Opinion ID: 564379
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Performance Test

Text: 28 Kenley contends that the Crownover, Manion and Parwatikar evidence, and his discussions with counsel, should have led counsel to further investigate for mitigating evidence. We must evaluate the reasonableness of counsel's decision not to investigate further in light of what he knew or should have known. 29 The state primarily focussed on counsel's decision not to present any mitigating evidence rather than the decision not to investigate further, but it appears the same reasoning was relied upon for both analyses. In reaching the legal conclusion that counsel's decision was reasonable, the state courts relied on counsel's conclusions that available mitigating evidence was too insubstantial and too old, that Dr. Parwatikar's findings were conclusively non-mitigating, and that additional aggravating information would exceed mitigating information. The first two contentions we address now; the third we save for our prejudice discussion. The district court concluded, without discussion, that counsel had conducted a thorough investigation and his decision not to investigate further was reasonable in light of the information he had. Mem.Op. at 41. We have some trouble with these unsupported conclusions. 30 The fact findings made by the state courts regarding the Crownover, Manion and Parwatikar evidence that were used to support their legal conclusion were fairly similar. The circuit court which held Kenley's state post-conviction proceeding concluded: 31 The sum total of Mrs. Crownover's testimony would be that as a young boy between the ages of 11 years and 15 years, the defendant had been aggressive, hostile and not functioning in the classroom and as a result of such conduct, he had been expelled from school. The testimony of Dr. Manion would have been that as a teenager the defendant would go into a state of uncontrollable rage, that he was extremely defensive, difficult to work with, not communicative, expressed negative and hostile feelings toward his family, especially his father, that he had only really shown any improvement while on medication in an institutional situation. 32 Circuit Court Opinion at 3-4. The circuit court also concluded that [n]either Dr. Manion's nor Mrs. Crownover's testimony would conclusively show that the defendant was suffering from any mental disease or defect. Id. at 4. The appeals court reached a similar conclusion. Kenley, 759 S.W.2d at 347. 33 We think these fact findings are unfairly slanted against Kenley, are incomplete and are only partially supported by the record. We are therefore unable to deferentially and exclusively rely on them. In an attempt to justify counsel's decision, the state and district courts have trivialized the information contained and referred to in the Crownover and Manion records, characterizing it as scant mitigating evidence, and have further overstated the conclusiveness of Dr. Parwatikar's report. Most of the mitigating information has been omitted from their fact findings. By way of supplement we offer additional facts adduced from the materials which were available to counsel and the state courts to better reflect the true picture of mitigating and aggravating evidence reviewed by counsel. 34 Kenley was first treated at the Poplar Bluff, Missouri diagnostic center in 1971. He was next treated at the outpatient clinic of Farmington State Hospital in 1973, then again in 1975. The admissions appear to have been related to behavioral problems at home and in school. Kenley was treated again at the Poplar Bluff diagnostic center in 1975 after he experienced fainting spells. From there he was sent to the Lutheran Medical Center where many of his medical problems were first documented. The records contain information on suicide attempts, abnormal tracing in Kenley's EEG which was considered not conclusive of convulsive disorder, drug use, anxiety and hostility. The records contain a reference to the fact Kenley was sleeping with a gun under his bed for fear of his father. His problem was diagnosed as a possible seizure disorder. That same year Kenley was first treated by Dr. Manion. In 1977 Kenley was treated by Dr. Richards at Farmington State Hospital and was also discharged from the military due to a suicide attempt. Names of family members appeared at various points in the reports and records with respect to incidents and interviews. This information was all referred to in one or more of Crownover's records, the pre-examination questionnaire, and Parwatikar's report. 35 Before Dr. Parwatikar's examination of Kenley, Crownover completed a pre-examination questionnaire. In that questionnaire and in her social history she documented Kenley's troubled home life and childhood, including the divorce of his parents, environmental instability, a father with psychiatric problems who threatened Kenley on many occasions, and aggressive, sometimes violent behavior by Kenley. She also documented Kenley's alcohol problem, the prescription drug treatments, and that Kenley served in the military. 