Chandler v. State

740 S.E.2d 256, 320 Ga. App. 516, 2013 Fulton County D. Rep. 974, 2013 WL 1115020, 2013 Ga. App. LEXIS 224
CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
DecidedMarch 19, 2013
DocketA12A2566
StatusPublished

This text of 740 S.E.2d 256 (Chandler v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Chandler v. State, 740 S.E.2d 256, 320 Ga. App. 516, 2013 Fulton County D. Rep. 974, 2013 WL 1115020, 2013 Ga. App. LEXIS 224 (Ga. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

MILLER, Presiding Judge.

Following a jury trial, Darius Chandler was convicted of burglary (OCGA § 16-7-1 (b)) and giving a false name to officers (OCGA § 16-10-25). Chandler filed a motion for new trial, which the trial court denied. On appeal, Chandler contends that his counsel was ineffective in failing to request a jury charge on fingerprint evidence, inspect and copy the fingerprint material, and object to the improper testimony that went to the ultimate issue of guilt. Finding no error, we affirm.

On appeal from a criminal conviction, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict, and the defendant no longer enjoys a presumption of innocence. We do not weigh the evidence or resolve issues of witness credibility, but merely determine whether the evidence was sufficient to find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

(Citations and punctuation omitted.) Fogerty v. State, 304 Ga. App. 546 (1) (696 SE2d 496) (2010).

So viewed, the evidence shows that in June 2011, the victim’s neighbor observed two African-American males sitting on the steps of the victim’s house in Clayton County. The victim was not home at the time. The neighbor then witnessed the two males go to the back of the victim’s house. Approximately fifteen minutes later, the neighbor saw the two males exit the victim’s house carrying two red duffle bags, a large flat-screen television, and a shotgun. The male carrying the television proceeded through the back yard before the witness lost sight of him. The male carrying the duffle bags entered a nearby residence, and the neighbor later saw him emerge empty handed. The neighbor then called the police, and the responding officers arrived within ten minutes.

Upon arriving at the scene, the responding officers obtained from the neighbor a description of the activity and the males. After the officers were unable to locate the two males, the officers searched and processed the area. The officers gained entrance to the residence [517]*517where the neighbor watched one male take the duffle bags. At this residence, the officers found one red duffle bag containing numerous electronics that the victim later identified as having been taken from his home. The victim’s large flat-screen television was found in the back yard of a house on the same side of the street as the victim’s house. The victim’s rifle was located inside a nearby dumpster.

The officers lifted two latent fingerprints from the television frame. A crime scene investigator testified that the fingerprints were extremely good, and that based on her comparison, she concluded that the prints matched Chandler’s.

Based on this information, a police detective contacted Chandler. Chandler denied being in Clayton County during the time of the offense and claimed that it was impossible for his prints to be on the television. When the detective asked to meet Chandler, Chandler refused, stating that he was not planning on returning to Clayton County in the near future. The detective then applied for and obtained a warrant for Chandler’s arrest.

One week after the detective spoke with Chandler, police officers observed Chandler in Clayton County when he was walking in the middle of a roadway and obstructing traffic. The officers made contact with Chandler and asked Chandler for identification. Chandler stated that he had no identification on his person, but stated that his name was “William” Chandler. The officer did not find any active warrants for William Chandler, and as a result, the officer advised Chandler that he was free to leave. Later that day, the officer reviewed a photograph of the suspect wanted for burglary and determined that the individual he encountered earlier in the day was Darius, not William, Chandler. The officer returned to the area where Chandler was last seen and arrested Chandler for providing a false name to police officers and for burglary.

After being advised of his Miranda rights, Chandler agreed to be interviewed by police officers. During his interview, Chandler admitted that his fingerprints were on the television, but claimed that he had been contacted by two males who were committing a burglary. According to Chandler, he drove to the area where the burglary occurred to examine the stolen television that the males offered to sell him. Chandler claimed that he declined to purchase the television because it would not fit in his vehicle. Although the two males allegedly called Chandler, he was unable to provide the police with contact information for these men. Chandler was also unable to explain how he could drive to the area of the burglary, inspect the television, and depart the area within the ten minutes it took for police officers to [518]*518respond to the scene. Following a jury trial, Chandler was convicted of burglary and giving a false name.1 This appeal ensued.

Chandler contends that his trial counsel was ineffective in several respects.

To prevail on a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, a defendant must show that counsel’s performance was deficient and that the deficient performance so prejudiced the defendant that there is a reasonable likelihood that, but for counsel’s errors, the outcome of the trial would have been different. [See] Strickland v. Washington, 466 U. S. 668, 687 [104 SC 2052, 80 LE2d 674] (1984). If an appellant fails to meet his or her burden of proving either prong of the Strickland test, the reviewing court does not have to examine the other prong. In reviewing the trial court’s decision, we accept the trial court’s factual findings and credibility determinations unless clearly erroneous, but we independently apply the legal principles to the facts. Furthermore, there is a strong presumption that the performance of counsel was within the wide range of reasonable professional lawyering, and we cannot reach a contrary conclusion unless defendant successfully rebuts the presumption by clear and convincing evidence. Judicial scrutiny of counsel’s performance must be highly deferential.

(Citations and punctuation omitted.) Bridges v. State, 286 Ga. 535, 537 (1) (690 SE2d 136) (2010). Applying these standards, we turn to address Chandler’s claims.

(a) Chandler contends that his trial counsel was ineffective by failing to request the pattern jury charge on fingerprint evidence, which reads as follows:

Certain evidence of fingerprint comparison has been admitted by the court for your possible consideration.
Identification by fingerprint comparison is opinion evidence and is dependent upon the credibility (or believability) and accuracy of the expert witness(es) called for that purpose as well as the following factors:
a) the validity of the theory of identification by fingerprint comparison,
[519]*519b) the credibility of the witness who performs other necessary functions in making the comparison such as inked finger impressions and latent lifts, and

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Related

Strickland v. Washington
466 U.S. 668 (Supreme Court, 1984)
Fogerty v. State
696 S.E.2d 496 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2010)
Lott v. State
636 S.E.2d 102 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2006)
Walley v. State
680 S.E.2d 550 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2009)
Raymond v. State
680 S.E.2d 598 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2009)
Springs v. Seese
558 S.E.2d 710 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 2002)
Lewis v. State
691 S.E.2d 336 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2010)
Medlock v. State
430 S.E.2d 754 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 1993)
Newton v. State
695 S.E.2d 79 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2010)
Bridges v. State
690 S.E.2d 136 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 2010)
Thornton v. State
700 S.E.2d 669 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2010)
Escoe v. State
702 S.E.2d 652 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2010)

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Bluebook (online)
740 S.E.2d 256, 320 Ga. App. 516, 2013 Fulton County D. Rep. 974, 2013 WL 1115020, 2013 Ga. App. LEXIS 224, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/chandler-v-state-gactapp-2013.