See Rolling, 695 So.2d at 285. at 193-94. I also want to acknowledge the expertise that [she] provided in helping me select and present a year-long series Garrett Graff . 16. The October 1992 statement was undisputedly made after the October 1990 drug money incident. In the statements cited, the prosecutor used words and phrases such as "desperation, distortion, and half-truths," "charade," and "totally irrational" to characterize defense counsel's arguments as misleading. at 381. Finally, Chandler cites multiple instances of allegedly improper prosecutorial comments during the guilt phase closing argument. Admittedly, on its face, trial counsel's strategy might raise doubts as to its efficacy. Chandler: Did I tell her that I was innocent? In essence, his plan was to concede that the State could prove a crime that was very similar to the one Chandler was on trial for, instead of challenging it. map skills worksheets 6th grade; norwood hospital flooding pictures; maggie and jiggs figurines; kevin chapman lollujo claim, so testimony -- so even if we said that the defense attorney should have objected to these remarks? See also Ventura v. State, 794 So.2d 553, 568 (Fla.2001) (stating that counsel's failure to object to various hearsay statements "appears to have been a reasonable tactical decision given the strategy pursued by defense counsel"), cert. Select Page. Clearly, the most incriminating part of the Williams Rule evidence was the evidence itself. [3] Thereafter, the trial court entered an order denying relief. [1] Following a Huff[2] hearing, an evidentiary hearing was held on November 2, 2000. Drake, 400 So.2d at 1219 (emphasis added). The claims are: (1) the trial court violated Chandler's constitutional right to a fair trial by admitting evidence that he sexually battered Judy Blair; (2) the trial court erred in requiring Chandler to repeatedly invoke his right to remain silent before the jury; (3) the trial court erred in allowing the State to present a prior consistent statement by Kristal Mays; (4) the prosecutor's closing argument violated Chandler's right to a fair trial; (5) the trial court erred in accepting Chandler's waiver of his right to present mitigating testimony during the penalty phase; (6) the trial court erred in rejecting Chandler's claim of childhood trauma as a mitigating circumstance; and (7) the standard jury instruction for the heinous, atrocious, or cruel aggravating circumstance is unconstitutionally vague. Transcript Part 1; Transcript Part 2; Exhibits Part 1; Video . The Jan. 6 committee on Tuesday held its fourth public hearing on the U.S. Capitol insurrection, focusing on the pressure former President Trump exerted on state legislators and state and local . 488 So.2d at 55. At that point, the trial judge commented as follows: Court: Okay. Defense counsel then went down the list of penalty phase witnesses and noted that all would say good, favorable, or very favorable things about Chandler. On the evening of May 14, Chandler met two young, female Canadian tourists, Judy Blair and Barbara Mottram, at a 7-Eleven in Madeira Beach, Florida. Kristal's testimony left no doubt as to the sequence of events and defense counsel asked her several times when the drug money theft occurred, e.g., [t]his incident occurred in October of 1990, right?, to which Kristal responded yes.. (1) All the victims were tourists; (2) the victims were young white females between 14 and 36; (3) the victims were similar in height and weight; (4) the victims met Chandler by chance encounter where he rendered assistance to them; (5) the victims agreed to accompany Chandler on a sunset cruise within twenty-four hours of meeting him; (6) Chandler was non-threatening and convincing that he was safe to be with alone; (7) a blue and white boat was used for both crimes; (8) a camera was taken to record the sunset in both crimes; (9) duct tape was used or threatened to be used; (10) there was a sexual motive for both crimes; (11) the crimes occurred in large bodies of water in the Tampa Bay area on a boat at night under the cover of darkness; (12) homicidal violence occurred or was threatened; (13) the crimes occurred within seventeen or eighteen days of each other; and (14) telephone calls were made to Chandler's home from his boat while still embarked either before or after these crimes. We must examine each claim to determine if it is legally sufficient, and, if so, determine whether or not the claim is refuted by the record. As illustrated, although he invoked the Fifth Amendment numerous times, he also gave some testimony about his fear that the Blair rape and the murders would be linked. We noted that on direct examination, the defendant's testimony covered six general subjects, including his denial that he murdered the victim. See Provenzano v. Dugger, 561 So.2d 541, 545 (Fla.1990) (holding that counsel was not ineffective where "counsel's decision not