Opinion ID: 2454387
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Thomas Buel Testimony

Text: At guilt phase, the defense called Thomas Buel, a State forensic analyst, who testified that Frey's throat wounds did not correlate with several knives found in Storey's apartment. On cross-examination, Buel testified that it is impossible to state that a certain knife did not make cuts to cartilage, and one knife from Storey's kitchen could have caused the wounds. Storey asserts that trial counsel was ineffective by not interviewing Buel before trial (relying only on his written report), and thus failing to discover weaknesses in his testimony. This argument fails because it rests on the false assumption that Buel's testimony harmed Storey more than it helped. See Appellant's Brief at 51 (Buel's testimony became evidence for the State). In fact, Buel's testimony, taken as a whole, was a logical effort to establish reasonable doubt that Storey killed Frey. On this record, reasonable trial counsel might call Buel even after interviewing him and discovering what the State elicited on cross-examination. Moreover, any harm to Storey from the cross-examination of Buel could not have changed the result.