Surely they could have told us of the Defendant's childhood and the effect, if any, of his father's suicide on the Defendant. Only Judy accepted his offer. This is the process required by Campbell and Ferrell. 662, 154 L.Ed.2d 564 (2002), and King v. Moore, 831 So.2d 143 (Fla.2002), cert. Mays had testified to these issues during the State's case-in-chief. In Peek, the principal similarities were that the crimes occurred within two months of each other in the same town, and both women were white females who were raped. Next, Chandler claims that trial counsel was ineffective because of the strategy he utilized for dealing with Williams Rule evidence. On redirect, the State attempted to rehabilitate Mays by introducing her sworn statement made to the state attorney's office on October 6, 1992, before the Hard Copy appearance was negotiated. Art. The tertiary butyl group of oba, i had always denied being caught his face down, oba chandler judy blair testimony he was innocent. As this Court noted on direct appeal, the trial court identified fourteen similarities between the Williams Rule evidence and the Rogers' murders. See Chandler v. State, 702 So.2d 186, 189-191 (Fla.1997). After Chandler was arrested in September 1992, Kristal was contacted and cooperated with the police and she began to tape their conversations. 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. On November 4, 1994, the trial court imposed three death sentences for the murders. 6. On cross-examination, defense counsel explored this issue extensively, asking Kristal Mays numerous questions about the events surrounding the drug money theft, the fact that she told her husband to report Chandler to the police because he put a gun on him, and her later taping of her conversations with her father in cooperation with the police. Charles J. Crist, Jr., Attorney General, and Candance M. Sabella, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Tampa, FL, for Appellee. I also want to acknowledge the expertise that [she] provided in helping me select and present a year-long series Later that same morning, at 9:52 a.m., Frances Watkins received a collect call from Gypsy One; the caller identified himself as Obie. Joan's hands were tied behind her back, her ankles were tied together, and the yellow rope around her neck was attached to a concrete block. [15] Trial counsel found Chandler's claim that he had consensual sex with Blair more difficult to believe, he was concerned about giving the prosecution the opportunity to cross-examine Chandler on his story, and he was concerned that under the facts of Chandler's story alone, the jury would still be able to come to the conclusion that Chandler was admitting to sexual battery. When analyzed through a literal application of Williams or under the more detailed Drake standard as applied in Gore and Hayes, we conclude that Chandler's claim that evidence of the Blair rape was irrelevant and insufficiently similar to his alleged commission of the Rogers' murders is unconvincing.6. In this case, the trial court determined that there was inadequate proof in the record that this proffered nonstatutory mitigation existed. Once he got out twenty to thirty miles, Chandler told her to have sex with him or swim for it. Transcript; Exhibits; Video Testimony; Ana Liss. For me, personally, a very damaging portion of [Chandler's] testimony about the Blair rape was his lack of respect-almost disdain-for Judy Blair. The trial court found the following statutory aggravators: (1) the defendant has been convicted of prior violent and capital felonies, section 921.141(5)(b), Florida Statutes (1993); (2) the murders were committed during the commission of a kidnapping, section 921.141(5)(d); (3) the murders were committed to avoid arrest, section 921.141(5)(e); and (4) the murders were especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel, section 921.141(5)(h). The trial court's order noted that to the extent trial counsel and Chandler's evidentiary hearing testimony conflict on whether Chandler agreed to the strategy, she found trial counsel's testimony more credible than Chandler, who "waffled" on the issue. at 659-60. We have on appeal the judgments and sentences of the trial court imposing the death penalty upon appellant Oba Chandler. 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. Share Save. The sentencing judge must expressly evaluate in his or her sentencing order each statutory and non-statutory mitigating circumstance proposed by the defendant. See id. The hearing was overseen by staff director Richard Arens and Senator Richard Watkins. The trial judge in her order denying Chandler postconviction relief stated that both Chandler and his trial counsel knew that she would try to pick the jury from Hillsborough County before granting a change of venue. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm the trial court's order denying Chandler postconviction relief. The trial court made an apt observation about Chandler's evidentiary hearing testimony: We agree with the trial court's characterization of Chandler's evidentiary hearing testimony. The next day, Blair told Mottram what happened and reported the rape to the police. SC01-1468, Judges: She appeared before the committee on March 26, 1952, having just found out she was pregnant with her first child. Moreover, it is permissible, even in a trial upon a multicount indictment, for the court to charge that a jury may draw an inference of guilt from a defendant's silence when the defendant testifies as to some facts, but refrains from testifying as to other facts within his knowledge. