Opinion ID: 852583
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Other Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Claims

Text: Stephenson raises a number of claims of ineffective assistance that are unrelated to the stun belt.
At trial, Stephenson contended that three witnesses, his ex-wife, Dawn Krantz; Krantz's neighbor, Roxanne Lester; and Stephenson's friend, Julie Girtman, established that he could not have committed the murders in Warrick County between 9:50 and 10:00 pm on March 28 as alleged by the State. [8] The claim of ineffective assistance turns on failure to impeach Crystal Carter, a witness who contradicted Krantz on a point unrelated to Stephenson's alibi. Stephenson argues this undermined Krantz's credibility on the alibi. Krantz testified that Stephenson took her to work the following Sunday, March 31, 1996, and that she did not see him again until after he surrendered to the authorities on April 3, 1996. Whether Krantz and Stephenson saw each other between noon on March 31 and April 3 appears to be insignificant in itself. However, Carter, a friend and co-worker of Krantz, testified to having seen Krantz and Stephenson together on the night of March 31. Stephenson contends that his attorneys failed to impeach Carter and, as a result, rendered ineffective assistance. The post-conviction review court rejected this claim, and so do we. Carter's initial testimony was consistent with Krantz's. In her first appearance on the stand, Carter testified that she had not seen Stephenson from the day of the killings through the end of March. After her initial testimony, Carter called defense counsel Long and told him that she had in fact seen Stephenson on March 31 in Owensboro, Kentucky, which is on the Ohio River across from Spencer County, Indiana. Long notified the court, and Trooper Marvin Heilman immediately interviewed Carter. In a recorded statement, Carter said that she had not seen Stephenson on March 31, which was consistent with her prior testimony. When recalled by the State, however, Carter testified that she had called attorney Long to change her story because she thought the truth should come out. Carter then testified that she and Krantz had seen Stephenson in Owensboro the night of March 31. Carter testified that Stephenson was driving Girtman's car and flagged Carter and Krantz down as they were driving home from Wal-Mart. [9] Carter pulled over, and Stephenson and Krantz exited their vehicles and spoke while Carter remained in her car. Carter could not hear what was said between the pair but testified that after they spoke they both got into Carter's car and told her to drive to a gas station in Owensboro. En route Krantz and Stephenson talked, but Carter remembered, [j]ust that [Stephenson] was upset about something about a gun. At the gas station, Krantz and Stephenson left the car, and Krantz returned to the car about ten minutes later. According to Carter, Krantz told her not to say nothing. Stephenson contends that Krantz's credibility was crucial to his defense and was undercut by Carter's testimony. Stephenson contends that trial counsel was ineffective for failure to impeach Carter with the prior inconsistent statement given in her recorded interview with Officer Heilman. It is true that Carter's final version contradicted Krantz on a point unrelated to Stephenson's alibi. But failure to impeach Carter with the taped statement she made to Trooper Heilman did not render counsel ineffective. First, the jury had already heard Carter's earlier denial of any contact with Stephenson after the killings. The same statement to Heilman added nothing to the inconsistency already in the record. Second, in an eight-month trial, some oversights are inevitable, and this episode in isolation does not render counsel's overall performance substandard. Smith v. State, 272 Ind. 216, 218, 396 N.E.2d 898, 900 (1979). Third, in Carter's second appearance on the stand, she elaborated on her recollection of the conversation between Krantz and Stephenson in the car in Owensboro. She said she heard Stephenson refer to the gun while talking to Krantz and say, I loaned it to a buddy, and all hell's broke loose. This supported Stephenson's basic defense that others had been the killers. For that reason, embracing, rather than attacking, Carter's account was a reasonable judgment on the part of the defense. For all these reasons, failure to introduce the statement to Heilman was neither substandard nor prejudicial.
