Dailey v. State

965 So. 2d 38, 2007 WL 1556674
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedMay 31, 2007
DocketSC05-1512, SC06-576
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 965 So. 2d 38 (Dailey v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dailey v. State, 965 So. 2d 38, 2007 WL 1556674 (Fla. 2007).

Opinion

965 So.2d 38 (2007)

James M. DAILEY, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Florida, Appellee.
James Milton Dailey, Petitioner,
v.
James R. McDonough, etc., Respondent.

Nos. SC05-1512, SC06-576.

Supreme Court of Florida.

May 31, 2007.
Rehearing Denied September 10, 2007.

*41 Bill Jennings, Capital Collateral Regional Counsel—Middle Region, and David R. Gemmer and Robert T. Strain, Assistant CCRC, Tampa, FL, for Appellant/Petitioner.

Bill McCollum, Attorney General, Tallahassee, FL, and Katherine V. Blanco, Assistant Attorney General, Tampa, FL, for Appellee/Respondent.

PER CURIAM.

James Milton Dailey was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death for the 1985 killing of fourteen-year-old Shelley Boggio. He now appeals an order of the circuit court denying his motion to vacate his conviction of first-degree murder and sentence of death filed under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850 and petitions this Court for a writ of habeas corpus. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(1), (9), Fla. Const. For the reasons explained below, we affirm the trial court's order and deny Dailey's petition for a writ of habeas corpus.

I. FACTS

Shelley Boggio's nude body was found floating in the water near Indian Rocks Beach in Pinellas County, Florida. She had been stabbed repeatedly, strangled, and drowned. On the day of the murder, Shelley, her twin sister Stacey, and Stephanie Forsythe had been hitchhiking along a road near St. Petersburg, Florida. They were picked up by Dailey, Jack Pearcy, and Dwayne "Oza" Shaw. The three men drove the girls to a local bar. Stacey *42 and Stephanie returned home shortly thereafter, but Shelley remained with the group and returned to Jack Pearcy's house. Dailey was living in Pearcy's home, where he had his own bedroom. Pearcy and his girlfriend, Gayle Bailey, shared a second bedroom. Shaw, a friend of Pearcy's from Kansas, was temporarily staying at Pearcy's house while he resolved marital issues. He slept on a couch in the living room.

Shaw testified that on the night of the murder he drove with Pearcy and Boggio to a public telephone booth, where he was dropped off. Pearcy and Boggio then drove off alone. After speaking on the phone for several minutes, Shaw returned to the house on foot and fell asleep on the couch. Shaw testified that when he woke up later that night, he saw Pearcy and Dailey, but not Boggio, entering the house together. Shaw noticed that Dailey's pants were wet.

The State presented testimony from the lead detective in the case, John Halladay, and three informants who were inmates at the same facility where Dailey was held while awaiting trial. One of the inmates, Paul Skalnik, testified that Dailey had struck a deal with Pearcy, who had also been charged with Boggio's murder.[1] Skalnik testified that he relayed messages between Dailey and Pearcy. According to Skalnik, Dailey promised that if Pearcy did not testify at Dailey's trial, Dailey would attempt to exonerate Pearcy once he was acquitted.

Based on the testimony of Shaw, Skalnik, and several other witnesses, Dailey was found guilty of first-degree murder and was sentenced to death. On appeal, this Court affirmed the conviction but struck two aggravating circumstances and remanded the case for resentencing after concluding the trial court had failed to weigh mitigating circumstances. Dailey v. State, 594 So.2d 254 (Fla.1991).[2] At resentencing, Dailey was again sentenced to death. This Court affirmed. Dailey v. State, 659 So.2d 246 (Fla.1995).[3] Dailey then filed in the trial court a rule 3.850 motion for postconviction relief, raising fifteen claims.[4] After conducting a hearing *43 pursuant to Huff v. State, 622 So.2d 982 (Fla.1993), the trial court granted an evidentiary hearing on claims 1-8 and 15. After the hearing, the trial court denied all claims. Dailey now appeals the trial court's denial of relief. He also petitions for writ of habeas corpus.

II. ANALYSIS

Dailey raises four issues on appeal and two issues in his petition for writ of habeas corpus. We address each of these in turn.

A. Postconviction Claims

In his appeal from the trial court's denial of postconviction relief, Dailey raises four issues. For the reasons explained below, we affirm the trial court's denial of these claims.

1. Ineffective Assistance of Counsel and Prosecutorial Misconduct

Dailey first claims that trial counsel was ineffective during closing argument for failing to object to three alleged instances of prosecutorial misconduct. These were: (1) a statement by the prosecutor concerning Dailey's constitutional presumption of innocence; (2) improper vouching for the credibility of witness Paul Skalnik; and (3) an alleged "blatant misstatement of fact regarding when [Dwayne] Shaw went to use the phone" on the night of the murder.

In Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984), the Supreme Court established a two-part test governing ineffective assistance of counsel claims. First, a defendant must demonstrate that counsel's performance was deficient. Id. at 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052. An attorney's performance is deficient when it falls below an objective standard of reasonableness under prevailing professional norms. Burns v. State, 944 So.2d 234, 239 (Fla.2006). Second, a defendant must show that he was prejudiced by the deficiency. Id. "Prejudice is demonstrated when `there is a reasonable probability that but for counsel's unprofessional *44 errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different. A reasonable probability is a probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome.'" Id. (quoting Strickland, 466 U.S. at 694, 104 S.Ct. 2052). There is a strong presumption that counsel's performance was not deficient. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 689, 104 S.Ct. 2052.

Regarding the prosecutor's statements concerning Dailey's presumption of innocence, we agree with the trial court that when read in context, the comments appear to be a statement by the prosecutor of her belief that the State satisfied its burden of proof. Therefore, counsel's failure to object was not deficient. We also find that the prosecutor's alleged improper vouching for Skalnik was a fair comment in response to defense counsel's attack on Skalnik's credibility during closing argument. Defense counsel referred to Skalnik as a "professional thief" and a poor police officer. The State was entitled to rebut these comments. Accordingly, Dailey has failed to demonstrate that counsel's failure to object constitutes deficient performance. With regard to the prosecutor's alleged "blatant misstatement of fact" concerning Shaw's testimony, this claim was never raised in Dailey's postconviction motion. Therefore, it is not cognizable on appeal. See Gordon v. State, 863 So.2d 1215, 1219 (Fla.2003) (holding that a claim is procedurally barred where it "was not raised in [the defendant's] motion for postconviction relief").

Dailey also argues that the cumulative effect of seven instances of prosecutorial misconduct undermined the validity of the trial to the extent that a guilty verdict could not have been reached without the assistance of these errors.[5] Because these claims of prosecutorial misconduct are all premised on facts in the record, they could have and should have been raised on direct appeal.

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965 So. 2d 38, 2007 WL 1556674, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dailey-v-state-fla-2007.