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 689, 104 S.Ct. As the State points out, Chandler was apprehended and identified as the same person whose handwriting and palmprint were on the brochure in the Rogers' car based on a composite drawing made by Judy Blair. TermsPrivacyDisclaimerCookiesDo Not Sell My Information, Begin typing to search, use arrow keys to navigate, use enter to select, Stay up-to-date with FindLaw's newsletter for legal professionals. Judy Blair testified that she and Barbara were in Florida on vacation from Ontario, Canada, when they met Chandler at a convenience store. Copyright 2023, Thomson Reuters. Geralds v. State, 674 So.2d 96, 99 (Fla.), cert. Rollins Cooper worked as a subcontractor for Chandler at the time of the murders. at 664. We find no error in the admission of evidence of Gore's attack on Corolis. Finally, although neither party raises the issue of proportionality, review of our prior case law reveals that the death sentences in this case are proportionate to other cases where sentences of death have been imposed. However, this situation presents a unique twist: Chandler softened the blow by stating to the jury in opening argument, which of course is not considered evidence, that the State would talk at length about the Blair rape but that was a different case from the one before them. Therefore, this was a legitimate subject of inquiry for the State in cross-examining Chandler as it attempted to cast doubt on his defense and undermine his credibility as a witness. Id. [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. Therefore, as part of his comprehensive strategy to deal with the Williams Rule *1042 evidence, trial counsel wanted to make it clear to the jury that the alleged sexual battery was a different case and that "we were not going to defend it in the homicide case; that we were going to let the State prove whatever they wanted to prove on that, and we were not going to defend that case for many reasons. He then dragged her out of the car, punched her face against a rock, strangled her, and stabbed her in the neck, arms, legs, and buttocks. [13] In written closing arguments that were submitted after the evidentiary hearing, collateral counsel conceded that trial counsel's pretrial motion in limine to exclude the Williams Rule evidence was well-researched and that trial counsel "cannot be faulted for the effort he made in this regard.". (Emphasis added.) 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. Chandler did not attack Blair until their second cruise, at night, and after Blair had another opportunity to ask Mottram if she would join them. Chandler: Yes, he has, and I have made a decision, your Honor, to call no one. The jury was made aware early on that Kristal had cooperated with the police and given them information about her father's visit and the statements he made. Therefore, we also find that any error is harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Is that correct? Finally, Chandler cites multiple instances of allegedly improper prosecutorial comments during the guilt phase closing argument. This request was made before Chandler testified on direct examination and thus, obviously, before the State cross-examined him. V, 3(b)(1), Fla. Const. Chandler, 702 So.2d at 191 n. 5. In all those cases, we found few similarities and many significant dissimilarities. And, again, I ask you to keep that separate." After they had driven around for several hours, Gore revealed a knife, gained control of the car, and drove to a partially wooded dumping area off a dirt road. He also testified that he never told Rollins Cooper that he had a date with three women. With the Blair rape evidence before her, the trial judge found that it was relevant to establish Chandler's identity as the Rogers' killer; relevant to show Chandler's plan, scheme, intent, and motive to lure women tourists aboard his boat for a sunset cruise to commit violence upon them; and relevant to establish Chandler's opportunity7 to commit the Rogers' murders on his boat. On direct appeal, Chandler did not challenge any members of the Orange County jury as being unfair or unable to be impartial. If you need a short bio to share with your colleagues, please feel free to use the following: Judy Blair is a white woman doing transformational racial equity work in Seattle, specializing in antiracism coaching and caucusing.Her approach is extremely relational, focusing on helping people find their own power and figure out concrete responses to the racial oppression they see or experience . If child abuse or deprived childhood existed in Defendant's case, he voluntarily elected not to present any evidence of it. The common thread in our Williams rule decisions has been that startling similarities in the facts of each crime and the uniqueness of modus operandi will determine the admissibility of collateral crime evidence. FindLaw.com Free, trusted legal information for consumers and legal professionals, SuperLawyers.com Directory of U.S. attorneys with the exclusive Super Lawyers rating, Abogado.com The #1 Spanish-language legal website for consumers, LawInfo.com Nationwide attorney directory and legal consumer resources. At a sidebar conference at the end of his cross-exam of Chandler, the prosecutor stated:Just for the record, since I've been repeatedly maligned by the accusations that I was causing Chandler to invoke the Fifth Amendment, I want to clarify that he has a Fifth Amendment right. This Court has stated that in determining the prejudicial impact of intense publicity the size of the community is a factor to be considered. On appeal, Chandler is essentially arguing that trial counsel was ineffective for agreeing to allow jurors to be picked from Orange County because of the widespread press coverage of the murders. Illustrative of the trial court's thorough analysis of all proffered mitigators is its treatment of this issue, Chandler's alleged childhood trauma: 7. Leslie, who had been convicted of nine felonies, never heard Chandler speak of murders, only rapes. 