition, arguing Slack could have refuted Tonya Flynn's testimony and his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to present this crucial contradicting impeachment information to the jury. The district court rejected this claim, concluding Lamarca had failed to cite any clearly established federal law which establishes that the state court's resolution of this claim was improper or incorrect. As with his ineffective assistance claim regarding the impeachment of Tonya Flynn, Lamarca does not cite any case law, including Strickland, in his discussion of this claim in his § 2254 petition. Furthermore, Lamarca does not provide, in either his § 2254 petition or his application for a COA, clear and convincing evidence to refute the state courts' determinations that Eide made a tactical decision not to call Slack and the facts underlying Eide's assessment of Slack's credibility were substantiated. See 28 U.S.C. § 2254(e)(1); Provenzano, 148 F.3d at 1330. Accordingly, reasonable jurists would not debate the district court's conclusions that the state courts' decisions were not contrary to or an unreasonable application of Strickland, or based on an unreasonable determination of the facts. See Slack, 529 U.S. at 484, 120 S.Ct. at 1604; 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1)-(2). We decline to issue a COA with respect to this claim.