Opinion ID: 3049379
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Penalty Phase and Direct Appeal

Text: On October 12, 1984, the penalty phase began. The state presented the testimony of the medical examiner, who gave further detail regarding the wounds inflicted on the victim, including the defensive wounds on the victim’s forearm and hand. The pathologist emphasized the seriousness of the beating that fractured the victim’s skull, which included “two impacts to the back of the head, one with lacerations or tearing of the skull, the other one with an abrasion and bruise.” He also described the very close range from which the victim was shot in the head, and noted that the beating “happened prior to the shooting” because “there was bleeding and reddening of the area suggesting that the man was alive when those injuries were inflicted.” 2 O’Kelly was cross-examined at considerable length about a letter he had written to Kokal in November 1983, in which he wrote that it was he, O’Kelly, who had fired the weapon that night and had accidentally shot the victim in the head. O’Kelly testified that at the time he wrote the letter, he was attempting to establish an explanation that would exonerate both him and Kokal of the crime. He explained that he wanted to help Kokal, who was his friend. O’Kelly also noted that on the night of his arrest, which was shortly after the murder, he told the police that Kokal had shot Russell, despite what he wrote in the letter. 7 Defense counsel in turn presented the testimony of Kokal’s mother, Deanne Kokal. Mrs. Kokal testified that Kokal’s father had physically abused Kokal as a child. She described an instance when the father had struck Kokal with a tennis racket, causing “severe gashes in his head.” She also said that, when Kokal was around age eight, nine, or ten, on one occasion, his father chained him to the foot of his bed, “locked [him] in his room for one week without having anything to eat except sweet potatoes,” and did not allow him to “use the bathroom.” Mrs. Kokal explained that petitioner’s father would severely punish Kokal “every time he would do something”; these instances were frequent and included beatings. As the beatings increased in their severity and frequency, Kokal “kept getting into more and more trouble.” She sought counseling for her son. The physical abuse of Kokal ended in 1977. Mrs. Kokal also recounted that her husband physically abused her as well, and this included striking her with his fist, although not as frequently as he abused Kokal. She added that a divorce ensued when Kokal was thirteen or fourteen years old. Mrs. Kokal pleaded with the jury that Kokal had “love, compassion and . . . a lot to offer,” including “his loyalty to me.” She added that the murder was wholly inconsistent with “the man that [she had] . . . raised and known for all his life.” She recognized that when Kokal returned from Arizona in July 1983 with 8 O’Kelly, his lifestyle had become one of daily alcohol abuse. “[H]e mostly would do what he wanted to.” But she said she had not given up on her son, and begged the jury to let him live. She explained that Kokal loved the outdoors, and that a life sentence would be a “tremendous penalty” for him. Following the testimony and arguments, the judge instructed the jury on the potential aggravating and mitigating circumstances. The aggravating circumstances included whether: (1) the capital felony was committed while the defendant was engaged in the commission of a robbery, Fla. Stat. § 921.141(5)(d); (2) the capital felony was committed for the purpose of avoiding or preventing a lawful arrest, Fla. Stat. § 921.141(5)(e); (3) the capital felony was especially heinous, atrocious or cruel, Fla. Stat. § 921.141(5)(h); and (4) the capital felony was committed in a cold, calculated and premeditated manner without any pretense of moral or legal justification. Fla. Stat. § 921.141(5)(i). The mitigators in turn included these considerations: (1) Kokal’s capacity to appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of law, Fla. Stat. § 921.141(6)(f); (2) Kokal’s age at the time of the murder, Fla. Stat. § 921.141(6)(g); and (3) his character. Fla. Stat. § 921.141(6)(h). After deliberating, the jury unanimously recommended death. It also found that “the defendant, Gregory Kokal did actually kill Jeffrey Russell.” 9 On November 14, 1984, the state trial court conducted a motion and sentencing hearing of its own, pursuant to Fla. Stat. § 921.141(3), which requires trial judges to independently review the evidence and make detailed written findings regarding aggravating and mitigating circumstances before imposing the death penalty. In this hearing, the trial court weighed the fact that the jury had found Kokal actually killed the victim, and reviewed all of the potential statutory and non-statutory mitigating circumstances. Finding no mitigators and all four aggravating circumstances, the trial court sentenced Kokal to death. The trial court also issued a written judgment and sentence, explaining its decision at some length. The court began by outlining the essential facts of the