DocketNumber: No. 91085.
Citation Numbers: 2008 Ohio 6493
Judges: CHRISTINE T. McMONAGLE, P.J.:<page_number>Page 3</page_number>
Filed Date: 12/11/2008
Status: Non-Precedential
Modified Date: 4/18/2021
{¶ 2} This court affirmed Goza's convictions on appeal. Goza, supra. While his appeal was pending, Goza filed a petition for postconviction relief. The trial court found that Goza's claims were barred by the doctrine of res judicata and dismissed Goza's petition without a hearing. He now appeals from the trial court's judgment denying his petition. *Page 4
{¶ 4} A hearing is not automatically required on every petition.State v. Stedman, 8th Dist. No. 83531,
{¶ 5} A postconviction claim may also be dismissed without a hearing where the claims are barred by res judicata. The doctrine of res judicata *Page 5
precludes a hearing where the claim raised in the petition was raised or could have been raised at trial or on direct appeal. Perry, supra at paragraph nine of the syllabus. To overcome the res judicata bar, a petitioner must present cogent, material evidence outside the record.State v. Bradley, 8th Dist. No. 88163,
{¶ 6} We review a trial court's decision on a petition for postconviction relief for an abuse of discretion. State v. White, 8th Dist. No. 90544,
{¶ 9} In his postconviction petition, Goza contended that he was entitled to a new trial because the State failed to disclose the police report, which reported that immediately after the attempted rape, C.A. identified a man named Richard Givens as the man who attempted to rape her. In an affidavit attached to Goza's postconviction petition, counsel averred that "this information was never passed on to me and the first time I knew about it was when I read the pre-sentence report subsequent to the trial. *** [T]he police report containing this information was never provided to me."
{¶ 10} Because the evidence supporting Goza's Brady claim (i.e., counsel's affidavit) was outside the record, the trial court erred in denying this claim on the basis of res judicata. Nevertheless, counsel's affidavit failed to raise a substantive claim for relief, because the record affirmatively belies counsel's contention that he did not know about C.A.'s identification of Richard Givens until after trial. *Page 7
{¶ 11} Information about C.A.'s identification of Givens was contained in the affidavit accompanying the warrant to search Goza's home. The transcript reflects that the search warrant and affidavit were admitted during the State's questioning of detective James McPike at the hearing on Goza's motion to suppress:
{¶ 12} "Q. Detective, I'm showing you what's been marked for identification as State's Exhibit 104. Do you recognize that exhibit, Detective?
{¶ 13} "A. Yes.
{¶ 14} "Q. Can you indicate for the record what that is?
{¶ 15} "A. The first page is the search warrant return that I typed up. The next couple pages is the search warrant and then, after that, is the attached affidavit. And then, after that, is the search warrant inventory list." (Tr. 21-22.)
{¶ 16} Detective McPike's affidavit, attached to the warrant, stated, in part:
{¶ 17} "1. Affiant avers that on March 26, 2006, a Clevleand Police Department ("CPD") zone car responded to *** West 179th Street, Cleveland, Ohio in response to a call regarding an unknown male in the home. Upon their arrival, CPD officers spoke with ***, the home's occupant, who informed the officers that his nine-year-old daughter, hereinafter referred to as Jane Doe, woke him up about 4:15 a.m. Jane Doe informed [her stepfather] that an unknown male had been on her bed, had removed her pajama pants, and was in *Page 8 the process of removing her panties when she woke up. Jane Doe kicked and punched the male, and the male left the room.
{¶ 18} "2. Affiant avers that additional officers responded. Jane Doe provided a description of the male as a white male, light colored hair, tall and thin, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans. The officers contacted Fairview General Hospital, which is located across the street from the scene, to inquire whether a male fitting this description was present. The officers were informed that a male resembling the description had just signed in for treatment.
{¶ 19} "3. Affiant avers that officers brought the male to the scene where a cold stand was conducted. Jane Doe made a tentative cold standidentification of the male, who was identified as Richard Givens. Givens provided an alibi, which was established as false. Based upon the tentative identification and false alibi or information provided by Givens, Givens was arrested." (Emphasis added.)2
{¶ 20} Detective McPike also testified at trial about his investigation of Givens. Detective McPike testified that Givens had been picked up at Fairview Hospital on March 26, 2006 and arrested as a suspect in the crimes against C.A. and K.J. Detective McPike testified further that as a result of his investigation, *Page 9 he learned that Givens was at a CVS pharmacy in Garfield Heights, Ohio when the crimes were committed, so Givens was eliminated as a suspect.
