Bryan v. State

• Decision Date: 26 October 1999
• Docket Number: No. 802, No. 821., No. 96
• Citation: 748 So.2d 1003
• Parties: Anthony Braden BRYAN, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. Anthony Braden Bryan, Petitioner v. Michael Moore, Secretary, Department of Corrections, State of Florida Respondent.
• Court: Florida Supreme Court

748 So.2d 1003

Anthony Braden BRYAN, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. Anthony Braden Bryan, Petitioner v. Michael Moore, Secretary, Department of Corrections, State of Florida Respondent.

Nos. 96,802, 96,821.

Supreme Court of Florida.

October 26, 1999.

Gregory C. Smith, Capital Collateral Counsel, and Andrew Thomas, Assistant CCRC-Northern Region, Tallahassee, Florida, for Appellant/Petitioner.

Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General, and Richard B. Martell, Chief, Capital Appeals, Tallahassee, Florida, for Appellee/Respondent.

PER CURIAM.

Anthony Braden Bryan, a prisoner scheduled for execution on October 27, 1999, appeals the trial court's summary denial of his motion for postconviction relief pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850, and has simultaneously filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus. We have jurisdiction. Art. V, § 3(b)(1), (9).

Bryan was charged and convicted of first-degree murder, kidnapping, and robbery, and was sentenced to death. The facts and procedure are as follows: Bryan and Sharon Cooper robbed and kidnapped George Wilson, the victim, in Mississippi; they drove him to a remote area in Santa Rosa County, Florida, in his own car; and Bryan shot him in the face with a shotgun. Bryan and Cooper fled, submerged the car in a river but were later arrested on other grounds. The police (unaware of the murder) held Bryan on an outstanding warrant for his arrest but released Cooper. Cooper traveled to Jacksonville and confessed to an FBI agent, who had her transported back to Santa Rosa County where she, local authorities, and federal authorities looked for the victim's body. They eventually recovered the victim, a nearby shotgun shell, and the car. The State obtained the above convictions based on Cooper's testimony; the testimony from a prisoner that Bryan confessed and asked him to provide a false alibi, which was corroborated by a note in Bryan's handwriting outlining the alibi and with his fingerprints on the paper; and recovery of the murder weapon that the State proved was Bryan's, also with his fingerprints thereon. Bryan testified in his own defense, claiming that he did not kill the victim and that Cooper killed him when a drug deal went bad. The jury found Bryan guilty as charged. See Bryan v. State, 533 So.2d 744, 745 (Fla.1988).

The jury recommended death by a vote of seven to five. In the sentencing order, the trial court imposed the recommended sentence after finding six aggravating and two mitigating circumstances. The aggravating circumstances were (1) appellant's previous conviction for a violent felony; (2) commission of the murder during a kidnapping and robbery; (3) commission to avoid arrest; (4) commission for pecuniary gain; (5) the heinous, atrocious, and cruel nature of the murder, and the (6) cold, calculated, and premeditated nature of the murder. The mitigating circumstances were (1) Bryan had a good work record, and (2) he was law abiding for one year after escaping from Santa Rosa County Jail. This Court affirmed Bryan's conviction and sentence and the United States Supreme Court denied certiorari. See id.; Bryan v. Florida, 490 U.S. 1028, 109 S.Ct. 1765, 104 L.Ed.2d 200 (1989).

Governor Martinez denied clemency and signed Bryan's first death warrant setting execution for October 30, 1990. Bryan then filed a rule 3.850 motion with the trial court which granted a stay of execution. After an evidentiary hearing, the trial court denied relief. In 1994, this Court affirmed the trial court's denial and simultaneously denied the petition for writ of habeas corpus that Bryan filed in October 1991. See Bryan v. Dugger, 641 So.2d 61 (Fla.1994). Meanwhile, on September 24, 1993, Bryan and others filed a complaint raising the issue of whether executive clemency records are subject to discovery under Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963). The trial court dismissed the complaint with prejudice and, on appeal, this Court held that Brady is inapplicable to clemency proceedings and denied relief. See Asay v. Florida Parole Comm'n, 649 So.2d 859, 860 (Fla.1994). In September 1994, a postconviction investigator requested access to Bryan's files held by the Attorney General's Office and the State Attorney's Office. Upon inspection of the revealed documents, postconviction counsel noticed that some documents were withheld and filed a complaint. In February 1996, the trial court denied Bryan access to particular records after holding a hearing during which it reviewed the pertinent documents in camera and found them exempt under chapter 119, Florida Statutes (1995). This Court affirmed the trial court's order. See Bryan v. Butterworth, 692 So.2d 878 (Fla. 1997).