murder, including how Kokal “savagely” beat the victim, shot Russell in the head after the victim “begged his life be spared,” and bragged to his friend that he “wasted a sailor for a dollar.” The order further provided that the trial court had “closely examined, weighed and considered” the aggravating and mitigating circumstances. In so doing, the trial court expressly addressed the aggravating circumstances argued by the state, as well as all of the potential mitigating circumstances available in the statute. The trial court then reached the following pertinent conclusions: • In rejecting the “extreme mental and emotional disturbance” mitigating circumstance, Fla. Stat. § 921.141(6)(b), the judge 10 found that “the defendant was at all material times in complete control of his mental and emotional faculties acting deliberately and with pre-meditation.” • In rejecting the “substantially impaired” capacity mitigating circumstance, Fla. Stat. § 921.141(6)(f), the judge recognized that the defendant had “testified that during the evening prior to the death of Russell . . . he had consumed a large quantity of alcohol[,] . . . smoked a number of marijuana cigarettes[, and] . . . was highly intoxicated.” The judge also found, however, that “[t]he defendant’s statement to his friend, [Mosley], contained no evidence of intoxication [and] . . . was in great detail including his thought process at the time of the killing of Russell”; “[t]he testimony of the co-participant, [O’Kelly], does not support intoxication of the defendant by either alcohol or drugs [and showed] . . . deliberate, calculated acts and conduct by the defendant during the course of the robbery and murder of Russell”; and “the defendant proved to this Court, by his statements and his acts, as well as his demeanor on the witness stand, that he is an individual of above average intelligence, knowledge, and well oriented as to time, space and relationships and well able but unwilling to conform his conduct to the requirements of law and with an ability to appreciate the criminality of his conduct.” • In finding the “capital felony [during] . . . the commission of . . . a robbery” aggravating circumstance, Fla. Stat. § 921.141(5)(d), the judge found that the evidence “proves beyond a reasonable doubt that the death of Jeffrey Russell took place during the commission of the robbery of” Russell; and that Kokal knowingly participated in the robbery and “actually committed the murder.” • In finding the “capital felony [to] avoid[] . . . arrest” aggravating circumstance, Fla. Stat. § 921.141(5)(e), the judge found that Russell “was beaten severely about the head and shoulders during the robbery” and “[a]t the time of the murder, . . . lay prone upon the ground and was begging for his life”; 11 “Russell’s shooting was not necessary for escape from the scene of the robbery, and . . . eliminated the victim’s identification and testimony at trial”; and Kokal told Mosley “that he had shot Russell because, ‘dead men tell no lies.’” • In finding the “heinous, atrocious, and cruel” aggravating circumstance, Fla. Stat. § 921.141(5)(h), the judge found that “the victim was severely beaten about the head and neck[,] . . . suffered great pain from the blows[,] . . . was forced to change his location before he was finally struck down and murdered”; “[t]he march was a ‘death march’ filling Russell’s mind with fear and anguish”; and “[a]t the end of the ‘death march,’ Russell was beaten again and as he begged for his life, the murder took place.” • And in finding the “cold, calculated, and premeditated” aggravating circumstance, Fla. Stat. § 921.141(5)(i), the judge found that “Russell was assaulted and battered after he alighted from the truck upon arrival from the beach[,] . . . was forced by the defendant to move farther down the beach away from the truck[,] . . . was completely subdued and presented no threat to the defendant[,] . . . was struck repeatedly by the defendant until he fell to the ground[,] . . . [and] offered no threat to the defendant and, to the contrary, begged for his own life”; and “[t]he murder of Russell was in the nature of an assassination. He was forced into the ‘death march’ and, at its conclusion, was assassinated as he begged for his life. He constituted no threat to the defendant nor bar to his escape. At no time, did Russell ever present legal or moral cause to the defendant or his companion, O’Kelly, to justify Russell’s death.” Having explained that the state had proven the four aggravating circumstances beyond a reasonable doubt, and that the defendant had not proven any statutory or non-statutory mitigating circumstances, the order concluded that Kokal should be sentenced to die. On July 17, 1986, the Florida Supreme Court 12 affirmed the petitioner’s conviction and death sentence. Kokal v. State, 492 So.2d 1317 (Fla. 1986). In its affirmance, the Florida Supreme Court expressly rejected Kokal’s attempts to rebut three of the aggravating circumstances: The victim was beaten unconscious and posed no threat to Kokal’s escape, but he did pose a threat to later identification of the robber(s). Kokal’s