Opinion ID: 175813
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Rossum's Trial and Post-Trial Proceedings

Text: Rossum was prosecuted for the murder of de Villers with the special circumstance that the murder was committed by means of poison. Cal.Penal Code §§ 187, 190.2(a)(19). Her jury trial began in October 2002. At trial, the prosecution argued that Rossum poisoned de Villers with fentanyl, possibly after she gave him clonazepam but the clonazepam failed to kill him. The defense conceded that fentanyl caused de Villers's death but contended that de Villers committed suicide because he was despondent over his marital problems. The jury found Rossum guilty in November 2002, and in December 2002 the court sentenced her to prison for life without the possibility of parole. On June 13, 2005, the California Court of Appeal affirmed Rossum's conviction on direct review and denied her concurrently filed petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The California Supreme Court summarily denied her petition for review of her direct appeal. On December 15, 2006, Rossum filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the California Supreme Court. [6] The petition asserted for the first time the claim at issue in this appealthat Rossum's trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance by not having de Villers's autopsy samples tested for fentanyl metabolites despite the fact that such tests might have ruled out fentanyl as the cause of de Villers's death and thus disproven the prosecution's theory of the case. Instead, as the petition stated, counsel promptly conceded the prosecution's theorythat fentanyl was the cause of de Villers's death. Rossum supported her petition with a declaration from Dr. Steven H. Richeimer, a medical professor and practitioner with substantial experience in anesthesiology and requested an evidentiary hearing. Dr. Richeimer has overseen the administration of fentanyl on thousands of occasions and is well versed in the drug's characteristics and properties. His declaration explains that fentanyl is a very rapidly acting drug. As a result, [i]f very high doses[were] rapidly administered to de Villers, then he likely would have died within minutes, not in a manner consistent with the 6-12 hours of impaired breathing and consciousness described by Dr. Blackbourne. Alternatively, if de Villers absorbed fentanyl gradually, perhaps through the stomach, then he likely would not have survived long enough for [his] blood levels to reach the extremely high levels measured by the toxicology labs. Dr. Richeimer's declaration states that contamination of the samples drawn from de Villers's body could explain the seeming inconsistency between the rapid action of fentanyl, the extraordinarily high concentration levels, and the lengthy period of impaired breathing and reduced consciousness that de Villers suffered. Indeed, Dr. Richeimer opines: [C]ontamination of the specimens would explain the high blood levels better than ingestion or other administration of fentanyl to the decedent. . . . [I]n attempting to determine if the cause of death was from fentanyl, it would be necessary to rule out the possibility that the samples were contaminated. Richeimer Decl. at 3. According to Dr. Richeimer, a toxicology lab could conclusively determine whether fentanyl was present in de Villers's body at the time of his death by testing his samples for metabolites of fentanyl. If de Villers's specimens contain metabolites of fentanyl, then fentanyl must have been present in his body at the time the specimens were taken. If no metabolites are present, then the specimens must have been contaminated after his death. The California Supreme Court summarily denied Rossum's habeas petition in a one-sentence order on August 8, 2007. Two days later, Rossum filed a federal habeas petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. The magistrate judge to whom Rossum's petition was assigned issued a report and recommendation advising that the petition be denied. The district court adopted this recommendation and denied Rossum's petition on April 8, 2009. It concluded that her trial counsel's performance was not deficient, and that even if it was, she did not suffer any prejudice. It also denied Rossum's motion, made under Rule 6 of the Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases, for leave to test de Villers's autopsy specimens for metabolites of fentanyl. Rossum requested a certificate of appealability, which the district court granted on April 24, 2009.