Opinion ID: 885360
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Failure to properly investigate.

Text: ś 56 Dawson contends that the District Court erred when it found that his counsel did not conduct an ineffective pretrial investigation. ś 57 First, Dawson asserts that his counsel should have obtained the complete records of his evaluation at Montana State Hospital, including the staff notes. Dawson argues that the District Court relied on his lack of remorse as a factor in imposing the death penalty and, therefore, he was prejudiced by his counsel's failure to obtain staff notes which reflected his emotional state during his 48-day evaluation at Montana State Hospital. ś 58 In response, the State contends that counsel's failure to obtain the staff notes did not prejudice Dawson because they indicate that Dawson showed some display of emotion only four times during the 48 days he was at Montana State Hospital. Moreover, the staff notes indicate that Dawson ate and slept well and that on one particular day he appeared to be in a good mood and was seen laughing with a visitor. Additionally, the State asserts that the District Court's finding at the sentencing phase regarding Dawson's apparent lack of remorse was based on the court's own evaluation of Dawson throughout the extensive court proceedings, and not a result, as Dawson contends, of Dr. Van Hassel's testimony. ś 59 At trial, Dr. Van Hassel testified on direct examination by the State to the following: A. [By Dr. Van Hassel] The only thing that appeared out of the ordinary whatsoever was his apparent lack of observable distress about his situation. Given the fact that he had been accused of some very serious crimes and was facing some very serious consequences. He did not appear to show any anxiety about that. He did not show any outward signs of depression about that. Nor did he show outward signs of anger about that. Dawson argues that had his counsel obtained the staff notes reflecting his emotional displays, his counsel could have contradicted Dr. Van Hassel's testimony that Dawson showed no emotional response, and as a result the District Court would not have found that he lacked remorse. ś 60 The District Court concluded that Dawson could show no prejudice as a result of his counsel's failure to obtain the notes and records, stating: Although it may have been helpful to have those records they would have had no effect on the issues of guilt. Judge Barz in her findings relied on her observations during the trial and other appropriate evidence in reaching her conclusions concerning the death sentence. ś 61 The sentencing court's findings of fact regarding Dawson's lack of remorse were as follows: The Court has had the opportunity to observe the Defendant during the entire trial and throughout all proceedings. His conduct in all proceedings has been appropriate. Scarcely a word had been spoken in the Court's presence. The complete lack of emotion and cool detachment in his demeanor has been noted throughout. As Dr. Van Hassel testified, lack of an emotional response can be a coping mechanism of denial, or a personality that shows no overt emotion normally or, finally, that the person truly is not concerned. Whatever the reason, the Defendant has demonstrated no remorse or genuine concern or respect for human life to the time of sentencing. It is clear from the District Court's findings that it relied on its own observations of Dawson throughout the proceedings to conclude that he displayed an apparent lack of remorse. ś 62 Moreover, at the evidentiary hearing to consider Dawson's ineffective assistance claims, Dr. Van Hassel testified, regarding the staff notes, that: it was the consensus of the professionals involved in the evaluation that overall his displays of emotion were substantially less than what you might have expected for someone in his situation. ś 63 Accordingly, we conclude that the District Court did not err when it found that Dawson could not establish prejudice as a result of his counsel's failure to obtain the complete records and staff notes of his evaluation at Montana State Hospital. ś 64 Second, Dawson contends that his counsel should have pursued the possibility that he suffered from epilepsy. Dawson asserts that his mental health evaluation recommended further EEG testing because of the possibility of epilepsy and, therefore, his counsel should have explored this possibility. ś 65 In response, the State asserts that Dawson's counsel's decision not to further pursue an investigation that Dawson may have suffered from epilepsy was reasonable considering that Dawson had no history of serious head injuries, gave his attorneys no reason to believe he might be suffering from epilepsy or neurological problems of any kind, and the CT scan and second EEG performed on Dawson were normal. ś 66 At the evidentiary hearing to consider Dawson's petition for postconviction relief, Allen Beck, Dawson's trial counsel, testified that nothing in the defense's pretrial preparation, including medical information and information from Dawson