Van Cavage Case Summary

Appellant has been provided with declarations from his prior counsel during previous felonies used by the state as aggravating circumstances. Michael Van Cavage was defense counsel for Appellant in 1983, when Appellant was convicted in Escambia County of robbery, burglary, kidnapping, and weapons offenses. See Exhibit 1. John Bigham is a retired lawyer who formerly practiced criminal defense in the State of Texas. See Exhibit 2. In 1991, Mr. Bigham was appointed to represent Appellant on a burglary charge in Bell County, Texas.
Mr. Rollo, Appellant’s counsel for the 2000 murder trial in Florida, did not contact either lawyer before or during the penalty phase. Had Mr. Rollo contacted either, both would have provided information concerning Appellant’s prior convictions that would have been relevant to diminishing the weight of the prior-felony/parole status aggravating factors or other aggravators alleged by the State.
For instance, before trial on the 1982 offenses, Mr. Van Cavage moved for the appointment of two psychiatric experts to evaluate Appellant’s competency and his mental state. In his motion, Mr. Van Cavage stated that he had reason to believe that Appellant may have been incompetent at the time of the offense and may be incompetent to assist counsel. The court agreed to appoint the State’s expert, Dr. B.R. Ogburn, M.D., to

Ogburn examined Appellant on three separate occasions, reviewed court documents, and interviewed Mark Bowden, a friend of Appellant’s who was with him on the evening prior to the 1982 offenses. Dr. Ogburn concluded that, on the night of the crimes, Appellant was intoxicated and succumbed to loss of control stemming from a woman turning him down for another man. Dr. Ogburn further concluded that Appellant’s crimes were not planned or premeditated, but the result of emotional “triggering” that had occurred on the previous night. Dr. Ogburn concluded that Appellant was unable to form specific intent for the 1982