own statement to his friend to the effect that dead men can’t talk confirms that the murder was committed to avoid or prevent arrest. We have found this aggravating circumstance present in similar cases. Appellant’s argument that the murder was not especially heinous, atrocious or cruel because death was instantaneous overlooks the events preceding death. The murder was preceded by a violent robbery, a march at gunpoint to the murder site, and a vicious and painful beating during which the victim, in anticipation of his fate, unsuccessfully pleaded for his life. The facts surrounding the murder also show beyond a reasonable doubt the heightened premeditation necessary for a finding of cold, calculated and premeditated. The high level of visceral viciousness with which the murder was carried out is not inconsistent with the coldly calculated decision to eliminate the witness by beating him into unconsciousness prior to the execution-type killing. Id. at 1319 (internal citations omitted). The Florida Supreme Court also upheld the state trial court’s rejection of mitigating circumstances in these terms: Appellant also argues that the trial court erred in not finding certain mitigating factors: his capacity to appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of law was impaired and his age of twenty years. The trial court heard testimony 13 from appellant and his mother that he abused alcohol and drugs up to and during the night of the murder. The specificity with which Kokal recounted the details of the robbery and murder to his friend contradicts the notion that he did not know what he was doing, as does the testimony of his companion. There was no abuse of discretion in not giving significant weight to this evidence in mitigation. . . . For the same reason we see no merit in the claim that the trial court erred in not finding as mitigation that appellant was only twenty years of age and immature. Id. (internal citations omitted). The Florida Supreme Court denied rehearing in Kokal’s direct appeal on September 17, 1986. See Ex. 14.3 C. Kokal’s Ineffective Assistance Claim In the State Post-Conviction Courts Following the resolution of Kokal’s direct appeal, Kokal filed a postconviction motion in state court raising, among other things, the claim that his counsel was ineffective at the penalty phase of his trial because counsel failed to investigate and present mitigating evidence concerning Kokal’s mental health at the time of the crime. In February 1997, an evidentiary hearing was held on Kokal’s post-conviction claims (“the Rule 3.850 hearing”). Dr. Barry Crown, a neuropsychologist, testified as a witness for Kokal. In Crown’s opinion, Kokal had sustained organic brain damage, primarily of a frontal lobe bilateral variety, prior to the crime. Crown noted that Kokal had been in a car 3 We refer to the Respondent’s exhibits in the district court record as “Ex. __,” and we refer to the docket entries in the district court as “Doc. __.” 14 accident in 1983, which had resulted in concussions, and had an earlier neardrowning experience, which had deprived his brain of oxygen.4 According to Dr. Crown, the brain damage Kokal suffered rose to a level that would have affected Kokal’s cognitive abilities, and affected Kokal’s concentration, attention, reasoning, judgment, auditory selective attention,5 and basic verbal and nonverbal memory process. Crown further offered that alcohol and drugs “have a greater effect on an individual who has recently sustained a head injury than they would have on the normal individual. A smaller amount of substance creates a greater effect.” Dr. Crown thus opined that Kokal’s consumption of a large quantity of alcohol on the evening of the murder, in combination with his brain damage, would have greatly affected his cognitive abilities. In short, in Dr. Crown’s opinion, Kokal was suffering from two statutory mitigating factors at the time of the crime: Kokal was under the influence of an extreme mental and emotional disturbance, Fla. Stat. § 921.141(6)(b), and Kokal’s capacity was diminished to appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to conform 4 Crown conceded, however, that Kokal underwent a physical examination and x-rays after the near-drowning experience, but nothing unusual -- like aspiration pneumonitis, acidosis, or a skull fracture -- was found. He further acknowledged that hospital records following the car accident ruled out a significant head injury, indicated that Kokal’s condition was due to alcohol consumption, not head injury, and reported that Kokal was doing well when discharged. Indeed, it is undisputed that in the car accident, Kokal had been driving under the influence of alcohol. 5 This signifies that Kokal may be attentive to some details and inattentive to others, particularly when there are distractions. 