himself, indicated that he suffered from epilepsy. Beck testified further, that he did not believe there was any basis to pursue the possibility that Dawson suffered from epilepsy as a defense at trial. ś 67 Dr. Gary Cooney, a neurologist who interpreted the two EEG tests performed on Dawson, also testified at the evidentiary hearing. Dr. Cooney testified that the abnormalities found in the initial EEG were not strongly suggestive of epilepsy, and that there were alternative explanations for the intermittent spike discharges, which did not necessarily indicate an abnormality. Dr. Cooney testified that following the initial EEG, a CT scan and a second EEG were ordered. The results of the CT scan and the second EEG were normal. ś 68 Accordingly, we conclude that the District Court did not err when it found that there was no evidence presented that Dawson was epileptic and, therefore, Dawson's counsel's decision not to further pursue this factor was reasonable. ś 69 Third, Dawson asserts that his counsel failed to investigate the consequences of Dawson's drug ingestion. Dawson contends that the affidavit testimony of Dr. Watkins submitted at the evidentiary hearing to consider Dawson's petition for postconviction relief established that Dawson's mental capacity was impaired by his drug use. ś 70 In response, the State asserts that Dawson's counsel did pursue an investigation into the consequences of Dawson's drug use, and thereafter determined that it would not be an adequate defense under the circumstances of this case. The State contends that Dawson's counsel made a reasonable decision not to present evidence of Dawson's drug use and its consequences at trial and sentencing, after consulting with Dr. Watkins. The State points out that after receiving information regarding Dawson's reported drug use during the incident, and then conducting an extensive interview with Dawson, Dr. Watkins concluded that Dawson was merely in a mild dissociated state at the time of the incident as a result of his use of methamphetamines. Additionally, the State contends that the affidavit testimony of Dr. William Stratford, submitted by the State at the evidentiary hearing, sufficiently rebuts Dawson's claim that his mental capacity was diminished at the time of the offense as a result of his drug use. ś 71 The District Court concluded that: It is certainly doubtful that any of this kind of evidence would have had any effect on the determination of guilt made in the jury verdict. Defendant's attorneys thought that evidence of claimed drug or alcohol use on the part of Dawson would be an aggravating factor in sentencing before the sentencing judge. ś 72 At the hearing to consider Dawson's petition for postconviction relief, Allen Beck testified as follows: Q. Did you make a decision not to call Dr. Watkins at trial? A. Yes, I did. Q. And what was the basis for your decision not to call Dr. Watkins at trial? A. His diagnosis. Q. And what was that? A. That he had a mild disassociated state which was, in Dr. Watkins' opinion, related to the use of methamphetamines. Q. And did you reach a decision that that would not be an adequate defense in the case? A. Yes, I did. I think the combination-if I were to have used Dr. Watkins, it would have then been incumbent upon us, Your Honor, to turn over the tape-recorded-or the video interview. That's in my view a statement under Montana law, and there were enough inculpatory admissions that I think the combined effect of the weak nature of Dr. Watkins' testimony and the video far outweighed-the prejudice far outweighed the benefit from trying than the benefit from trying to use them in trial. ś 73 The affidavit of Dr. Watkins, submitted by the defense, stated the following: The testing and interviewing done at Warm Springs supports my opinion that, if Mr. Dawson committed the murders, he was in a drug induced dissociative state and his normal personality was not in control. .... ... In the days before the crime, Mr. Dawson was injecting substantial amounts of methamphetamine and drinking alcohol. He had apparently had little sleep for days. The stress factors combined with the drugs and alcohol created conditions conducive to dissociation. ś 74 The rebuttal affidavit of Dr. Stratford, submitted by the State, stated the following: Dr. Watkins, in his affidavit, concluded that Mr. Dawson is neither psychotic nor a sociopath, and that he does not suffer from a multiple personality disorder. He did diagnose an atypical dissociative disorder. He also noted that amphetamines are a drug which can cause dissociative states. In my opinion, after watching the videotape [of Dr. Watkins' interview with Dawson], the evidence for a dissociative disorder is extremely slim. In my opinion, after watching the videotape, Dawson was led to the dissociative description by Dr. Watkins and thus the evidence for this diagnosis is so very slight as to be almost insignificant. .... Dr. Watkins states in his affidavit that Dawson's behavior was irrational and confused at the time of the crimes. In fact, one of the striking elements