Opinion ID: 1841380
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Donald Ramsey Letter

Text: Grim's second Brady claim concerns the State's failure to disclose a letter written by Donald Ramsey, a friend of Grim, describing Grim's history of drug and alcohol abuse. The letter also stated that Grim physically abused his wife and was prone to violent mood swings. The State does not dispute that this letter was never revealed to the defense. However, because the failure to disclose Ramsey's letter does not undermine our confidence in the verdict, we affirm the trial court's denial of this claim. As the trial court noted, information concerning Grim's drug and alcohol abuse was readily available to the defense. His counsel testified below that he had access to extensive medical records indicating that Grim had been treated for drug and alcohol abuse. Compared to these records, Ramsey's letter, drafted by a layman with no medical or psychiatric training, is of marginal value. Furthermore, trial counsel testified that at trial Grim emphatically refused to present a voluntary intoxication or insanity defense; nor did Grim want to present such evidence as mitigation during the penalty phase. Therefore, even if Ramsey's letter had been made available to the defense, it would have been useless at trial due to Grim's specific desire not to present evidence of intoxication or insanity. For these reasons, the trial court properly denied Grim's claim.