15 his conduct to the requirements of the law, Fla. Stat. § 921.141(6)(f). Crown admitted on cross-examination, however, that Kokal’s brain damage was not severe enough standing alone to have impaired him at the time of the crime. He further conceded that Kokal was not insane at the time of the offense. Dr. Joseph Virzi, a psychiatrist who had examined Kokal pre-trial in 1984, also testified on behalf of Kokal at the Rule 3.850 hearing. Virzi had been retained before trial by Kokal’s counsel, Dale Westling, to evaluate whether Kokal was insane at the time of the crime, but Virzi was not called to testify at the penalty phase. Following the pre-trial examination, Dr. Virzi had given Kokal’s counsel a report saying the following about Kokal’s “mental status”: This twenty-one year old white male was oriented to time, person, and place. Intelligence was not impaired. Recent and remote memory were clear. The patient had a clear idea of what had happened prior to the above incident and during the above incident. He understands the consequences of his behavior. He knows the difference between right and wrong. The patient has no delusions, no homicidal ideas. His [blank] is clear. The report opined that Kokal suffered from “[a]cute situational adult/adolescent problems [and c]hronic alcoholism and drug abuse.” 6 6 The report also said: The patient does not meet the criteria for McNaughton Rule of insanity. The patient appeared cooperative, and it appeared that the above history is valid. I have no suspicion that the patient is lying. However, I would like to corroborate my history with the Minnesota Multi-Phase Personality Inventory [(“MMPI”)] test, which could pick up malingering and lying. 16 At the Rule 3.850 hearing, Virzi testified that his pre-trial examination of Kokal had lasted about forty-five minutes, and that he had not received any background information on Kokal prior to the examination. Since that time, and prior to the Rule 3.850 hearing, Dr. Virzi had received Kokal’s records, and was made aware of Kokal’s near-drowning and severe automobile accident. Virzi added that, based on the records supplied to him in post-conviction, he found the presence of at least one statutory mental health mitigator at the time of the crime, Fla. Stat. § 921.141(6)(b). Specifically, when Virzi was asked whether he had an opinion based upon a reasonable degree of medical probability as to whether Kokal suffered from a diminished capacity at the time of the crime, he answered that the information on Kokal’s accidents “would raise my level of awareness that he may have diminished capacity, cognitively, at the time of the crime.” And when asked if he had an opinion, within a reasonable degree of medical probability, as to whether the substance and alcohol abuse diminished Kokal’s capacity or disturbed him On cross-examination, Dr. Virzi admitted that he vaguely recalled trying to give the MMPI test to Kokal in the waiting room the day he met with him, but did not believe that Kokal ended up taking the test. Notably, this statement conflicted with Dr. Virzi’s earlier deposition where he said that he believed he had given Kokal the MMPI test in the waiting room. 17 emotionally at the time of the crime, Dr. Virzi’s opinion was that “the alcoholism, drug abuse disturbed him emotionally at the time of the crime.” Dr. Virzi acknowledged on cross-examination that he had examined Kokal in 1984 at counsel Westling’s request for possible mitigation as well as for sanity. In fact, his written report provided the following details about Kokal’s substance abuse: The patient [Kokal] states that the relationship [with his father] is not the greatest. He stated that the relationship deteriorated with the patient’s drinking. He stated that he greatly disappointed his father, but his father did not give him much support during his turbulent adolescent development . . . . The patient said his alcohol history started in junior high school around the eighth grade. He stated he originally drank not to stay drunk, but it gradually moved into that area, with difficulty controlling his drinking and resulting belligerent fighting behavior. He stated he drinks mostly beer, approximately a six-pack a day, but denies any blackouts or D.T.’s, but he does admit to one DWI. . . . He said he had no formal treatment for psychiatric or drug and alcohol problems. . . . He . . . continues to take drugs and pot irregularly. Virzi thought he had “implied” in his report that Kokal was incapacitated from drugs and alcohol at the time of the crime. In addition, Virzi still agreed with what he found in his report -- that Kokal suffered from chronic alcoholism and drug abuse -- and there was no change in his original diagnosis. Dr. Virzi further conceded that when he examined Kokal in 1984 he found no evidence of organic brain disorder. However, when Dr. Virzi 18 was asked whether he continued to believe Kokal had a clear and precise memory of what happened, he said that based on what Kokal’s post-conviction lawyers had told him, he now “question[ed] whether that was correct memory or not.” Kokal also called his trial counsel, Dale Westling, to testify at the Rule 3.850 hearing. Westling testified that during his many discussions with Kokal, the petitioner had given him a detailed account of how he had beaten the victim with a pool cue and then shot him in the head. When asked why he did it, Kokal told