Opinion ID: 1768472
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Brian Fifer

Text: The husband of defendant's sister testified that she received a letter from defendant. [4] According to brother-in-law, the postscript said: if she doesn't write I'll sell this address. Brother-in-law and sister understood sell this address meant he was going to put a hit on us. Defendant claims his counsel should have contacted Brian Fiferan Iowa cellmate, who would testify that sell this address is prison slang for stop writing you. According to defendant, counsel could find Fifer through defendant's Iowa prison records, and should have known about the issue from the Pinegar trial. As with defendant's mother, the motion court overstated by concluding he did not present any evidence. Defendant introduced Fifer's deposition. Even so, a remand is useless if the movant is clearly not entitled to relief as a matter of law. See Hall, 982 S.W.2d at 689. Defendant introduced no evidence that he told, or that his counsel should have known, that sell this address was not a threat. Without knowing (or being told by defendant) that the phrase had unique meaning among prisoners, counsel had no reason to question other prisoners. Counsel was not ineffective for not finding this witness.