Opinion ID: 1866971
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Trial counsel was ineffective during the guilt phase.

Text: Provenzano asserts that his counsel was ineffective in numerous particulars during the guilt phase of the trial. A. Provenzano says that his lawyer should have moved for a change of venue. The venue issue came up early in the case when trial counsel stated on the record that he had been advised that any change of venue would involve a trial in St. Augustine and that he preferred the trial to be held in Orlando. He felt that a juror's knowledge of the case would not necessarily be an impediment, since an insanity defense would be presented and he believed an Orlando jury would be more receptive to such a defense than a more conservative one in St. Augustine. Trial counsel stated that this had been explained in detail to Provenzano and that the latter understood that the defense would not be seeking a change of venue. However, when Provenzano later said that he did not think he would be tried by Orange County jurors, even though the trial were held in Orlando, defense counsel made an oral motion for change of venue, subject to the court's determination of whether or not a fair and impartial jury could be selected. Thereafter, a jury was selected and the motion was not formally renewed. In his original appeal, Provenzano contended that venue should have been changed because of the extensive pretrial publicity surrounding the case. In rejecting the claim, this Court observed: The trial court did not have great difficulty in impaneling a fair and impartial jury. When Provenzano first made his oral motion for change of venue, defense counsel, the prosecutor and the trial judge all agreed that it would be best to attempt to impanel an impartial jury before ruling on the motion. We approved the procedure in Manning v. State, 378 So.2d 274 (Fla. 1979). The fact that defense counsel never renewed his motion for change of venue and the judge never ruled on the motion creates a strong presumption that a fair and impartial jury was ultimately impaneled. Of the eighty-seven veniremen called, twenty-seven potential jurors expressed fixed opinions as to Provenzano's guilt due to information received pretrial. This is a far cry from Irvin v. Dowd, 366 U.S. 717, 81 S.Ct. 1639, 6 L.Ed.2d 751 (1961), in which the United States Supreme Court noted that the trial court had great difficulty in selecting a jury where 268 of 430 veniremen were excused because they were inclined to believe the accused guilty. Rather, this case is more analogous to Murphy v. Florida, 421 U.S. 794, 95 S.Ct. 2031, 44 L.Ed.2d 589 (1975), in which the United States Supreme Court failed to find that the trial court had great difficulty in selecting a jury where only twenty of the seventy-eight persons questioned were excused because they indicated an opinion as to the petitioner's guilt. Further, the trial court did everything within its power to ensure that Provenzano received a fair trial. Any potential juror with even a hint of prejudice was immediately removed for cause, and a comprehensive gag order covered even peripheral participants. Provenzano, 497 So.2d at 1182-83. It is evident that counsel's decision not to renew the motion for change of venue was a tactical decision. Moreover, it is most unlikely that a change of venue would have been granted because there were no undue difficulties in selecting an impartial jury. Also, as noted in our prior opinion, Provenzano personally acquiesced to the selection of the jury panel after consulting with his attorney, and the defense did not use all of its peremptory challenges. Counsel was not ineffective for not renewing the motion for change of venue, and Provenzano was not prejudiced as a result. B. The contention that trial counsel should have objected to the testimony of a court official is patently meritless. Judge Conser's testimony was most relevant because he described how the shooting took place. C. Provenzano points out that his counsel did not object to the standard jury instruction on insanity, which was later determined to be erroneous in Yohn v. State, 476 So.2d 123 (Fla. 1985). In Yohn, this Court held that the instruction did not properly reflect Florida law concerning the burden of proof on insanity. The instruction that was given in Provenzano's trial was the standard jury instruction on the subject and had been given for many years. As we explained in Smith v. State, 521 So.2d 106 (Fla. 1988), there was no constitutional infirmity in the old standard jury instruction, and, even though it erroneously set forth Florida law, it was not so flawed as to deprive a defendant claiming insanity of a fair trial. Furthermore, defense counsel twice told the jury during closing argument, without objection from the state, that the defense did not have to prove that Provenzano was insane and that the defense only had to show that there was a reasonable doubt as to his sanity. The fact that a lawyer in another case raised an objection to this instruction and ultimately succeeded in having it set aside does not mean that Provenzano's counsel was ineffective for not also attacking the instruction. D. Provenzano also claims that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to object to what he characterizes as victim impact information introduced in violation of Booth v. Maryland, 482 U.S. 496, 107 S.Ct. 2529, 96 L.Ed.2d 440 (1987). He refers to a comment by the prosecutor during his opening statement and testimony by one of the witnesses concerning injuries suffered by the victims who were not killed. Some evidence concerning the victims' injuries was appropriate to prove the state's charges of attempted murder. Although counsel may have been able to limit the extent of the reference to the victim's injuries through objections based upon relevancy, we cannot say that counsel was ineffective for failure to make such objections. We can say with confidence that even if such references had been limited, the result would have been unchanged. E. Provenzano further claims that his counsel should have objected to comments by the prosecutor and the court which diminished the jury's sense of responsibility for its role in capital sentencing in violation of Caldwell v. Mississippi, 472 U.S. 320, 105 S.Ct. 2633, 86 L.Ed.2d 231 (1985). The comments which are said to be offending refer to the jury's advisory role concerning the death penalty and to the fact that the final sentencing decision rests with the trial judge. Counsel cannot be faulted for failing to object because the comments in issue were consistent with Florida law on capital sentencing. See Combs v. State, 525 So.2d 853 (Fla. 1988). F. Most of the balance of what Provenzano claims as derelictions were obvious tactical decisions on the part of counsel, such as the manner in which cross-examination was conducted. With respect to such conduct of his attorney as cannot be termed tactical on its face, Provenzano fails to show even remotely how a different handling of the matters would have most probably changed the result.