Stephenson gave a voluntary statement to the police two days after the murders. Stephenson argues that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel when counsel failed to attack or mitigate the effect of this statement due to counsel's mistaken belief that the statement would not be admitted into evidence. The statement is in itself not particularly significant. The defense's theory of the case was that on the night of the killings Stephenson went first to Mossberger's house in Warrick County, next saw the victims at a Circle S convenience store, and then proceeded to his home in Rockport in adjacent Spencer County. In a police interview on March 30, 1996, Stephenson had given the officers a different sequence. He said that he saw the victims at the Circle S convenience store, then drove by Mossberger's house, and on to Rockport. The defense theory obviously conflicted with Stephenson's statement to police as to the sequence of these events. As Stephenson sees it, the conflict was damaging to his credibility. Stephenson contends that at the time of the statement he was intoxicated and for that reason mistaken about the chain of events. He contends that expert testimony could have bolstered this claim. At post-conviction Stephenson produced Dr. Robert Smith, an expert in chemical dependency, who testified that in his opinion Stephenson's intoxication on March 30 impaired Stephenson's ability to recall the sequence of events on the night of the murders. Stephenson now contends counsel mistakenly believed that the intoxication would preclude admitting his statement to police as evidence at trial. He argues that if counsel had understood that the statement was admissible, they should have prepared to mitigate the harm of the statement by challenging its reliability through the use of an expert such as Dr. Smith. At post-conviction Stephenson pointed to two legal errors in his counsel's conclusion that the statement to police was inadmissible. Long testified that he should have challenged the statements based on intoxication. This seems unlikely to have succeeded. Generally, intoxication or mental impairment do not render a statement made by a defendant involuntary per se. Crain v. State, 736 N.E.2d 1223, 1232 (Ind.2000). These factors go to the weight of the statement, not to its admissibility. Id. The evidence shows Stephenson was drinking beer, but nowhere near the stage of intoxication required to exclude the statements. [10] Trial counsel Vowels offered a second ground for his belief that the statement was inadmissible. He testified at post-conviction review that counsel thought the tape of Stephenson's statement had been lost and that under the Rules of Evidence, 8, 900 series, they couldn't authenticate the transcript. So up to that point, we had a shot of winning because they couldn't account for Mr. Stephenson's whereabouts and all they had was Mr. Mossberger and Mr. Funk's say so that John Stephenson was the shooter. Under Boyd v. State, 430 N.E.2d 1146, 1148 (Ind.1982), however, the interrogating officer's testimony that the transcript accurately reflected the conversation is sufficient for admissibility of the transcript even though the tape was lost. We agree with Stephenson that his trial counsel's faith in excluding the statement was misplaced. But we do not agree that this error had any significant effect on the trial. The evidence was admissible whether or not counsel correctly assessed its admissibility. The only issue is whether it could have been effectively contested by expert testimony. The claim that beer can cause memory to be somewhat impaired, particularly as to details that seem insignificant, is one that jurors can assess. We think there is no reasonable probability that failure to produce an expert on this subject had any material effect on the trial.
Stephenson contends that his trial attorneys neglected to present any mitigating evidence at the penalty phase and that this was both substandard performance and prejudicial. Specifically, Stephenson argues that trial counsel inadequately investigated Stephenson's prior offenses and failed to interview key witnesses who would have testified to either Stephenson's character or his past good deeds, including saving one person from drowning. The State responds that trial counsel's pre-trial investigation was sufficient; the decisions on what evidence to present were strategic choices made after thorough consideration; and even if there were deficient performance, Stephenson cannot show any prejudice or that the result would have been different. The post-conviction court found that mitigating evidence could have been more thoroughly developed and investigated but ultimately concluded that under all the circumstances of this case, including counsel's knowledge of Stephenson's prior criminal convictions, including but not limited to his shooting of a loaded firearm into an occupied residence years before, counsel's decision not to open up Stephenson's background to allow such evidence to be presented to the jury by the prosecution during the death penalty phase of the trial cannot be said to be unreasonable or irrational, or