Opinion ID: 2517672
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Demby's Deficient Performance

Text: Much of the briefing before this court concerns whether Demby's investigation into Boyd's possible involvement was reasonable, what Demby knew about Boyd and when he knew it, and whether the evidence of Boyd's alleged participation in the crimes was reasonably available had Demby investigated. Thus, for example, petitioner alleges his trial counsel was aware, at the time of trial, of the importance to petitioner's defense of investigating Boyd's role in the crimes and therefore knew further investigation was necessary. ( People v. Williams (1988) 44 Cal.3d 883, 937, 245 Cal.Rptr. 336, 751 P.2d 395.) Petitioner also alleges his trial counsel was on notice that Boyd's alibi was potentially false; that, had Demby been aware of the evidence of third party culpability which was presented at the reference hearing, he would have presented it at the guilt phase of petitioner's trial; that several witnesses with relevant evidence regarding Boyd's culpability were available at the time of trial; that [although Mr. Demby requested that his investigator interview some of the relevant witnesses, including those whom he called the `Boyd connection,' most of the interviews were never done and the few that were done were done incompetently; and that Mr. Demby's investigation was deficient insofar as he relied on the contents of police reports to decide whether several key witnesses had information helpful to petitioner's defense. The referee ruled in petitioner's favor on these points. Respondent, in his briefing before this court in both Hardy I and Hardy II, denied many of these factual allegations and raised many objections to the referee's conclusions. At oral argument, however, when asked whether trial counsel Demby was ineffective, respondent conceded that he was. We assume respondent meant only that he agreed Demby's investigation of Boyd's involvement in the crimes was deficient (that is, that the investigation fell below an objective standard of reasonableness), for respondent went on to argue Demby's failure to conduct a reasonable investigation was not prejudicial. We accept the concession but find in any event that ample evidence supports petitioner's allegations (and the referee's conclusions) that Demby knew more investigation of Boyd was justified; [16] that the witnesses with favorable information were reasonably available had Demby investigated the Boyd connection; and that had Demby uncovered this information, he would have presented it to the jury. We specifically find the evidence demonstrates that Demby had reason to interview Raynall Burney, Rickey Ginsburg, James Moss, Sandra Harris Moss, Michael Small, Harvey's son, Steven Rice and Wesley Frank and that their evidence inculpating Boyd was reasonably available at the time of petitioner's trial. The referee so found, and his conclusion is supported by substantial evidence. ( In re Cox, supra, 30 Cal.4th at p. 998, 135 Cal. Rptr.2d 315, 70 P.3d 313 [referee's findings on the question of the availability of the evidence is a factual determination entitled to great weight if supported by substantial evidence].) Thus, petitioner's factual allegations, based on evidence presented in the evidentiary hearing in Hardy I, as sustained by the referee and adopted herein by this court, demonstrate that numerous witnesses were available at the time of trial and, if contacted, would have testified and recounted (1) Calvin Boyd's numerous statements implicating himself as the one who actually killed the victims; (2) Boyd's personal threats to various people, warning them not to reveal his admissions or his involvement in the murders; (3) several witnesses' observations of Boyd the night of the murders and in the days following that tended to demonstrate his alibi was false and that he participated in the murders (e.g., the suspicious cuts on his hands); and (4) Boyd's efforts to coerce others to corroborate his alibi. Although Boyd denied this evidence, the referee concluded that both Boyd's own testimony and other evidence presented at the reference hearing showed that at the time of the hearing, Boyd lacked credibility and reliability as a witness. Substantial evidence supports the referee's conclusions regarding the credibility of the witnesses who testified at the evidentiary hearing. Because Demby failed to ensure the investigation was reasonably thorough, several witnesses with critical information about Boyd's involvement in the murders were not interviewed and their information was not presented at trial. Had Demby been armed with this additional evidence, he would have presented it to bolster petitioner's defense. As the referee concluded, [i]n his closing arguments at both the guilt and penalty phases, Mr. Demby argued that Calvin Boyd and Marcus, not petitioner, had committed the killings. This suggests that if Mr. Demby had been aware of the evidence, he would probably have presented it. Substantial evidence supports this conclusion, and we adopt it. Based on this evidence, the referee concluded: In sum, this Referee finds that the reason for which Mr. Demby did not present the available evidence pertaining to Calvin Boyd was that Mr. Demby's investigation and that of his office fell below the standard of care, and that therefore Mr. Demby's reasons for not presenting the available evidence [were] not supportable. This conclusion is a mixed question of fact and law subject to independent review. ( In re Ross, supra, 10 Cal.4th at p. 201, 40 Cal.Rptr.2d 544, 892 P.2d 1287 [whether counsel's performance was deficient and whether any deficiency prejudiced the petitioner, are both mixed questions subject to independent review]; In re Lucas (2004) 33 Cal.4th 682, 694, 16 Cal. Rptr.3d 331, 94 P.3d 477 [same].) Even had respondent not conceded the point, we would have found, after applying independent review, that the referee's negative assessment of Demby's performance was inescapable. Demby made no opening statement at the guilt phase of the trial and called no witnesses of his own, contenting himself to cross-examine the witnesses called to the stand by other parties, i.e., the prosecutor and petitioner's codefendants Reilly and Morgan. While that strategy, standing alone, is not per se unreasonable. Demby's closing guilt phase argument made clear that his strategy was to create a reasonable doubt in the minds of the jurors by convincing them it was Boydnot petitionerwho, along with Reilly and possibly Marcus, went to the victims' home that deadly night in May 1981, and that Boyd was the actual killer. That Demby had planned on making this line of argument his primary means of attacking the prosecution's case is apparent from his pretrial instructions to his investigators to investigate the Boyd connection and to interview witnesses at the Vose Street apartments in an attempt to uncover evidence of Boyd's culpability. That this was Demby's strategy is also apparent from the absence of any other defense (other than to emphasize discrepancies in the prosecution witnesses' testimony) and by Demby's own testimony at the evidentiary hearing that more potent evidence of Boyd's culpability would have been consistent with his defense theme. We thus turn to whether defense counsel's failure to investigate was prejudicial to petitioner.