Valentine v. State

The defendant failed to show prejudice from his counsel's alleged deficiency in not obtaining a psychological evaluation of him, since there was no evidence of the defendant's unspecified mental health diagnosis or treatment.

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William Thomas Valentine, Jr. was tried by an Athens-Clarke County jury and convicted of murder and kidnapping. Following the denial of his motion for new trial, Valentine appeals, contending that the trial court did not give his lawyer enough time to prepare for the testimony of an expert witness and that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel. Upon our review of the briefs and record, we see no error, and we affirm.1

1. Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, the evidence shows that Valentine spent the evening of October 9, 2010 with Alfred Harris and Judith Ann Miracle in Harris’s apartment, where they smoked crack cocaine and drank alcohol. Late in the evening, Miracle went to a bedroom to sleep, leaving Harris and Valentine in the living room. Miracle later awoke, started toward the bathroom, and encountered Valentine, who told her to stay in the bedroom and not to try to leave through a window. She returned to the bedroom, where she was visited several times thereafter by Valentine, who reminded her not to leave, and threatened to kill her if she did so. At some point, Valentine allowed Miracle to visit the bathroom, at which time she saw that the cover of the toilet tank was missing. Early in the morning of October 10, Valentine ordered Miracle to get dressed, took her cell phone, grabbed her by the arm, and forced her to leave the apartment with him. As they left the apartment, Miracle saw blood on the floor of the kitchen. Valentine and Miracle walked away from the apartment for about ten minutes, and during that time, Valentine warned Miracle not to run or say anything. Finally, Valentine took Miracle to his sister’s home. Valentine then went to his girlfriend’s house, where he showered and burned the clothes and boots that he had been wearing.

Valentine v. State

The defendant failed to show prejudice from his counsel's alleged deficiency in not obtaining a psychological evaluation of him, since there was no evidence of the defendant's unspecified mental health diagnosis or treatment.

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