is the deliberate, focused, conduct of Dawson during the 44-hour period between the time of the abductions to the time of Dawson's arrest. During that period of time, Dawson consistently demonstrated conduct which evidenced knowledge, purpose, and planning. Examples of this conduct are that Dawson brought tape and a gun to the motel; he wiped a towel through Room 149, taking fingerprints off of anything he might have touched; he moved the Rodsteins' cars, taking a different route to the Husky Station each time he moved the cars, etc. In fact, at page 130 of the transcript of the interview, Dawson admits to Watkins that the crimes were definitely planned. .... ... In my opinion, the evidence in this case for atypical dissociative disorder is so slight as to be almost insignificant. Even if it was present, atypical dissociative disorder is not a mental disease or defect, but a neurosis which would not affect Dawson's capacity to act with knowledge or purpose. ś 75 In Strickland, the Supreme Court stated the following with regard to a counsel's duty to investigate: [S]trategic choices made after thorough investigation of law and facts relevant to plausible options are virtually unchallengeable; and strategic choices made after less than complete investigation are reasonable precisely to the extent that reasonable professional judgments support the limitations on investigation. In other words, counsel has a duty to make reasonable investigations or to make a reasonable decision that makes particular investigations unnecessary. In any ineffectiveness case, a particular decision not to investigate must be directly assessed for reasonableness in all the circumstances, applying a heavy measure of deference to counsel's judgments. Strickland, 466 U.S at 690-91, 104 S.Ct. at 2066. ś 76 Our review of the record reveals that Dawson's counsel's decision to not further investigate or pursue Dawson's drug use was a reasonable one under the circumstances. Dawson's counsel realized that at trial Dr. Watkins' testimony that Dawson suffered from a mild dissociative state as a result of methamphetamine use would not have any real effect on the verdict arrived at by the jury, because it was not evidence of a mental disease or defect, it did not affect his ability to act with knowledge or purpose and there was evidence that Dawson acted with the required mental state. Additionally, Dawson's counsel was aware that in order to call Dr. Watkins as an expert witness, they would be required to provide the State with a potentially damaging four-hour interview of Dawson by Dr. Watkins in which Dawson made several inculpatory statements. ś 77 With regard to Dr. Watkins' possible testimony at sentencing to establish Dawson's drug use as a mitigating factor, we conclude that it was reasonable for Dawson's counsel to conclude that the potential harm from that testimony outweighed the possible benefit. ś 78 Our review of the trial transcript reveals a considerable amount of testimony which established Dawson's planning and purposeful behavior before and during the crimes: he checked in using a false name and address; parked his car behind the motel, away from his room; he had material to gag and bind the Rodsteins already laid out on his bed when he brought them into his room; he wiped everything he might have touched in the Rodsteins' room with a towel to eliminate his fingerprints; he hung the Do Not Disturb sign on his door; he called the motel maid service and requested that they not clean his room; he moved the Rodsteins' cars from the motel parking lot to a nearby gas station, using a different route each time; when he noticed the police looking at the Rodsteins' cars, knowing that his fingerprints were on the cars, he came out of his motel room and told the officers that someone had been fooling around with the cars and he had tried to fix them; he also told the officers that his real name was not the name he was registered under, knowing that his motel registration and car registration were under different names. ś 79 Dawson's counsel reasonably believed that arguing to the sentencing judge that Dawson's drug use affected his mental capacity, in the face of the overwhelming evidence that Dawson's capacity was not impaired, would not be beneficial to Dawson. ś 80 Therefore, we conclude that Dawson's counsel's decision not to further pursue or investigate Dawson's drug use, was a reasonable decision under the circumstances. Dawson's counsel made a reasonable investigation into the consequences of Dawson's drug use and as a result of that investigation, made a reasonable strategic decision to not focus on Dawson's drug use at trial, or as a mitigating factor at sentencing. We conclude that the District Court did not err when it found that Dawson's counsel did not render ineffective assistance because they failed to further investigate the consequences of Dawson's drug use. ś 81 Accordingly, we conclude that the District Court did not err when it found and concluded that Dawson did not receive ineffective assistance at the pretrial phase.