Opinion ID: 1353976
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Failure to challenge gunshot residue test

Text: In the order, the circuit court found that besides the police officer's testimony that the gunshot-residue swabs were taken shortly after the shooting, no other evidence was adduced at trial concerning the gunshot-residue test. The court made no finding that Mr. Franklin was prejudiced by Mr. Haynes's failure to object to the evidence or even that the objection would have been sustained. Mr. Haynes testified that he could not conceive of an argument that would have supported his objection to the gunshot-residue test. Furthermore, Mr. Haynes testified that the test had nothing to do with the defendant's guilt or innocence because the test did not establish when Mr. Franklin had handled a gun. Also, Mr. Haynes explained that it was undisputed that Mr. Franklin did not shoot the victim. The gunshot-residue test results were not damaging because there was other evidence presented at trial that Mr. Franklin had shot a gun thirty minutes prior to the time the victim was shot. Thus the gunshot residue might have resulted from his firing that unrelated shot. Mr. Haynes's trial strategy, in light of overwhelming evidence that Mr. Franklin had handled a gun, was to admit that Mr. Franklin had handled and fired a gun that night, but not the gun that was used in the murder, and it would have been pointless to object to the gunshot-residue test. We hold that there was no showing of prejudice resulting from Mr. Haynes's failure to object to the gunshot-residue test.