Pyburn v. State

687 S.E.2d 909, 301 Ga. App. 372, 2009 Fulton County D. Rep. 4017, 2009 Ga. App. LEXIS 1389
Court of Appeals of Georgia·Decided December 1, 2009·No. A09A1486·Published·Cited by 13 cases

Opinions

Bernes, Judge.

Thomas Larry Pyburn appeals his conviction for incest.1 He claims that the evidence was insufficient to authorize his conviction and that he received ineffective assistance of trial counsel. We disagree and affirm.

“Following a criminal conviction, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the jury’s verdict, and the defendant is no longer presumed innocent.” Neugent v. State, 294 Ga. App. 284, 285 (1) (668 SE2d 888) (2008). So viewed, the evidence showed that D. P is the biological and adoptive daughter of Pyburn and Teresa Finley. In November 1973, Pyburn began a sexual relationship with Finley and shortly thereafter, Finley became pregnant with D. P Finley testified at trial that at the time she became pregnant, she was not having sexual relations with any other person. According to the forensic biologist who testified at trial, DNA tests showed a 99.999 percent probability that Pyburn was D. P’s father.

Finley called Pyburn some time in 1974 and told him she was pregnant with his child. Pyburn told her he was getting married and not to bother him anymore. Pyburn and Finley did not have any contact until about fourteen years later, when in November 1988, the two engaged in a telephone conversation. During the conversation, Finley told Pyburn that he had a beautiful 14-year-old daughter.

Pyburn and Finley subsequently resumed their relationship, moved to Florida, and married in June 1989. Shortly after they were married, Pyburn told Finley that he wanted D. P “to have her daddy’s last name” and subsequently adopted D. P D. P was “almost sixteen” when Pyburn adopted her. In May 1991, Finley left D. P with Pyburn and later divorced Pyburn.

According to D. P, Pyburn began “messing” with her when she was 14 years old. They first had sexual intercourse when she was 16, “right after the adoption happened.” They subsequently had five [373] children together, the youngest of whom, their daughter K. E, was conceived in Glynn County. The forensic biologist testified at trial that DNA tests showed a 99.9989 percent probability that Pyburn was K. E’s father. D. E testified that Pyburn was not listed as the father on K. E’s birth certificate because Pyburn “didn’t want any suspicions raised about ... us being father and daughter.”

1. “A person commits the offense of incest when the person engages in sexual intercourse with a person to whom he or she knows he or she is related either by blood or by marriage as follows: . . . Father and daughter. . . .” OCGA § 16-6-22 (a). Pyburn argues that the state failed to prove that he knew D. E was his biological daughter. We disagree inasmuch as the evidence shows that Finley informed him of this fact. Furthermore, as the jury was charged, adoptive children enjoy the rights and privileges of a biological child, including protection from incest. Edmonson v. State, 219 Ga. App. 323, 324 (3) (464 SE2d 839) (1995), overruled on other grounds, Collins v. State, 229 Ga. App. 658 (495 SE2d 59) (1997). Based on the evidence at trial, the jury was authorized to conclude that Pyburn took the necessary legal steps to adopt D. E and that he therefore knew of the adoptive relationship.2 The evidence was sufficient to enable any rational trier of fact to find Pyburn guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the crime of incest. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U. S. 307 (99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560) (1979).

2. Pyburn also contends that he received ineffective assistance of trial counsel. “In order to succeed on this claim, [Pyburn] must show that his counsel’s performance was professionally deficient and that but for counsel’s unprofessional conduct, there is a reasonable probability the outcome of the proceedings would have been different.” Varner v. State, 285 Ga. 300, 301 (3) (676 SE2d 189) (2009). “A reasonable probability is a probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome.” (Punctuation omitted.) Miller v. State, 285 Ga. 285, 286 (676 SE2d 173) (2009).

(a) Pyburn complains that his trial counsel’s performance was deficient in light of statements trial counsel made to the jury during voir dire regarding the nature of the evidence, the burden of proof, and Pyburn’s right not to testify. Specifically, Pyburn objects to the [374] following statements and concessions made to the jury:

I was getting to a question about how we feel about non-traditional families. Gay couples, single parents, divorce. I mean, things have changed. Gay couples raise children. And then you’re going to have . . . DNA evidence that says Mr. Pyburn is [D. P’s] daddy. And they have five children together, and they had an eight-year relationship together. And my question is what do you feel about non-traditional families. I mean, is that something that’s so gross, so demented that you can’t be fair. . . .

Pyburn further argues that his counsel diminished the benefit of the presumption of innocence and the right to remain silent by asking the jury, “do we really presume people to be innocent? I mean, I don’t,” and by suggesting that if Pyburn did not testify, “you might think ... he should have gotten on the stand if he [is an] innocent man.” Pyburn contends that through these comments and others, his counsel made unnecessary concessions and gave the jury license to ignore the presumption of innocence and to assume Pyburn’s guilt.

Pyburn’s trial counsel testified at the motion for new trial hearing that he had undergone training in voir dire which involved being candid with the jury in the hope of receiving candid responses. He was of the opinion that it was in Pyburn’s interest for him to identify those jurors who were so sensitive to the charges of incest that they could not give Pyburn a fair trial, who would be unwilling to presume Pyburn’s innocence, or who would be prejudiced against Pyburn if he chose not to testify.

Although trial counsel’s attempt to obtain candid responses from the prospective jurors constituted a reasonable strategy, we conclude that certain of trial counsel’s questions were not a reasonable execution of this strategy and constituted deficient performance. But that does not end our inquiry. Pyburn must also show that a reasonable probability exists that the outcome of the trial would have been different in the absence of that deficiency. See Varner, 285 Ga. at 301 (3).

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Pyburn v. State, 687 S.E.2d 909, 301 Ga. App. 372, 2009 Fulton County D. Rep. 4017, 2009 Ga. App. LEXIS 1389 (Ga. Ct. App. 2009).

687 S.E.2d 909 (Pyburn v. State) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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