Opinion ID: 2062476
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Failure to Prepare for the Hearing

Text: Gilliam's complaints can be summed up by the statement in his brief that Daneman failed to develop any evidence relating to Petitioner's drug use or head injury or sleep deprivation as they impacted upon the voluntariness of his statement. Gilliam contends that Daneman failed to obtain information from Trooper Wilson, who was on the scene of Gilliam's automobile accident immediately prior to his arrest and whose accident report characterized Gilliam's head injury as incapacitating, rather than one of the other two types of injury listed on the form, i.e., non-incapacitating or fatal. In light of the assessment of Gilliam's condition at the hospital, we fail to see how Trooper Wilson's assessment of Gilliam's condition would have any probative value. Additionally, Gilliam contends Daneman failed to obtain information from Gilliam's mother and two other witnesses, who could corroborate his physical condition and drug use prior to his arrest. Gilliam ignores or minimizes, however, the following facts. Daneman did consult with Dr. Ramamurthy, a specialist in internal medicine, who upon reviewing the hospital reports detailing Gilliam's medical treatment after his arrest, concluded that it would be difficult to present expert testimony on mental impairment at the time of the confession. The hospital report indicated Gilliam never lost consciousness after the accident and that he was alert and understood what was happening. Gilliam had advised Daneman before the suppression hearing that he knew what [he] was saying, that he was not intoxicated when he confessed, and that he confessed after he was told Kelvin Drummond confessed because he had the presence of mind to try and establish a defense of accidental shooting. Further, Gilliam did not give his statement to the police until over twelve hours after his arrest and after he had been left alone in a cell for approximately ten hours prior to his interrogation, thus militating against any claim of intoxication or sleep deprivation. In response to Gilliam's prior contentions about his confession, we have previously stated: But even if Gilliam had argued that his waiver was involuntarily given due to prior drug use, we would point out here, as we have in a pre- Miranda decision, that as long as a statement is freely and voluntarily given at a time when the accused understands what he is saying, the fact that the accused may be under the influence of narcotics does not necessarily make the statement inadmissible. Bryant v. State, 229 Md. 531, 536, 185 A.2d 190, 192-93 (1962). The same would be true for any effects caused by the laceration on his forehead. See Hadder v. State, 238 Md. 341, 357, 209 A.2d 70, 79 (1965) (physical injury does not affect admissibility as long as the disclosure is freely and voluntarily made at a time when the accused knows and understands what he is saying). Gilliam, 320 Md. at 650, 579 A.2d at 750. Faced with the evidence of the voluntariness of Gilliam's tape recorded confession as well as with Gilliam's tacit acknowledgment of its voluntariness, Daneman did as much as could reasonably be expected. Gilliam has failed to prove Daneman rendered ineffective assistance in his preparation for or representation during the suppression hearing.