In the federal courts, on October 19, 1994, Bryan filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the United States District Court, Northern District of Florida, which denied relief in an unpublished order. See Bryan v. Singletary, No. 94-C30327 (N.D.Fla. July 7, 1996). The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the order, Bryan v. Singletary, 140 F.3d 1354 (11th Cir.1998), and the United States Supreme Court denied certiorari on February 22, 1999. See Bryan v. Singletary, 525 U.S. 1159, 119 S.Ct. 1068, 143 L.Ed.2d 72 (1999).

Governor Bush signed Bryan's second death warrant on September 23, 1999, setting execution for Wednesday, October 27, 1999. On September 23, 1999, postconviction counsel served public records requests to twenty state agencies pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.852(h)(3). On October 13, 1999, the trial court held a status hearing during which it ordered that Bryan was required to file his rule 3.850 motion by Friday, October 15, and allowed him to file a supplemental motion on the following Monday. Bryan filed motions accordingly.¹ On Tuesday, October 19, 1999, the State filed its responsive motion and the trial court held a hearing pursuant to Huff v. State, 622 So.2d 982 (Fla.1993). On October 21, 1999, the trial court issued an order denying relief.

RULE 3.850

As to Bryan's first issue, we hold that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in deciding that Bryan's right to public records was not denied under section 119.19, Florida Statutes (Supp.1998), and Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.852(h)(3). The trial court found that Bryan simply filed a "plethora of demands... to nearly every public agency that had any contact" with him, and that he failed to identify specific concerns or issues to the trial court that would warrant relief. The trial court therefore found Bryan's requests to be "at best a `fishing expedition' and at worst a dilatory tactic." The trial court further noted that Bryan has "not shown good cause why these new public records requests were not made until after the death warrant was signed." See Buenoano v. State, 708 So.2d 941, 947 (Fla.)("[Public records requests] shall not serve as a basis for a stay of execution unless Buenoano makes a showing that the documents sought contain newly discovered evidence likely to entitle her to relief."), cert. denied, 523 U.S. 1043, 118 S.Ct. 1358, 140 L.Ed.2d 507 (1998). Thus, the trial court properly denied relief. Bryan's second claim is that the trial court erred in denying relief based on trial counsel's alleged ineffectiveness during the guilt phase in failing to submit testimony from Cooper regarding Bryan's mental state. We disagree. First, this issue is procedurally barred. See Fla. R.Crim. P. 3.850(b)(1); Pope v. State, 702 So.2d 221, 223 (Fla.1997); Mills v. State, 684 So.2d 801, 805 n. 9 (Fla.1996). Even if this claim was not barred, Bryan would not be entitled to relief under Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984).² Trial counsel asked Cooper about Bryan's mental state during a pretrial deposition wherein she affirmed that "he knew right from wrong" and stated, "I would not say he was insane. He was fully aware of what he was doing[.]" Thus, even though Cooper stated that Bryan was "crazy" and "acting real strange," which could arguably support a mental-state defense, she also made statements otherwise. To that end, Cooper could have provided additional damaging information about Bryan's ability to plan and carry out criminal offenses. Thus, even if this claim was not barred, Bryan's inability to satisfy Strickland would have denied him relief.

Bryan's third claim also affords no relief. This is a restatement of issue two applied to the sentencing phase, which is procedurally barred because it is based on evidence that could have been discovered earlier. See Fla. R.Crim. P. 3.850(b)(1); Pope, 702 So.2d at 224; Mills, 684 So.2d at 805 n. 9. Alternatively, Cooper could have provided additional damaging testimony about Bryan's conduct during the time in question; thus, counsel was not deficient in deciding not to call her as a witness. See Strickland, 466 U.S. at 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052.

The trial court properly denied Bryan's fourth claim as procedurally barred since Bryan raised a claim of ineffective assistance of mental health experts under Ake v. Oklahoma, 470 U.S. 68, 105 S.Ct. 1087, 84 L.Ed.2d 53 (1985), in his previous rule 3.850 motion and because the information in support of this claim was available at the time of trial. See Fla. R.Crim. P. 3.850(b)(1); Pope, 702 So.2d at 224; Mills, 684 So.2d at 805 n. 9. Furthermore, Bryan's recent claim that his mental health experts and trial counsel lacked facts upon which to explore his alleged drug use, drinking problem, and sleep deprivation at the time of the crime is undermined by his own failure to provide such facts himself. Rather, Bryan insisted that he did not commit the murder. Bryan testified at trial that he slept while Cooper and the victim were on a drug deal from which the victim never returned, and he attributed the murder to Cooper. The tape of a Cooper-to-Bryan telephone call would not have further illuminated...