to renew the motion for change of venue was a tactical decision" and it was "unlikely that a change of venue would have been granted because there were no undue difficulties in selecting an impartial jury"). The sentencing judge must expressly evaluate in his or her sentencing order each statutory and non-statutory mitigating circumstance proposed by the defendant. At trial, she identified the clothing Chandler had been wearing that night. [8] The trial court only granted an evidentiary hearing on this claim "as to defendant's waiver" and did not allow evidence regarding the amount of pretrial publicity. Blair testified that Chandler seemed ticked off when she told him Mottram would not be joining them. Dr. Judy Blair is a Psychiatrist in San Quentin, CA. Cooper met Chandler the next morning at 7:05 a.m.; when asked why he looked grubby, Chandler replied that he had been out on his boat all night. The trial court also stated that if the stipulation had been voided, any change of venue motion that Chandler filed would have been held in abeyance while the court attempted to pick an impartial jury in Hillsborough County, the county of original venue. The prosecutor's comment that Chandler never told his daughters or son-in-law that he was innocent was a fair characterization of the evidence, while his other comments about Chandler and his counsel were thoughtless and petty, e.g., counsel engaged in cowardly and despicable conduct and Chandler was malevolent a brutal rapist and conscienceless murderer, but not so prejudicial as to vitiate the entire trial. 7. [2] Huff v. State, 622 So.2d 982 (Fla.1993). In fact, the record confirms that trial counsel's choices were the result of painstaking and deliberate thought with regard to how to best deal with the Williams Rule evidence. Therefore, we also find that any error is harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. [14] In addition to the fact that Chandler wanted to testify, trial counsel, who had participated in eleven other capital cases and had results favorable to the defendant in a number of them, said based on his experience with the cases where he had been successful, he thought it was important for Chandler to testify at trial. He testified at trial that on June 1, Chandler appeared to be in a big hurry after bringing Cooper some screen. Beyond the trial court's procedural compliance with the guidelines for evaluating mitigating circumstances, we have recognized that it is within the trial court's discretion to determine whether such mitigation has been established. On September 29, 1994, Chandler was found guilty of all three counts of firstdegree murder. See id. 400 So.2d at 1219. Because the trial court did not hold an evidentiary hearing on the amount of pretrial publicity, the only information in this record regarding the extent and nature of pretrial publicity comes in the way of the supplemental record, which includes the report prepared by Chandler's media expert. V, 3(b)(1), Fla. Const. Chandler, by way of comparison, was given an initial selection between Pinellas or Hillsborough counties based on the indictment, and was given the additional option of stipulating to have his jury selected from Orange County. After meeting the women at a convenience store, Chandler, who identified himself as "Dave," arranged to take them out on his boat the next day. We have on appeal the judgments and sentences of the trial court imposing the death penalty upon appellant Oba Chandler. (footnotes omitted). [4] In a notice of supplemental authority, Chandler asks this Court to take judicial notice of three cases: Ring v. Arizona, 534 U.S. 1103, 122 S.Ct. denied, 520 U.S. 1122, 117 S.Ct. A mere general similarity will not render the similar facts legally relevant to show identity. Gore's fingerprint was found in the car, as well as a traffic ticket which had been issued to him while he was in Miami. judy blair testimony transcript. The indictment in this case alleged that the murders occurred in either Pinellas County or Hillsborough County, Florida. However, in cases where there has been no evidentiary hearing, we must accept the factual allegations made by the defendant to the extent that they are not refuted by the record. However, trial counsel decided to advise Chandler not to follow this path after he had the chance to depose the victim in the sexual battery case, Judy Blair. 