Orsini v. State

701 S.W.2d 114, 287 Ark. 456, 1985 Ark. LEXIS 2296
Supreme Court of Arkansas·Decided December 16, 1985·No. CR 83-66·Published·Cited by 10 cases

Opinion

Per Curiam.

Petitioner was convicted of capital murder in 1982 and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. We affirmed. Orsini v. State, 281 Ark. 348, 665 S.W.2d 245 (1984), cert. denied_U.S__, 105 S. Ct. 162 (1984). Petitioner has now filed in this Court a lengthy petition for postconviction relief pursuant to A.R.Cr.P. Rule 37 seeking an evidentiary hearing in circuit court. She also asks for this Court to provide her with a copy of, or access to, the complete case file of the prosecuting attorney so that she can amend the petition.

Petitioner bases her plea for postconviction relief on nine or more primary allegations, depending on how the allegations are divided, each of which has multiple subpoints. The allegations in turn are supported by allegations contained in a 69-page petition she intends to file in circuit court if granted permission to proceed there and an additional set of attachments containing some 550 pages. For the sake of clarity, we will discuss the primary allegations of the petition without attempting to set out all the proof for each point which petitioner has provided in the circuit court petition and the set of attachments. The convoluted arguments advanced by petitioner, which require reference to both petitions and the attachments, illustrate the need for petitioners to include all grounds for relief in the petition to this Court. See Neal v. State, 270 Ark. 442, 605 S.W.2d 421 (1980). The petition to be filed in circuit court should be reserved for that court.

Petitioner first contends that the prosecution withheld from discovery exculpatory evidence in the form of two statements, one made by co-defendant Eugene Hall to Forest Parkman and Bill Williams and one by Carl Wilson contained in a report of the Alcohol, Firearms and Tobacco agency. Petitioner alleges that the prosecution permitted Hall to commit perjury since the state knew that Hall’s testimony was false when he testified as to the number of statements he had given. It is not clear when petitioner learned of the statements. She states in the petition to this Court that-she learned of the statements after trial. In the circuit court petition she says she became aware of the Hall statement before trial when the prosecutor mentioned it at a bond hearing. In any event, petitioner asserts that Tom Donovan, the attorney who filed a motion for new trial and represented her on appeal, was ineffective in that he referred to the statements only vaguely in the motion for new trial without stressing how important the Hall statement was to the defense.

The issue of whether petitioner was entitled to a new trial on the ground that the state wrongfully withheld exculpatory evidence was raised on appeal and decided adversely to the petitioner. It was argued then that both the statement of Hall and the AFT report containing Wilson’s statement were discoverable and deliberately suppressed by the state. Petitioner asserts essentially that counsel was ineffective in the way he handled the issue in the motion for new trial and on appeal, but a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel cannot serve as a means to reargue questions already settled. See Hickey v. State, 287 Ark. 197, 697 S.W.2d 118 (1985). Furthermore, even if counsel had neglected entirely to raise the question of the Hall and Wilson statements, petitioner would not be entitled to a new trial unless there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel’s error, the result of the proceeding would have been different. United States v.Bagley,_U.S__, 105 S. Ct. 3375 (1985), citing Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S. Ct. 2052 (1984). She has not demonstrated that the results of the proceeding against her would have been affected.

Petitioner also contends that an Arkansas State Police report concerning an interview with Robert Trout and an ATF report dated July 13,1982 were not provided to the defense. She further alleges that the information that Carl Wilson had been granted immunity in exchange for his statement and that Hall was induced to give a statement by promises of future help from the county sheriff was withheld. Petitioner further asserts that the jury was never informed that witness Burge had been granted immunity from prosecution. She states that she cannot recall whether she or her attorney knew about the immunity at trial.

When evidence is not disclosed and thus omitted from trial, the burden is on the petitioner to establish that its omission was sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome of the trial. United States v. Bagley. This is a heavy burden which petitioner has not met. Petitioner’s speculation about the significance of the material in question is not enough to show that the defense suffered prejudice sufficient to affect the verdict.

Petitioner points out inconsistencies in witness testimony to which she contends trial counsel Jack Lessenberry should have objected. She also contends that counsel failed to interview witnesses and to ask important questions of witnesses who were called to testify.

The fact that a witness’ testimony is inconsistent is not cause for objection. Counsel may address inconsistencies on cross-examination of the witness and in closing argument, but the jury as trier of fact has the duty to resolve any inconsistencies and assess the witness’ credibility. McGee v. State, 280 Ark. 347, 658 S.W.2d 376 (1983).

Petitioner argues that the failure to call certain witnesses and ask the questions she suggests amounted to ineffective assistance of counsel because of the importance of each witness and question, but in any trial there are invariably questions which could have been asked and often witnesses who could have been called. The object of a review of a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel is not to debate the possible effect of counsel’s conduct but to determine whether there was actual prejudice which denied the petitioner a fair trial. See Isom v. State, 284 Ark. 426, 682 S.W.2d 755 (1985). Petitioner has not shown that she was denied a fair trial.

Petitioner sought a reversal of her conviction on appeal on several grounds, two of which were excessive pretrial publicity and the trial court’s denial of a continuance. She seeks to raise these issues again. Rule 37, however, was not intended as a means to relitigate questions already settled on appeal. Swindler v. State, 272 Ark. 340, 617 S.W.2d 1 (1981).

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Orsini v. State, 701 S.W.2d 114, 287 Ark. 456, 1985 Ark. LEXIS 2296 (Ark. 1985).

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