Pierce v. State

In the wake of his July 2002 attack on a woman, a jury convicted Cornell Pierce of rape, kidnapping, aggravated sodomy, and robbery. On appeal, Pierce argues that he received ineffective assistance when trial counsel failed to impeach the victim’s credibility with evidence concerning her 1996 drug arrest. We find no error and affirm. The record shows that the State filed a motion in limine to exclude evidence of the victim’s 1996 arrest for marijuana solicitation. The trial court granted the motion. On direct examination, the victim testified to the details of Pierce’s 2002 attack, but denied that she had approached Pierce and asked him for marijuana. Pierce later testified that she had done so. At the end of his cross-examination of the victim, Pierce renewed his effort to introduce evidence of the victim’s 1996 arrest, and then moved for a mistrial on the ground that the excluded evidence was essential to his defense that the victim had approached Pierce for marijuana and consented to the sexual encounter with him. The trial court denied the motion for mistrial.

After his conviction, Pierce obtained a stipulation from the State that trial counsel would testify that her failure to seek the introduction of the 1996 arrest for purposes of impeachment was not a strategic or tactical decision. Pierce’s amended motion for new trial argued that this failure amounted to ineffective assistance. Citing Allen v. State , 275 Ga. 64 561 SE2d 397 2002, the trial court denied the motion.