36 Dr. Manion's records document Kenley's report of his father's threats. They also document that Kenley's father had a chronic mental illness and was a continuing psychiatric out-patient. Dr. Manion concluded Kenley had an unsocialized behavior disorder and prescribed anti-depressants used for mental patients to try to normalize his behavior. The medication resulted in some improvement in Kenley's behavior, and Dr. Manion opined that with continued treatment Kenley would be improved. Kenley's EEG was considered abnormal by Manion but was inconclusive of convulsive disorder. 37 After considering interviews with Kenley and other limited background information, Dr. Parwatikar performed intelligence, brain function and personality tests on Kenley. Parwatikar concluded Kenley had an anti-social personality disorder (based on personality test results), but was competent to stand trial and was not suffering from an exculpatory mental disease or defect. Dr. Parwatikar reached no diagnosis regarding the results of Kenley's intelligence and organic brain functioning tests, although his report notes some tests were inconclusive and inconsistent. The report also documents Kenley's alcohol and drug problems and two potential suicide attempts, one in the military and one drug overdose. The report documents one violent incident during Kenley's incarceration. 38 Only combined with our summary here would the findings of the state and district courts even begin to portray an accurate picture of the information which counsel reviewed. Counsel testified that he viewed the possible psychiatric and medical testimony as mitigating but felt it was simply too old and inadequate to overcome Dr. Parwatikar's conclusive findings. Counsel apparently missed the references in these materials to the more recent evidence of Dr. Richards's report and Kenley's military record. Each was more recent and more mitigating than Dr. Manion's report. Counsel should have been aware of these as they were clearly documented in one or more places in the information he considered. 39 The record before us contains Dr. Walker's 1977 report. It states that Kenley has possible organicity and suffers from an anti-social personality disorder. The report also documents Kenley's drug abuse and states that there is some indication of pathology possibly contributing to anxiety or schizoid thinking. The report documents an abnormal EEG which suggests a possible convulsive disorder and MMPI test results with peaks on the psychopathic deviate, manic and paranoid scales. 40 Kenley's military record documents a wrist slitting incident. The military medical records labeled the incident as both a suicide gesture and suicide attempt. The medical evaluation was that Kenley had suicidal tendencies and a personality disorder. The record suggests Kenley attempted suicide as a way to get out of the military, a fact Kenley confirmed to Parwatikar. After the wrist slitting incident he was reassigned and was eventually discharged as unsuitable for military service. 41 Had counsel merely reviewed the information he had and requested the additional reports, he would have found additional documentation of Kenley's problems so as to bolster Manion's findings and further challenge the conclusiveness of Parwatikar's report. As it was, counsel only became aware of Kenley's social history after Crownover initiated contact with him. In fact, the only investigation initiated by counsel was his request for the prison psychiatric examination and his discussion with a non-examining doctor. 42 In addition to this expert evidence, certain family members had even more recent contact with Kenley and had continued to observe problems and behavior consistent with that documented by Manion, Richards and the military doctors. Family references were contained in Kenley's social history, some were allegedly contacted by Parwatikar, others were discussed with counsel, but none were contacted by counsel. Counsel testified, and the State alleges, that family members were not contacted or called as witnesses because Kenley instructed counsel not to do so. The transcript excerpts in the record only clearly demonstrate that Kenley instructed counsel not to call his father and grandmother. 6 Kenley's case is distinguishable from those where a defendant instructs counsel not to call certain witnesses and counsel has no way of knowing about other possible witnesses, Bolder, 921 F.2d at 1363-65, as well as those cases where witnesses were contacted, were not willing to testify favorably, or were unable to provide any material mitigating testimony. Id. (several witnesses contacted); Guinan, 909 F.2d at 1231 (family witnesses were not called but were interviewed); Stokes v. Armontrout, 851 F.2d 1085, 1095-96 (8th Cir.1988) (not enough to merely speculate that a tearful parent on the stand might evoke pity), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 1019, 109 S.Ct. 823, 102 L.Ed.2d 812 (1989). 43 The affidavits included in the district court file contain statements by roughly a dozen family members further corroborating the facts of Kenley's disadvantaged childhood and his drinking problems, as well as his good qualities such as trustworthiness, work ethic, and so forth. Two of the affiants state they approached counsel with their willingness to provide information about Kenley and sympathetic testimony on Kenley's behalf at trial, but counsel declined. Several affiants also state they saw Kenley the morning after his arrest at the jail and that he was drunk. This fact is corroborated by articles based on witness accounts appearing in the Daily American Republic and a statement made by Sheriff Link of Butler County to counsel before trial that he saw Kenley in a tavern the afternoon before the crimes and that he had second-hand knowledge that Kenley purchased alcohol the night of the crimes. 