Westling, “Dead men tell no lies. That’s why I did it,” and then added, “and you know what, the mother fucker only had a dollar.” Westling said that the account was “chilling,” since “there was no emotion whatsoever, no remorse.” As for Kokal’s allegeded alcohol and drug impairments at the time of the crime, Westling believed that Kokal “knew every step that occurred that evening with great specificity.” Westling explained that, during all of his interactions with Kokal, “[t]here was never the slightest indication that [Kokal] was in any way impaired.” “He knew exactly what had happened and he did it to steal money.” Westling had asked Kokal at the outset if he had any physical or mental disabilities or handicaps and Kokal had told him no. Westling “spent a lot of time with Mrs. Kokal.” He added that the father was not helpful. Neither Kokal, his mother, nor his father told Westling about the near-drowning in 1977 nor the car 19 accident in 1983. Westling said he never had “the slightest indication” that Kokal was incompetent or suffering from some mental incapacity. Nonetheless, Westling had requested that the court appoint an expert to perform a psychiatric examination of Kokal because it was “common sense . . . to every defense attorney that defends a murder at least to have [the client] examined by a psychiatrist.” According to Westling, after receiving Dr. Virzi’s report, Westling phoned Virzi to ask if he had anything at all that could help in the defense and Virzi “got a little snotty” and said no.7 Westling opined that if called, Dr. Virzi “would have been a devastating witness” against the defense, since Virzi’s report would have been discoverable and would have provided grounds for “three or four aggravating circumstances in and of itself.” He continued: “I didn’t want [the jury] to know that Dr. Virzi thought [Kokal] had a clear idea of what had happened prior to the [murder] and during the [murder].” Westling also considered the child abuse Kokal had suffered at the hands of his father as one possible non-statutory mitigating circumstance, and looked for others. Westling and Kokal decided “to present [Kokal’s] mother with the 7 According to counsel, Westling “knew [Kokal] was lying to [Dr. Virzi],” because Kokal had told Dr. Virzi that he had not killed Russell. As a result, Westling “wasn’t overly impressed with the need to do [the MMPI test],” but regardless, Westling “think[s] he may have done it.” 20 evidence that we had about the abuse, his age and try to present to the jury some reason . . . not to give him the death penalty.” Westling explained: “All we wanted to do was talk about [Kokal]’s past, and what it comes down to is to evoke sympathy.” But Westling and Kokal did not want to open the door to Kokal’s criminal history or misbehavior as a child through his mother’s testimony. Westling also expressed concern about “the inconsistencies [they] might create by arguing [Kokal] did it but there are excuses for it.” He said: “You can’t take the position at trial I didn’t do it and then in mitigation try to explain why you did it.” Westling described Kokal as “very astute throughout the whole case[,] wanting copies of everything and question[ing] me about the practices and policies we were going to follow,” and “incredibly bright, responsive, always appropriate in his remarks and responsive in responses, interested in the case.” However, by “21 Greg was an accomplished criminal.” Finally, Kokal’s mother, Deanne Kokal, testified at the Rule 3.850 hearing, recalling that she had told trial counsel about Kokal’s alcohol and drug abuse problems. She remembered Kokal’s near-drowning incident in 1977, but did not know whether she told Westling about it. She also recalled the 1983 car accident, but again did not think she had discussed it with Westling because “I guess I didn’t 21 realize that it actually -- you know, he could have been damaged.” Mrs. Kokal said it was a miracle that her son lived because it was very severe. Following this testimony, the state trial court issued a written decision rejecting all of Kokal’s post-conviction claims. Ex. 20. Addressing what it considered to be Kokal’s “most serious” claim -- whether counsel’s penalty-phase investigation into Kokal’s mental health was deficient under Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984) -- the trial court observed that Kokal “failed to demonstrate how his trial counsel could have hoped to have developed mitigating evidence associated with actual brain damage,” and “failed to establish with regard to trial counsel’s use of the psychiatrist ‘that the approach taken by defense counsel would not have been used by professionally competent counsel.’” Ex. 20 at 9, 11 (quotations omitted). Nonetheless, the trial court found that “the defense lawyer’s over-all preparation for the penalty phase of the trial may have fallen below that expected of reasonably competent counsel [since t]he lawyer did little more than simply think about the penalty phase until after the guilt phase was completed.” Ex. 20 at 9. The trial court continued: “Questions regarding any deficiency in Mr. Westling’s