ineffective assistance of counsel. The record supports this finding. Trial counsel testified persuasively that placing Stephenson's character in issue would open the door to rebuttal evidence of Stephenson's significant criminal history. Additionally, at the post-conviction hearing, Stephenson's ex-wife testified that Stephenson had physically abused her and on one occasion had beaten her so severely that she was hospitalized. Vowels testified that he was also concerned that the jury would learn of Stephenson's conviction for shooting into an occupied dwelling in Virginia and a battery charge alleging Stephenson struck a man with a shovel in Newburgh. Vowels testified, I made a decision of strategy and I employed it. The post-conviction court found that trial counsel's decision not to offer evidence of Stephenson's character was not unreasonable in view of the considerable negative evidence that Stephenson's character evidence would have produced. We agree. Stephenson cites Rompilla v. Beard, 545 U.S. 374, 125 S.Ct. 2456, 162 L.Ed.2d 360 (2005), in support of his claim that counsel's investigation of his past was ineffective. Rompilla's sole presentation in the penalty phase under the Pennsylvania death penalty statute consisted of testimony from five members of his family who begged for mercy. His son testified that he loved his father and would visit him in prison. Stephenson argues that the effort of Rompilla's attorneys, which was found ineffective, far exceeded Stephenson's trial counsel's performance. We do not find Rompilla controlling here. In Rompilla, the aggravating circumstance rendering the defendant eligible for the death penalty under Pennsylvania law was a significant history of felony convictions involving the use or threat of violence to the person. 545 U.S. at 383, 125 S.Ct. 2456. Rompilla's counsel was found ineffective for failure to investigate the circumstances of Rompilla's prior convictions to determine whether they involved the use of violence. The Supreme Court of the United States found that it was clear that Rompilla's trial counsel knew of the Commonwealth's plan to parade the details of the prior crime before the jury. Id. Rompilla's prior conviction file was a public document, readily available for the asking at the very courthouse where Rompilla was to be tried. Id. at 384, 125 S.Ct. 2456. The Court reasoned It is difficult to see how counsel could have failed to realize that without examining the readily available file they were seriously compromising their opportunity to respond to a case for aggravation. The prosecution was going to use the dramatic facts of a similar prior offense, and Rompilla's counsel had a duty to make all reasonable efforts to learn what they could about the offense. Reasonable efforts certainly included obtaining the Commonwealth's own readily available file on the prior conviction to learn what the Commonwealth knew about the crime, to discover any mitigating evidence the Commonwealth would downplay and to anticipate the details of the aggravating evidence the Commonwealth would emphasize. Id. at 385-86, 125 S.Ct. 2456. In Stephenson's case, the omitted investigation and testimony all related to mitigation, not to proof of an aggravating circumstance necessary for eligibility for the death penalty. As a result, in Stephenson's case the concern for opening the door to offsetting evidence is a proper, indeed necessary, consideration. This presents an entirely different situation from Rompilla. Defeating an eligibility aggravator avoids the death penalty. Establishing some mitigating character evidence does not close a door, and it can open one. That judgment is one in which counsel's choice is entitled to deference.
A claim of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel is analyzed under the same standard of review as for trial counsel. Lowery v. State, 640 N.E.2d 1031, 1048 (Ind.1994). Stephenson contends that his appellate counsel provided ineffective assistance by failing to raise three properly preserved issues. Stephenson also contends that this Court rendered his appellate counsel ineffective by limiting his brief to 28,000 words as provided by Appellate Rule 8.2. Stephenson's claim that counsel failed to raise his right to present a defense involves the trial court's denial of Stephenson's request to produce notes of investigating officers. [11] According to Stephenson, one of the notes indicated that law enforcement officers knew that the multitude of vehicles at Napier's and Southard's house was connected to Napier's drug-dealing. The defense contends that the three killings were related to Napier's drug operation. Stephenson submits that the officers' notes were exculpatory of Stephenson and inculpatory of others. The post-conviction court found that the materiality of this information appears marginal or speculative at best. We agree. Stephenson contended that the deaths were drug related. Knowledge that the officers suspected Napier of dealing does not exculpate Stephenson. These notes reflect suspicions, not evidence. And even evidence that Napier was a dealer would not suggest that Stephenson was innocent of these murders. The