Opinion ID: 1773959
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: ineffective assistance at the penalty phase

Text: Shere alleges that defense counsel was deficient in failing to call Dr. Fisher to testify during the penalty phase as to the possibility of Shere suffering from manic disorder or the possibility of organic brain damage evidenced by headaches he complained of as a result of a childhood head injury. [12] At the hearing, Ms. Buckingham Toner, the attorney responsible for the penalty phase of the trial, testified that she had found out about Shere's childhood head injury and subsequent headaches when she interviewed his family members in preparation for the penalty phase and in turn told Dr. Fisher about it. [13] Dr. Fisher told Ms. Buckingham Toner about the possibility of manic disorder and informed her about the symptoms to look for as she further interviewed members of Shere's family. However, she testified that the family members discussed no symptoms evidencing the possibility of manic disorder. She further testified that manic syndrome was not the primary theory she was trying to develop in the penalty phase. Instead, she was trying to portray Shere as a follower and not a leader, as a good child, and as a person who had experienced great emotional problems as a result of his parents' divorce. She was also trying to show his drug and alcohol abuse. Moreover, she testified she thought her credibility before the jury would be tainted if she argued Shere's headaches to the jury as mitigators, headaches that had allegedly stopped after Shere had moved many years before to Hernando County. She further stated that it was not a mistake not to present Shere's head injury. On cross-examination, she stated that if the headaches had continued after he moved to Hernando County, she might have been more likely to present the headaches as a theory of mitigation because they could be more easily believed to have been the result of his head injury rather then the result of emotional problems. At the evidentiary hearing, Shere presented Dr. James Larson, who testified that, based on the evidence before him then, it would have been prudent to have ordered neuropsychological testing for Shere. In its order rejecting the claim of ineffectiveness for not investigating or developing further mental mitigation, the trial court stated: The defendant urges the court to find that trial counsel was given evidence of defendant's severe head injury as a youth and his subsequent headaches (defendant's proposed order on R. 3.850 hearing) and even though they had that evidence, failed to request a neuropsychological or neurological exam by a qualified expert and further investigate the case. That claim is not supported by the evidence. The defendant did not report any head injuries that resulted in unconsciousness to his attorneys or to Dr. Fisher that would have alerted them to make further investigation. Even in his interview with Dr. Larson, the defendant did not report any loss of consciousness. It is inconceivable that defendant would not know this fact. The need for further evaluation rests solely on the accuracy of new evidence from defendant's family that he fell from the top of a 30 foot backstop and was knocked unconscious. The court did not give that evidence any credibility because the defendant's description of the event is substantially different. Also, the timing of this report and the lack of any supporting medical records are additionally [sic] evidence that the report is not completely true. The defendant's general claims that he was denied effective assistance of counsel in the penalty phase of the trial are not supported by the evidence. The defendant's trial attorneys tried to develop statutory and non-statutory mitigating circumstances by diligently investigating the defendant's background. Based on what they were told by the defendant and his sister they developed a theme that the defendant was a kind, gentle, God-fearing man, who suffered emotionally as a result of his parents' divorce and who was a follower by nature. They presented that evidence to the jury. The fact that the jury, and this court, failed to find that evidence of sufficient weight to recommend a life sentence does not establish that the defendant's trial counsel were ineffective. The evidentiary hearing testimony of the defendant's mother, father, and sister was not materially different than the evidence of mitigation presented to the jury. Also, their testimony that the defendant was a chronic drug and alcohol abuser is, if true, less mitigating than the evidence presented to the jury and contrary to the defendant's own statements that neither drugs, nor alcohol played any part in the offense. More importantly, the new version of events offered by the family would not have caused the jury to change its recommendation or this Court to change its sentence. Order at 22-24. We find that the trial judge's factual findings are supported by competent substantial evidence. Further, we note that, unlike most cases where we have held trial counsel ineffective for failing to investigate and present mitigating evidence, Shere has provided no new expert who can testify directly on the issue of the alleged mental conditions suffered by him that would support mitigating circumstances. See, e.g., Rose, 675 So.2d at 571. In fact, even though the new expert, Dr. Larson, testified at the hearing that it was possible that statutory mitigating circumstances existed, the trial court found that he could not specifically address any mitigating circumstances or establish a basis for his opinion. Thus, we conclude that the trial court's legal conclusions are supported by our prior opinions. See, e.g., Rutherford v. State, 727 So.2d 216, 223-25 (Fla.1998); Haliburton v. Singletary, 691 So.2d 466, 471 (Fla.1997).