Opinion ID: 1786306
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 11

Heading: habeas photograph issue

Text: In Bowles' final claim, he alleges that the introduction of seven photographs was error and that his appellate counsel was ineffective for not raising this issue on appeal. As above, the standard for an ineffective assistance of appellate counsel claim is, consistent with Strickland, deficiency and prejudice. This Court has held that photographs are admissible if they are probative to an issue in dispute and they are not so shocking as to defeat their value. Looney v. State, 803 So.2d 656, 668-70 (Fla. 2001). Admission of photographs is a matter for the discretion of the trial court, and this Court has held it will not disturb such rulings absent a clear abuse of discretion. Rodriguez v. State, 919 So.2d 1252, 1286 (Fla.2005). The test for admissibility of . . . photographs is relevancy rather than necessity. Id. The photographs at issue here were relevant to issues in dispute at trial. They were relevant to how this murder was committed, to support the State's argument that the murder was a deliberate act, and to support the applicability of the HAC aggravator. We have previously held that similar bases were valid grounds for admitting photographs. See England v. State, 940 So.2d 389, 399-400 (Fla.2006) (eleven photos of bloated, decomposed victim with flesh sloughing off and insect larvae in wounds were relevant to HAC, defensive wounds, extent of wounds, manner of death, and position of body); Arbelaez v. State, 898 So.2d 25, 44 (Fla.2005) (ten photos of victim by dock were relevant to location of body, explanation of autopsy findings, and that victim did not die by accidental drowning as defendant alleged). While the instant photographs are disconcerting, they were relevant. We cannot conclude that it was a clear abuse of discretion to admit them, and thus appellate counsel was not ineffective in declining to raise this meritless issue. Accordingly, we deny this claim.