In Vining v. Sec. Dep’t of Corrections, No. 07-15681 (June 28, 2010), the Court denied habeas relief to a Florida inmate sentenced to death for a 1987 murder.
The Court rejected Vining’s argument that he was denied a fair trial because the state trial court considered extra-record information. Applying Brecht v. Abrahamson’s standard of review, the Court determined that any error did not have a substantial effect on the jury’s verdict. The Court noted that none of the extra-record materials that the judge reviewed were presented to the jury, which reached a verdict independent of the judge’s investigation. The Court also noted that the trial judge’s familiarity with hypnosis was irrelevant because of independent evidence that showed that prosecution witnesses were not hypnotized. Finally, at the penalty phase, the jury recommended death, and the judge’s consultation of extra-record information did not affect his decision to impose the jury’s recommended sentence.
The Court also rejected Vining’s ineffective assistance of counsel claims, noting that no reasonable probability existed that the trial would have come out differently.