preparation are irrelevant, though, if the Defendant cannot prove the existence of the second prong of the Strickland v. Washington test for ineffectiveness of counsel.” Id. 22 Turning to Strickland’s prejudice prong -- requiring Kokal to “show that [he] was prejudiced by any failure to prepare” -- the trial court found the following: (1) Dr. Virzi’s opinion -- that, based on his history of alcohol and drug abuse, Kokal had some generally diminished mental capacity -- had not changed, despite what Dr. Virzi had recently learned about Kokal’s brain damage; (2) Kokal’s apparent ability to vividly recall the events of the murder, combined with his ability to function in terms of walking, talking, and driving a car, militated against any concept of specific diminished mental capacity with regard to his crime; (3) Kokal’s history of alcohol and drug abuse was presented during the penalty phase of the trial, although not through the psychiatrist; and (4) Dr. Virzi was not called to testify at trial for strategic reasons, since had he testified, he could have been effectively cross-examined, and his report indicated his belief that Kokal understood the consequences of his actions. Ex. 20 at 9-10. The trial court concluded that Kokal failed to show how he was prejudiced by any alleged failure of trial counsel to have made better use of his psychiatrist. As the Supreme Court noted in affirming this conviction on direct appeal, the Defendant’s detailed memory about the crime “contradicts the notion that he did not know what he was doing.” Likewise, the Defendant has failed to adduce any other evidence as to how he may have been prejudiced by any supposed deficiency in preparation for the penalty phase. 23 Ex. 20 at 11 (citations omitted). In short, there is no square finding from the trial court about whether counsel satisfied Strickland performance. The most we can say is that it raised the question, but then disposed of Kokal’s claim by finding that he failed to establish Strickland prejudice. Kokal appealed to the Florida Supreme Court, which after making a detailed and independent examination of the record, affirmed the trial court’s decision. See Kokal v. Dugger, 718 So.2d 138, 139 (Fla. 1998). The Florida Supreme Court recited the evidence it considered relevant to Kokal’s ineffective assistance claim. It began by laying out the facts of the murder, including that Kokal and O’Kelly had picked up, and then beaten, shot, and robbed a hitchhiker, who Kokal had deliberately shot in the head because “dead men can’t tell lies.” Id. The Florida Supreme Court observed that the trial court had found no mitigating circumstances, but had found four statutory aggravators: (1) the murder was committed during the course of a robbery; (2) the murder was committed to avoid arrest; (3) the murder was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel; and (4) the murder was committed in a cold, calculated, and premeditated manner. Id. at 139 & n.1. It also recognized that Kokal’s mother had testified during the penalty phase that his father had badly mistreated and abused him as a child. Id. at 139. 24 The Florida Supreme Court then summarized the testimony from Kokal’s post-conviction hearing of Crown and Virzi this way: Kokal called as a witness Dr. Crown, a neuropsychologist who examined him in prison in 1996, and who testified that in his opinion Kokal sustained brain damage in a 1983 car wreck, and that on the night of the killing the combination of brain damage and alcohol consumption rendered him extremely disturbed and also impaired his capacity to appreciate the criminality of his conduct. This testimony was controverted by the State on cross-examination.FN2 Kokal also called Dr. Virzi, a psychiatrist, who testified that he had examined Kokal pre-trial in 1984 to evaluate his sanity and competence. Dr. Virzi now believes that Kokal’s drug and alcohol abuse caused him to be emotionally disturbed and to have diminished capacity at the time of the crime. This testimony also was controverted by the State.FN3 FN2. Dr. Crown admitted on cross-examination that he did not prepare a written report on Kokal -- that CCR did not ask him to -- and thus no report was given to the State prior to the evidentiary hearing. He testified that Kokal’s brain damage is not severe enough standing alone to have impaired him at the time of the crime and that the only evidence of alcohol consumption came from Kokal himself. Dr. Crown acknowledged that Kokal had successfully completed both his G.E.D. and a number of college courses. Dr. Crown did not know that Kokal had in fact feigned illness in order to obtain favored treatment in jail. Dr. Crown attributed no significance to the fact that hospital records following the 1983 auto accident: ruled out significant head injury, indicated that Kokal’s condition was due to alcohol consumption, not head injury, and reported that Kokal was doing well when discharged. Nor did Dr. Crown attach significance to the fact that prison evaluations showed that Kokal was not suffering from any mental disorders and did not need counseling. 