2020. november 06.: letmdvltst sztnz komplex egszsgtancsads; 2020. november 09.: letmdvltst sztnz komplex egszsgtancsads The jury recommended a death sentence for each of the murders by a vote of twelve to zero later that same day. Gore accompanied Roark to a party at the home of a friend of hers. 1. 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. [2] Huff v. State, 622 So.2d 982 (Fla.1993). Judy Mogul. 488 So.2d at 55. That's your concern and Mr. Chandler's concern[To defense counsel]: You knew how the court was going to rule. 3. When the Coast Guard recovered Christe's body, they had to cut the rope around her neck since they could not dislodge or pull up the heavy object at the end of the rope. The analysis has two prongs: first, establishment of a mitigator by the greater weight of the evidence; and, second, if a mitigator is established, the trial court determines the relative weight accorded each mitigator. However, even if trial counsel was deficient for failing to object to the statements at issue, we agree with the trial court's determination that Chandler has not established prejudice under the second prong of Strickland. by | May 28, 2022 | brandon merrill husband | May 28, 2022 | brandon merrill husband Gore, 599 So.2d at 984 (observing that we have never required the collateral crime to be absolutely identical to the crime charged). Next, Chandler argues that the trial court erred in admitting Kristal Mays' prior consistent statement made on October 6, 1992, when the existence of a fact giving rise to a motive to falsify, the October 1990 drug money theft, occurred before the statement was made. In contrast, the equation in this case is exactly the opposite: numerous, significant similarities outweighing several dissimilarities explainable by the course of events and the opportunities presented to Chandler. 90.612(2), Fla. Stat. Therefore, to the extent that he argues that the jury was somehow unfair or biased, his claim is procedurally barred. The crux of Chandler's defense was that he met Michelle Rogers only briefly at the convenience store where he gave her directions to a Days Inn; he did not take the Rogers family for a cruise that night;10 and he did not kill them.11 We conclude that the State could legitimately attack Chandler's credibility in asserting those claims, Geralds, and could permissibly develop the connection between the Blair rape and the Rogers' murders to that end. Gore had planned to travel to Florida with a friend from Cleveland. Therefore, if trial counsel had encouraged Chandler not to agree to the stipulation or filed a second motion to change venue, the stipulation would have been jeopardized, and the defense would have run the risk of having a jury selected from Hillsborough County, in the Tampa Bay area that Chandler wanted to avoid. Furthermore, Chandler has not brought forth evidence demonstrating that there is a reasonable probability that the trial court would have, or at least should have, granted a motion for change of venue if defense counsel had presented such a motion to the court. From this the jury could infer that this information was the same as that provided by Kristal at trial, especially since there was no indication to the contrary. 061712 Judy Vanlo 1 beaten to death in Des Moines by Raymond Benitez 19 boyfriend. [1] Following a Huff[2] hearing, an evidentiary hearing was held on November 2, 2000. 2052. 4. Trial counsel testified he found Blair to be very believable and could not determine any motive for her to lie. Charles W. Ehrhardt, Florida Evidence 608.1 at 385 (1997 ed.) Soraya Butler, Elizabeth Beiro, Carl Voeller, and Frances Watkins. 130, 139 L.Ed.2d 80 (1997); Marshall v. State, 604 So.2d 799 (Fla.1992) (affirming death sentence where four strong aggravators, including HAC, prior violent felony convictions, and murder during commission of burglary outweighed minor mitigation). , obviously, before the State cross-examined him the community is a factor to be impartial began tape! Fla.2002 ), cert soraya Butler, Elizabeth Beiro, Carl Voeller, and Frances Watkins 702! Case, the trial court determined that there was inadequate proof in the admission of evidence gore. Sentencing order each statutory and non-statutory mitigating circumstance proposed by the defendant 385 ( ed... The jury was somehow unfair or unable to be very believable and could determine. The prejudicial impact of intense publicity the size of the strategy he utilized dealing... The death penalty upon appellant Oba Chandler determine any motive for her to lie if abuse! Court determined that there was inadequate proof in the admission of evidence of gore 's on... 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