{¶ 21} Because the record clearly refutes Goza's assertion that defense counsel did not know until after trial that C.A. had identified someone other than Goza as her attacker, Goza's petition failed to state a substantive claim for relief on his Brady claim. Therefore, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying this claim without a hearing.
{¶ 23} To secure a hearing in a postconviction proceeding on a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, the petitioner must proffer evidence demonstrating the lack of competent counsel and that the defense was prejudiced by the deficient performance. State v.Jackson (1980),
{¶ 24} In his petition, Goza claimed that counsel was ineffective for failing to investigate and present evidence that he was physically incapable of committing the crimes for which he was convicted. Goza argued that he was *Page 10 severely disabled as a result of a motorcycle accident in 2003, which caused permanent nerve damage and rendered him incapable of activity beyond the most basic ambulatory functions.
{¶ 25} Goza attached to his petition inpatient records relating to his hospitalization and surgery following the accident, medical records regarding subsequent office visits, and his medical records from the correctional facilities. In addition, he attached a letter from Dr. Clyde L. Nash, Jr., a board certified orthopaedic surgeon with speciality training and experience relating to the spine, in which Dr. Nash opined that his review of Goza's medical records indicated that Goza "would be incapable of committing acts that would require anything more than the most simple of ambulatory functions consistent with his permanent leg paralysis."
{¶ 26} On appeal, Goza argues that the trial court erred in denying this claim, because his medical records and Dr. Nash's letter indicate that he could not have climbed in and out of a first-floor bedroom window and up and down C.A. and K.J.'s bunk bed, as the prosecution theorized, to commit the crimes. Therefore, he contends, counsel was ineffective for failing to investigate and present evidence of his medical condition to the jury.
{¶ 27} Because Goza's medical records and Dr. Nash's letter are evidence outside the record, the claim could not have been raised on direct appeal, and the trial court erred in dismissing this claim on the basis of res judicata. *Page 11 Nevertheless, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying this claim, because the evidence failed to set forth sufficient facts to establish a substantial violation of counsel's duty and resulting prejudice.
{¶ 28} Dr. Nash made no analysis concerning Goza's medical history in relation to the crimes that occurred in this case. He gave no opinion regarding whether Goza could have walked across the parking lot separating his house from C.A.'s and climbed into her home through a first-floor window. Thus, Dr. Nash's letter provides no support for Goza's claim that he was too disabled to commit the crimes of which he was convicted and, therefore, fails to demonstrate that counsel was ineffective for not presenting evidence of Goza's alleged disability to the jury.3
{¶ 29} Goza next contended that his counsel was ineffective for not challenging the eyewitness identification testimony offered in this case. Specifically, Goza contended that counsel should have consulted an expert in the field of eyewitness identification and should have filed a motion to suppress C.A.'s identification. Both of these arguments were raised on direct appeal and therefore are barred by res judicata. SeeGoza, supra, ¶¶ 57-59.
{¶ 31} As discussed, C.A.'s identification of Richard Givens as her attacker was not new evidence discovered after trial and the evidence regarding Goza's physical disability does not raise a substantive claim for relief. Accordingly, any claim based on this alleged "new evidence" is without merit.
{¶ 32} The trial court did not abuse its discretion in dismissing Goza's petition for postconviction relief without a hearing. Accordingly, appellant's assignment of error is overruled.
Affirmed.
It is ordered that appellee recover from appellant costs herein taxed.
The court finds there were reasonable grounds for this appeal.
It is ordered that a special mandate issue out of this court directing the common pleas court to carry this judgment into execution. The defendant's conviction having been affirmed, any bail pending appeal is terminated. Case remanded to the trial court for execution of sentence.
A certified copy of this entry shall constitute the mandate pursuant to Rule 27 of the Rules of Appellate Procedure. *Page 13
MARY J. BOYLE, J., and FRANK D. CELEBREZZE, JR., J., CONCUR