25 FN3. Dr. Virzi acknowledged on cross-examination that he had examined Kokal in 1984 at the request of Dale Westling, defense counsel, and that he had evaluated Kokal for possible mitigation as well as for sanity and competence. Dr. Virzi knew of Kokal’s history of drug and alcohol abuse at the time. He still agrees with everything he found in his original report and he concedes that when he examined Kokal in 1984 he found no evidence of organic brain disorder -- that Kokal was functioning normally. Id. The state high court also detailed the testimony of counsel Westling concerning his own prior experience in trying criminal cases, Kokal’s admission of the crime to him, Westling’s preparation of the case and his trial strategy, and Kokal’s demeanor as a defendant. Id. at 139-40. In affirming the denial of Kokal’s post-conviction motion, the Florida Supreme Court said: “Our review of the record shows that the trial court did not err in denying Kokal’s claim of ineffectiveness in the guilt phase or in the penalty phase. The record contains extensive evidence to support its ruling and we find no legal error.” Id. at 140-42 (footnotes omitted). In the accompanying footnotes, the Florida Supreme Court quoted at length from Strickland v. Washington, which established the Supreme Court’s ineffective assistance standard,8 as well as from 8 The Florida Supreme Court said the following: The United States Supreme Court in Strickland set forth the following standard for ineffectiveness: A convicted defendant’s claim that counsel’s assistance was so 26 the lower court’s findings on Kokal’s ineffective assistance claim. Id. at 140-41 nn.11&13. D. District Court Post-Conviction Proceedings On February 22, 2005, Kokal filed the instant petition for writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. He filed an amended petition on March 10, 2005, raising nine issues.9 On February 11, 2008, the district court denied relief on all nine. defective as to require reversal of a conviction or death sentence has two components. First, the defendant must show that counsel’s performance was deficient. This requires showing that counsel made errors so serious that counsel was not functioning as the “counsel” guaranteed the defendant by the Sixth Amendment. Second, the defendant must show that the deficient performance prejudiced the defense. This requires showing that counsel’s errors were so serious as to deprive the defendant of a fair trial, a trial whose result is reliable. [Strickland,] 466 U.S. at 687 . . . . The federal Court further expounded on the second prong, i.e., the prejudice prong, of this standard: The defendant must show that there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel’s unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different. A reasonable probability is a probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome. Id. 466 U.S. at 694 . . . . Kokal, 718 So. 2d at 140 n.11. 9 Kokal raised the following claims in his federal petition: (1) ineffective assistance of counsel at the penalty phase; (2) ineffective assistance of counsel at the guilt phase; (3) the trial court’s failure to excuse certain jurors for cause; (4) the trial court’s exclusion of certain jurors for cause; (5) the trial court’s refusal to excuse, and exclusion of, certain jurors based on race; (6) prosecutorial misconduct; (7) the denial of his right to a full and fair post-conviction process; (8) the denial of his newly discovered evidence claim in violation of the Eighth Amendment; and 27 As for Kokal’s claim that he received ineffective assistance of counsel at the penalty phase of his trial, the district court determined that the state courts’ findings were neither contrary to nor an unreasonable application of clearly established federal law. It first determined that Westling had “reasonably decided not to further pursue any mental health matters.” Doc. 18 at 31. The court further held that Kokal “was not prejudiced by counsel’s alleged errors,” explaining that: Even if the mental health evidence had been presented, there is no reasonable probability that it would have established sufficient mitigating factors to outweigh the four statutory aggravating factors. There is simply no reasonable probability that the result of the penalty proceeding would have been different if counsel had presented such evidence. Doc. 18 at 31. The district court issued a certificate of appealability on one issue: “(1) did the state courts’ adjudications of Petitioner’s ineffective assistance of counsel claim in ground one (that Petitioner was denied the effective assistance of counsel at the penalty phase of his capital trial) result in decisions that were contrary to clearly established federal law, involved an unreasonable application of clearly established federal law, and/or were based on an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented in the state court proceedings; and, if so, (2) (9) the unconstitutionality of Florida’s capital sentencing statute. 28 did this Court err in finding Petitioner’s ineffective assistance of counsel claim in ground one to be without merit?” Doc. 27. This appeal followed.