Opinion ID: 1697230
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: whether trial counsel was ineffective for allowing the petitioner to be tried jointly with co-defendant jerome pete smith at both the guilt and penalty phases.

Text: ¶ 61. Clyde Smith and his brother Jerome were jointly indicted for the capital murder of Johnny B. Smith, and attorneys for both defendants initially sought a severance. The trial judge initially granted the motion for a severance, but the Smith brothers decided they wanted to be tried together and declined separate trials. The trial judge held a pretrial hearing on the severance issue, and both defendants stated on the record that they understood the risks of being tried together and both stated that they desired a joint trial. The Smiths were tried together, and both were convicted of capital murder. ¶ 62. Clyde Smith now claims that his attorneys were ineffective in allowing the trial to go forward without a severance. In his direct appeal, Smith alleged that the trial court erred in not granting a severance sua sponte. This Court discussed the severance issue at length and determined that neither Miss.Code Ann. § 99-15-47 (which provides for separate trials in capital cases if the defendants request a severance) nor the Uniform Rules of Circuit and County Court Practice require separate trials for jointly-tried defendants. Smith, 729 So.2d at 1203-04. In the direct appeal, the Court found that [b]ecause Clyde requested a joint trial, he essentially voluntarily made a knowing and informed waiver of his right to a separate trial, and he cannot now complain that his request was granted. Id. at 1204. ¶ 63. Because this issue was substantially addressed on direct appeal, it is barred in the post-conviction proceedings. Miss.Code Ann. § 99-39-21(2). Res judicata prevents the relitigation of this claim. Notwithstanding the procedural bar, this issue is without merit. The attorneys filed motions for severance, and the trial court granted them. The Smith brothers themselves insisted on being tried together. That decision was made in part by Smith over his attorneys' objections. The attorneys counseled Smith against being tried with his brother. They made their objections known on the record. Despite their counsel, Smith chose to go to trial with his brother even after being informed that his case might be prejudiced by evidence against Jerome. Moreover, Smith has pointed to no specific prejudice, rather simply makes the bald, unsupported assertion that [t]he petitioner here was clearly prejudiced at both the guilt and the sentencing phases. Under the circumstances, the attorneys' performance on the severance issue was not deficient.