trial court denied Stephenson's request to question Herschel Siefert in front of the jury. Stephenson argues that appellate counsel was ineffective for failure to raise this issue on appeal. Near the end of trial, trial counsel learned of a witness who claimed to have been in jail with Seifert and Jimmy Knight and to have overheard them conversing about the murders, specifically why Siefert ordered the killings. Other witnesses claimed to have overheard similar statements from Siefert and Knight. Seifert had been arrested on federal drug charges and was being detained in Vanderburgh County. Siefert was called by the defense outside the presence of the jury. When the defense asked Seifert if he ordered the three killings, Seifert invoked his Fifth Amendment rights. The trial judge then denied trial counsel Long's request to question Seifert in front of the jury. The trial court held testimony of witnesses claiming to have heard incriminatory statements was admissible as statements against his penal interest. Stephenson claims that appellate counsel should have raised the issue that failure to allow the defense to force Siefert to invoke his right before the jury was reversible error. This contention fails because defendants do not have a right to force a witness to invoke the Fifth Amendment privilege before the jury. See United States v. Castorena-Jaime, 285 F.3d 916, 931 (10th Cir.2002) (The district court did not abuse its discretion by refusing to allow the Defendants to compel Castorena to appear before the jury simply to invoke his Fifth Amendment rights.); Bowles v. United States, 439 F.2d 536, 541 (D.C.Cir.1970). Stephenson contends that appellate counsel were ineffective for failure to raise the issue that, [o]ver defense objection, prospective jurors were excused because of their religious beliefs. This is based on the State's excusing for cause jurors who affirmed they would not consider recommending the death penalty. According to Stephenson, Indiana Code section 35-37-1-5(a)(3), [12] which allows such exclusion, suppressed those prospective jurors' rights to practice their religion. He also contends that exclusion of jurors on this ground violates the equal privileges provision found in Article I, section 23 of the Indiana Constitution. We rejected this contention in Ben-Yisrayl v. State, 753 N.E.2d 649, 655 (2001) and adhere to that view. Accordingly, appellate counsel were not ineffective for their decision not to raise these issues on appeal. Stephenson further claims that appellate counsel failed to challenge the reasonable doubt instructions as erroneous. Specifically, Stephenson disagrees with the instructions in both the guilt and penalty phase which define reasonable doubt as a fair, actual, and logical doubt that arises in your mind. . . . According to Stephenson use of the verb `arise' in the instruction violated Stephenson's rights under the United States Constitution because requiring the evidence to generate reasonable doubt places an unconstitutional burden on the defendant to prove his innocence or his claim for life. . . . Stephenson also claims appellate counsel should have challenged the instruction that if the State failed to prove each of these elements beyond a reasonable doubt, you should find the Defendant not guilty. . . . Stephenson argues that should instead of must in this instruction allowed a jury to find him guilty on less than a reasonable doubt. This court has previously held these same instructions proper. See Ben-Yisrayl, 738 N.E.2d at 265. We think it plain that many more issues would have presented a greater prospect of success on appeal. None of these instruction errors was raised at trial and none approaches fundamental error permitting it to be raised even if not preserved at trial. Finally, Stephenson claims that this Court rendered appellate counsel ineffective and disallowed meaningful appellate review by the briefing limitations and time limitations it placed on appellate counsel. This claim is not supported by pointing to any argument that was omitted from the one hundred page revised brief. Stephenson's appellate counsel initially filed a 152 page brief without permission to exceed the fourteen thousand words or thirty pages allowed by the appellate rules. We ordered re-briefing in compliance with the rule at that time which granted this court discretion to permit a party to increase the number of pages to exceed the designated number. See Appellate Rule 8.2 (1998). The post-conviction court rejected all of these claims and found that based on Strickland, Stephenson's evidence, including but not limited to the testimony of [appellate counsel] at the PCR hearing, does not prove by a preponderance of the evidence the ineffectiveness of appellate counsel. . . . The post-conviction court observed appellate counsel raised all issues they believed were meritorious and that according to Jones v. Barnes, 463 U.S. 745, 103 S.Ct. 3308, 77 L.Ed.2d 987 (1983) the post-conviction court held appellate counsel need not raise every issue that presents itself for appeal, and counsel is permitted to choose the strongest issues for argument and omit others. We agree.