44 Turning to counsel's other justification for not presenting available mitigating evidence, that Parwatikar's report was conclusively non-mitigating, if counsel would have reviewed the report closely, he would have found it not so conclusive after all. This is so even without regard to the additional undiscovered reports and witnesses. Parwatikar's report states that he based his findings on the examination he performed, the police report, records of Kenley's 1977 admission to Farmington State Hospital, and interviews with Kenley's family. However, Parwatikar's report contains no reference to Manion or her diagnosis, or to Richards whose 1977 report Parwatikar states he reviewed. The report also indicates Parwatikar knew of Kenley's military record through discussions with Kenley, not from having reviewed the record itself. Parwatikar's report states family was contacted, but no names are listed, no affiants have stated as much, and the record contains no evidence of such contact. The report is inconclusive in two of the three test categories of the examination and Parwatikar's personality diagnosis is not inconsistent with prior diagnoses. 45 Due to the omissions and incomplete test results, Parwatikar's report can hardly be said to be conclusively non-mitigating. An incomplete or inconclusive report does not obviate the possible significance of older evidence just because it is more recent. Thomas, 738 F.2d at 309 (such a report only found to somewhat reduce the probability of prejudice). The Thomas decision has other similarities to the present case. Thomas's counsel relied solely on his interviews with Thomas and his review of defendant's social history. Thomas had been in the mental hospital on five different occasions, had attempted to overdose on drugs, and was a psychiatric outpatient. This court found ineffective assistance of counsel due to an inadequate investigation. Id. at 308. Kenley's counsel did not do much more than Thomas's counsel, yet Kenley's background was more substantial and better documented. 46 The fact that Parwatikar's report rules out a mental disease or defect and incompetency does not mean it rules out lesser but potentially mitigating conditions and disorders. We are aware of no legal authority strictly limiting mitigating medical, psychiatric and psychological evidence to that of legal insanity or incompetence. In fact, evidence of conditions, disorders and disturbances are precisely the kinds of facts which may be considered by a jury as mitigating evidence. See Eddings v. Oklahoma, 455 U.S. 104, 114-15, 102 S.Ct. 869, 877, 71 L.Ed.2d 1 (1982). 47 None of the information we have discussed was hidden from counsel. References were made to it or it was brought to his attention in the course of his review of materials and his representation of Kenley. We believe that the evidence considered by counsel, along with the evidence that would have been discovered through further investigation, contained much potentially mitigating evidence. Hitchcock v. Dugger, 481 U.S. 393, 398, 107 S.Ct. 1821, 1824, 95 L.Ed.2d 347 (1987) (evidence consisting of family testimony, troubled and difficult background, prior criminal history or lack thereof, and prospects for rehabilitation are all admissible as mitigating evidence); Eddings, 455 U.S. at 113-16, 102 S.Ct. at 876-78 (facts about family background, personal history, emotional disorders, age, emotional disturbance, beatings by one's father, and slow mental development are admissible mitigating evidence). Thus, this case may be distinguished from one like Laws where the court found that defendant's records revealed no mitigating medical or psychiatric problems. 48 When counsel makes a decision not to further investigate, that decision is only reasonable to the extent professional judgment makes the limitations placed on further investigation reasonable in the circumstances. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 690-91, 104 S.Ct. at 2066. We will not fault a reasonable strategy not to investigate further if it is based on sound assumptions. Pickens, 714 F.2d at 1467. Here it was not a reasonable strategy that led counsel not to investigate, but lack of thoroughness and preparation. Counsel can hardly be said to have made a strategic choice against pursuing a certain line of investigation when s/he has not yet obtained the facts on which such a decision could be made. Chambers, 907 F.2d at 835 (quoting United States v. Gray, 878 F.2d 702, 711 (3rd Cir.1989)). 49 In sum, the state court fact findings were incomplete and counsel's decision to stop investigating was unreasonable because his belief that mitigating evidence was too old and insubstantial resulted from his failure to follow available leads to more recent and persuasive mitigating evidence. Counsel's investigation fell short of what was required in this case. We also feel counsel unreasonably concluded Parwatikar's report was conclusively non-mitigating because the report itself was incomplete, often inconclusive, and did not rule out the possibility of mitigating evidence of disorders, conditions and disturbances.