Opinion ID: 1826905
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: guilt phase issues on appeal

Text: Green raises the following six guilt phase issues on appeal: (1) Green's convictions are constitutionally unreliable as established by newly discovered evidence; (2) Green was denied due process under Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963), when the State suppressed evidence; (3) trial counsel provided constitutionally ineffective assistance; (4) the trial court erred in denying relief with regard to dog tracking evidence; (5) the rules prohibiting Green's lawyers from interviewing jurors are unconstitutional; and (6) the trial court erred in summarily denying Green's claims regarding juror misconduct and counsel's failure to challenge cross-race identification. We address each in turn below. Because we affirm the trial court's order granting a new penalty phase based on the issue raised in the State's cross-appeal regarding Green's prior New York robbery case, we do not reach the other penalty phase issues provisionally asserted in Green's postconviction appeal.
Green first argues that his convictions are constitutionally unreliable as established by newly discovered evidence. To obtain a new trial based on newly discovered evidence, a defendant must meet two requirements: First, the evidence must not have been known by the trial court, the party, or counsel at the time of trial, and it must appear that the defendant or defense counsel could not have known of it by the use of diligence. Second, the newly discovered evidence must be of such nature that it would probably produce an acquittal on retrial. See Jones v. State, 709 So.2d 512, 521 (Fla.1998) ( Jones II ). Newly discovered evidence satisfies the second prong of this test if it weakens the case against [the defendant] so as to give rise to a reasonable doubt as to his culpability. Id. at 526 (quoting Jones v. State, 678 So.2d 309, 315 (Fla. 1996) ( Jones I )). In determining whether the evidence compels a new trial, the trial court must consider all newly discovered evidence which would be admissible, and must evaluate the weight of both the newly discovered evidence and the evidence which was introduced at the trial. Jones v. State, 591 So.2d 911, 916 (Fla.1991). This determination includes whether the evidence goes to the merits of the case or whether it constitutes impeachment evidence. The trial court should also determine whether the evidence is cumulative to other evidence in the case. The trial court should further consider the materiality and relevance of the evidence and any inconsistencies in the newly discovered evidence. Jones II, 709 So.2d at 521 (citations omitted). When the trial court rules on a newly discovered evidence claim after an evidentiary hearing, we review the trial court's findings on questions of fact, the credibility of witnesses, and the weight of the evidence for competent, substantial evidence. Melendez v. State, 718 So.2d 746, 747-48 (Fla.1998); Blanco v. State, 702 So.2d 1250, 1251 (Fla.1997). As with rulings on other postconviction claims, we review the trial court's application of the law to the facts de novo. Cf. Hendrix v. State, 908 So.2d 412, 423 (Fla.2005) (reviewing de novo the trial court's application of the law to the facts in ruling on a postconviction claim that the government withheld material evidence); Gore v. State, 846 So.2d 461, 468 (Fla.2003) (reviewing de novo the application of the law to the facts on a claim of ineffective assistance of trial counsel). Green argues that his convictions are constitutionally unreliable in light of the subsequent recantations of three of the State's guilt phase witnesses. Green also argues that the trial court erred by considering new evidence of guilt at the evidentiary hearing, including the testimony of Layman Lane and mitochondrial DNA (mDNA) testing on hair fragments found in the victim's truck. We address both of these arguments in turn.