Opinion ID: 171322
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Medical Experts

Text: Boyle first complains of trial counsel's failure to interview and call to the stand any expert witnesses. Even assuming some deficiency on the part of counsel, we agree with the district court that Boyle has not shown the requisite prejudice. Given the weight of the evidence against him, and the highly speculative nature of the allegations made by Boyle to support ineffectiveness, there was no reasonable probability that, had counsel not committed the errors [Boyle] now claims were committed, the outcome of the case would have been different. See Boyd, 179 F.3d at 915. The main issue at trial was whether C.G. and L.B. had consented to Boyle's sexual contact. Both L.B. and C.G. testified they had not consented, and the nurses who examined the women bolstered their testimony that the sexual contact was non-consensual. At trial, Boyle's defense was that L.B. and C.G. had consented to the contact. In his habeas petition, he fails to show how calling expert medical witnesses would have bolstered that defense. Boyle has failed to show, for example, that medical experts could have reached a conclusion regarding consent contrary to the conclusions reached by the nurses. He supplied no evidence or convincing argument that medical testimony could support his claim. And the speculative witness is often a two-edged sword. For as easily as one can speculate about favorable testimony, one can also speculate about unfavorable testimony. See, e.g., United States v. Snyder, 787 F.2d 1429, 1432 (10th Cir.1986) (rebutting defendant's assertion additional testimony would have been helpful by concluding it is at least as reasonable, and maybe more so, to speculate that the testimony of those witnesses would have damaged defendant's case). Although the medical experts may have provided helpful testimony on direct examination, the admissions and qualifications elicited by prosecutors on cross examination may have been damaging. See, e.g., Parker v. Scott, 394 F.3d 1302, 1322 (10th Cir.2005) (noting that a certain witness not called to the stand may have been able to corroborate evidence detrimental to defendant). This is why the decision of which witnesses to call is quintessentially a matter of strategy for the trial attorney. United States v. Miller, 643 F.2d 713, 714 (10th Cir.1981) (Whether to call a particular witness is a tactical decision and, thus, a `matter of discretion' for trial counsel.); Boyd, 179 F.3d at 915 (describing decisions regarding impeaching witnesses and introducing evidence as matters of trial strategy and tactics). Boyle has also failed to show why counsel needed to obtain any additional information from expert medical witnesses. Counsel's cross-examination of the prosecution's expert nurse witnesses evidenced a sufficient understanding of the nature of the evidence against Boyle and its potential weaknesses. See, e.g., R., Kan. D. Ct., No. 97-1539, Vol. 4 at 139-46 (Cross-examination of Nurse Rosenberg); Vol. 5 at 119-26 (Cross-examination of Nurse Flowers); id. at 144-55 (Cross-examination of Nurse Schunn). Defense counsel even elicited from the government's expert nurse witnesses that it was possible the injuries on L.B. and C.G. could have stemmed from consensual vaginal sex, lack of lubrication, and even the re-aggravation of a previous injury. See id., Vol. 4 at 145-46; id., Vol. 5 at 123-24, 128. Counsel's cross-examination of the prosecution's other witnesses also shows the lack of prejudice stemming from counsel's chosen strategy. At one point, for example, defense counsel engaged in a discussion with the Wichita police chemist about two specialized laboratory procedures the chemist used on certain evidence. See id., Vol. 5 at 99-102. The first test was called an acid phosphatase spot test, or AP Spot Test for short. And the second test involved the use of a Lumalight to spot certain substances by making them fluoresce. Trial counsel had sufficient knowledge and familiarity with these tests to convey to the jury, in the light most favorable to Boyle's defense, how the tests worked and what the chemist discovered. See id. Given the nature of the evidence arrayed against him and his chosen defense, there is no reason to think consulting medical experts or putting them on the witness stand would have changed the outcome of Boyle's trial. Therefore, even assuming counsel was deficient in the manner alleged by Boyle, such deficiency did not prejudice his defense.