TOMMY LEE PEALS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Tommy Lee Peals appealed the denial of his Rule 3.850 postconviction motion challenging his aggravated battery conviction based on ineffective assistance of counsel. The court reversed the trial court's dismissal of Peals' claim that his counsel failed to investigate toxicology reports and obtain corroborating medical testimony about the victim's intoxication, finding that such testimony could have corroborated the victim's claim of intoxication despite her admitted prior lie to police.
The court reversed the trial court's summary denial regarding the ineffective assistance claim. The court held that because the victim admitted lying to police, medical testimony corroborating her intoxication was not merely cumulative and could have been material to Peals' self-defense claim, warranting reconsideration of the claim on the merits.
[1] A defendant's claim of ineffective assistance of counsel based on counsel's failure to investigate and discover medical toxicology reports may warrant reconsideration whe…
[2] Failure to present cumulative testimony generally does not constitute ineffective assistance of counsel.
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Given the unique circumstances of this case, we disagree.”
The court's rejection of the trial court's conclusion that medical testimony about intoxication would be merely cumulative
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligencePeals was convicted of aggravated battery. The victim initially told police that Peals attacked her without reason, but at trial testified she was int…
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[*1182] PER CURIAM.
Tommy Lee Peals appeals the summary denial of his motion for postconviction relief filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850. We reverse the portion of the trial court’s order that addresses Peals’ claim that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to investigate and discover information from medical personnel concerning the results of the victim’s toxicology reports. We affirm the balance of the order without discussion.
Peals was convicted of aggravated battery. He alleges that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to investigate, discover information, and depose medical personnel regarding the results of the victim’s toxicology reports. The trial court denied relief on the ground that the victim testified at trial she was intoxicated when the battery was committed. The trial court concluded that testimony as to the victim’s intoxication by medical personnel would have been cumulative and that the failure to present cumulative testimony did not constitute ineffective assistance of counsel. Given the unique circumstances of this case, we disagree.
The victim initially told police that Peals attacked her for no reason. At trial, the victim testified that she was intoxicated and was the aggressor. Further, the victim testified that she lied to the police because she was angry with Peals. The portions of the record attached to the trial court’s order show that the victim was the only witness to testify at trial about her intoxication. Because the victim admitted at trial that she lied, the jury may have been disinclined to believe her testimony. Peals, who asserted self-defense, may have been prejudiced by counsel’s failure to corroborate her testimony concerning her intoxication with the testimony of medical personnel. Cf. Kegler v. State, 712 So. 2d 1167 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998) (holding in rule 3.850 proceeding that trial counsel s failure to impeach witness with statements he made on night of murder was not reasonable under the circumstances). Accordingly, the trial court is directed to reconsider this claim and either attach portions of the record that conclusively refute it or conduct an evidentiary hearing on it.
Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded.
BLUE, A.C.J., and WHATLEY and STRINGER, JJ„ Concur.
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Balmori v. State, 985 So. 2d 646 (Fla. 2d DCA 2008)…v. State, 968 So. 2d 706, 711 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007) (observing that the testimony of an independent and unbiased witness that would have corroborated the testimony of the defense’s paid expert “would have been crucial to the defense”); Peals v. State, 744 So. 2d 1181, 1182 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999) (finding that the defendant may have been prejudiced by counsel’s failure to corroborate the exculpatory testimony of a witness2 whom “the jury may have been disinclined to believe” because she admitted at trial that she had…
Authorities Cited
- Kegler v. State, 712 So. 2d 1167 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998)