Opinion ID: 1753481
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 12

Heading: Poor School Performance

Text: The motion court found that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to call four of Glass's teachers who would have testified about his impaired intellectual functioning: (1) Kay Obermann, Glass's third grade teacher, who would have testified that Glass had very poor grades and went to a special teacher for help with reading; (2) Clarence Butch Fore, Glass's sixth or seventh grade mathematics teacher, who would have testified that Glass struggled with basic mathematics skills and once, when asked why he did not do his homework, Glass tearfully told the teacher he could not divide. (3) Martha Myers, Glass's 10th or 11th grade mathematics teacher, who would have testified that Glass performed poorly at mathematics, that he was slow, and that though she was not qualified to say this, he could have had a processing deficit because he would pause after being asked a question and have to think before he responded. (4) Maggie Queen, Glass's 10th or 11th grade science teacher, who would have testified that Glass had a low grade in science, that he was not motivated, and that he needed extra help but there was no special education teacher available at the time to assist him. Counsel contacted Clarence Fore before trial, but did not call him as a witness. Counsel testified through deposition for the post-conviction relief (PCR) hearing that he was not sure why he did not call Fore. However, counsel's choice of witnesses is a matter of trial strategy and will not support an ineffective assistance of counsel claim. Harris, 870 S.W.2d at 816. As to the remaining teachers, the motion court again cited Hutchison for the proposition that the failure to call these teachers was ineffective assistance of counsel. In Hutchison , trial counsel did not obtain or review readily available records, such as school and medical records, which would have documented Hutchinson's troubled childhood, mental health problems, drug and alcohol addiction, history of sexual abuse, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, learning disabilities, bipolar disorder, and other problems. Hutchison, 150 S.W.3d at 304-05. Here, counsel diligently investigated Glass's school career. Counsel reviewed Glass's school records and tried to admit them into evidence during the penalty phase. These records would have shown Glass's poor grades. However, the prosecution objected to them as irrelevant and immaterial and the trial court refused to admit them. Counsel also investigated and contacted, or attempted to contact, six to eight of Glass's former teachers and school officials. Counsel is not ineffective for failing to contact every teacher and school official who encountered Glass throughout his 13 years in public school. Further, they would not have offered a viable defense because none of them had any information about serious mental impairments. Their testimony merely showed that he was a poor student who needed extra help. The motion court clearly erred in finding counsel ineffective for failing to call these teachers.