8. [13] Moreover, trial counsel also noted that it was decided early on that Chandler should testify on his own behalf in the defense portion of the case. As to Chandler's claim regarding the prosecutor's questions about the Blair rape, we believe that this issue constitutes a classic case of trying to take the wind out of your opponent's sails by pre-emptively admitting extremely prejudicial evidence and thereby softening the blow. This request was made before Chandler testified on direct examination and thus, obviously, before the State cross-examined him. It convenient also knew more structure to give proof. Chandler: I went to the motel, checked in, give her a call. In the order denying Chandler's current postconviction motion, the trial court stated that a subsequent motion to change venue objecting to the jury being picked in Orange County would have caused her to consider the previous stipulation void. Chandler claimed that he was out on his boat all night because his engine died after a hose burst, spilling all of his fuel. Most of the prospective jurors who were questioned indicated that they had not heard about the case. judy blair testimony transcript. Gore argues that this case is comparable to Drake v. State, 400 So.2d 1217 (Fla.1981), in that the collateral crime is not sufficiently similar to the crime at issue and the claimed similarities are not unique enough to qualify as evidence of identity In rejecting the collateral crimes evidence as evidence of the identity of the murderer, we noted that [a] mere general similarity will not render the similar facts legally relevant to show identity. Sometime after Chandler's conviction on the murders, the State decided not to pursue charges associated with the alleged sexual battery. Hayes, 660 So.2d at 261 (second emphasis added) (citations omitted). Id. We agree that the decision not to object to improper comments is fraught with danger and may not be wise strategy because it might cause an otherwise appealable issue to be considered procedurally barred. Outdoor Learning . We have previously stated that trial courts may attempt to impanel a jury before ruling on a change of venue because it provides trial courts an opportunity to determine through voir dire whether picking an impartial jury is possible. Court: And it is your decision that you have instructed your lawyer not to call these people. Date. The test of admissibility is relevancy. Transcript; . We note that Mottram refused to go for a cruise not once, but twice. Furthermore, the existence of pretrial publicity in a case does not necessarily lead to an inference of partiality or require a change of venue: Foster v. State, 778 So.2d 906, 913 (Fla. 2000); see Rolling, 695 So.2d at 285. Judy Blair and her friend, Barbara Mottram, both Canadian tourists, testified regarding Chandler's rape of Blair several weeks prior to the Rogers' murders. 90.612(2), Fla. Stat. 865, 151 L.Ed.2d 738 (2002), State v. Ring, 200 Ariz. 267, 25 P.3d 1139 (2001), and Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 120 S.Ct. The general manager contacted the police, who secured the room and obtained the hotel's records for the room. [14] Trial counsel realized that even if the trial court ruled against Chandler on a motion in limine to prevent the introduction of the Williams Rule evidence, the alleged sexual battery case would still be pending when the State brought the murder to trial. The court should then require the defendant to confirm on the record that his counsel has discussed these matters with him, and despite counsel's recommendation, he wishes to waive presentation of penalty phase evidence. Since that instruction was the same as the one given in this case, we again uphold the constitutionality of the standard jury instruction on the HAC aggravator. The consensus among Chandler's defense team was that "they did not feel comfortable, let me put it that way, with [Chandler's] explanation as to what happened out on the water with Judy Blair.". See id. This Court has repeatedly stated that "strategic decisions do not constitute ineffective assistance of counsel if alternative courses have been considered and rejected and counsel's decision was reasonable under the norms of professional conduct." Her friend did not want to go. When asked why, Chandler told Cooper that he had a date with three women. Id. Clearly, the trial judge was describing Koon and the compulsory procedure in this situation. [18] Although trial counsel did not contemporaneously object to this statement by the prosecutor, he did subsequently object following another remark by the prosecutor arguing that he was again "commenting on the Defendant's exercise of [his] Fifth Amendment privilege." He testified at trial that after viewing television reports about the recovery of the victims' bodies from Tampa Bay, Chandler said that he had met the three women and given them directions to a boat ramp on the Courtney Campbell Causeway. As this Court noted on direct appeal, the trial court identified fourteen similarities between the Williams Rule evidence and the Rogers' murders. October 1990 drug money incident about the case Cooper that he murdered the victim is your decision that have! ( Fla.1993 ) trial court imposing the death penalty upon appellant Oba Chandler error is harmless a... Part of the Williams Rule evidence was the evidence itself ] hearing an. 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