John Valentine v. State of Tennessee, W2017-00161-CCA-R3-PC

In 2013 a Shelby County jury convicted John Valentine of rape of a child and aggravated sexual battery; he received an effective 33-year sentence. The convictions were affirmed on direct appeal.
The victim, a young child, disclosed sexual acts by her father; medical exam showed scratches, redness, and bruising described as "indeterminate" but consistent with disclosure.
At trial, Valentine gave a statement acknowledging the child touched his penis while in bed with him and the child’s mother; he denied forcing intercourse and said he did not tell the child to stop.
Valentine filed a post-conviction petition alleging ineffective assistance of trial counsel for: (1) failing to investigate and locate a potentially exonerating witness; (2) failing to retain an expert to rebut the State’s medical evidence; and (3) failing to have Valentine evaluated for competency.
At the post-conviction evidentiary hearing trial counsel was the only witness; he testified to multiple client meetings, review of discovery, discussions with the prosecutor, and strategic decisions not to hire an investigator or medical expert or seek a competency evaluation.
The post-conviction court denied relief, finding Valentine presented no proof (no witnesses or expert) to show deficiency or prejudice; the Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Counsel failed to investigate / locate exculpatory witnesses	Valentine: counsel did not conduct independent investigation and missed a potentially exonerating witness	State & counsel: counsel reviewed discovery, met family, and reasonably concluded further investigation would not help	Held: Denied — petitioner offered no testimony or evidence of a material witness, so no deficiency or prejudice shown
Counsel failed to retain a medical expert to rebut State’s exam	Valentine: trial counsel should have hired an expert to counter nurse practitioner’s testimony and photos	State & counsel: counsel cross-examined the examiner and reasonably declined to hire an expert	Held: Denied — petitioner produced no expert or evidence showing prejudice from lack of expert
Counsel failed to obtain competency evaluation	Valentine: counsel should have had him evaluated for competency to stand trial	State & counsel: competency was never raised; counsel reasonably saw no need	Held: Denied — petitioner presented no evidence that competency was an issue or that evaluation would have changed outcome
Sufficiency of proof at post-conviction hearing	Valentine: relied on counsel’s omissions to show ineffectiveness	State: petitioner bore burden to present clear and convincing evidence (witnesses/experts) and failed to do so	Held: Denied — petitioner failed to meet clear-and-convincing burden; appellate court defers to trial court credibility findings

Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (establishes two-part ineffective assistance test of deficiency and prejudice)
Black v. State, 794 S.W.2d 752 (Tenn. Crim. App.) (post-conviction claim that counsel failed to locate/call witnesses requires petitioner to present those witnesses at hearing)
Goad v. State, 938 S.W.2d 363 (Tenn. 1996) (objective standard of reasonable attorney performance under Strickland)
Baxter v. Rose, 523 S.W.2d 930 (Tenn. 1975) (counsel must perform as a lawyer with ordinary training and skill)
Finch v. State, 226 S.W.3d 307 (Tenn. 2007) (clarifies effective assistance standard and prejudice inquiry)
Lane v. State, 316 S.W.3d 555 (Tenn. 2010) (standard for clear and convincing evidence in post-conviction proceedings)
Grindstaff v. State, 297 S.W.3d 208 (Tenn. 2009) (discussion of appellate deference to trial court credibility findings)