Opinion ID: 1711117
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 10

Heading: Whether Counsel was Ineffective for Failure to Retain Expert for Mitigating Evidence

Text: ¶ 20. Brown claims that he suffered ineffective assistance of counsel because his attorneys failed to petition the trial court for expert assistance in developing mitigating evidence related to Brown's psychological state. The failure to present a case in mitigation during the sentencing phase of a capital trial is not, per se, ineffective assistance of counsel. Williams v. State, 722 So.2d 447, 450 (Miss.1998) (citing Williams v. Cain, 125 F.3d 269, 277 (5th Cir.1997)). In the present case, Brown's attorneys did present a case in mitigation by calling four witnesses and submitting a 1984 report from the Louisiana Juvenile Reception and Diagnostic Center which characterized Brown as a non-violent individual with emotional problems. ¶ 21. The record shows that the trial court granted a defense motion to have Brown evaluated at the Mississippi State Hospital specifically for the purpose of developing mitigating evidence pursuant to Miss.Code Ann. § 99-19-101(6) (1994). Defense counsel reported, however, The Defendant was evaluated at Whitfield for the purposes of mitigation defense. On the basis that the staff at Whitfield could not assist in any mitigation defense, no written reports were ever submitted. There is no further elaboration in the record as to whether there was no favorable evidence to be adduced or whether the State Hospital refused to prepare a report. It cannot be said what weight, if any, a juror might have given to such a report had one been prepared and submitted. Sawyer v. Whitley, 505 U.S. 333, 348, 112 S.Ct. 2514, 120 L.Ed.2d 269 (1992). It is entirely possible that favorable mitigating evidence of Brown's mental state might not have outweighed the aggravating circumstances in the jurors' minds, but such an opportunity was never afforded them. The very purpose of mitigation is to reveal evidence that the defendant is not as bad a person as might be believed from the evidence introduced at the guilt phase of the trial. Eddmonds v. Peters, 93 F.3d 1307, 1321 (7th Cir.1996). In the present case, the trial court ordered a mental evaluation but no report was ever produced. It has been held that consideration of all relevant mitigating evidence is required at the sentencing phase because the imposition of the death sentence should reflect a reasoned, moral response to the defendant's background and character and the crime. Russell v. Collins, 998 F.2d 1287, 1291 (5th Cir.1993). Brown should be allowed to present this issue to the trial court for a determination of whether trial counsel was ineffective in failing to seek other expert assistance when the State Hospital examination produced no report and whether such inaction resulted in any prejudice to his case at sentencing. ¶ 22. Brown also raises the peripheral claim that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to object to prosecutorial comment when he testified at the sentencing phase. Specifically, Brown argues that the prosecutor focused the jury's attention on his silence during the guilt phase of the trial by asking, This is the first time anybody has heard of this; isn't it? This question was posed by the prosecutor during cross-examination at the sentencing phase of the trial in response to Brown's statement that he was telling his side of the story. The prosecutor's comment cannot reasonably be construed as a comment on Brown's failure to testify during the guilt phase of the trial. ¶ 23. Brown also contends that trial counsel erred in failing to appeal the admission of police testimony that Brown stated, I don't know nothing about nothing, following his arrest. Brown perceives the introduction of this testimony as an improper comment on his silence during the guilt phase of the trial which should have been challenged on direct appeal. This instance of inaction does not appear to be professional error. Assuming for the sake of argument only that trial counsel should have acted differently, it certainly cannot be said that this purported omission would have resulted in a different outcome at either trial or on appeal had it not occurred. Brown's claims concerning these statements fail both prongs of the Strickland test. This issue is without merit.