Opinion ID: 2159715
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Petition for Post-Conviction Relief

Text: In February 1997, defendant filed the present petition for PCR alleging that he had been denied the effective assistance of counsel and of experts at his sentencing retrial. Defendant also sought the court's permission for leave to interview jurors from the sentencing retrial, based on unsolicited information provided by an alternate juror. That information, according to defendant, suggested that the jury had received extraneous information and attempted to return a non-unanimous verdict. Defendant also sought an evidentiary hearing in which he would have the opportunity to present testimony by factual witnesses and four expert witnesses retained by PCR counsel. The newly-retained experts, defendant argued, conducted the thorough, competent investigation that should have been conducted by defense counsel at the penalty retrial. First, defendant sought to introduce the testimony of Alan M. Goldstein, Ph.D., a forensic psychologist, who conducted twenty-six hours of interviews with defendant, interviewed family and friends, and administered a set of psychological tests. Dr. Goldstein concluded that defendant was and is remorseful and does not suffer from ASPD. Dr. Goldstein also found that defendant suffers from a learning disability, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), which, combined with years of substance abuse, explained his poor judgment and excessive reliance on others in social situations. Finally, in his report, Dr. Goldstein discussed the ways in which, in his opinion, Dr. Silikovitz's evaluation of defendant was incomplete and inadequate as compared to the standard of care of a competent psychologist. Second, defendant sought to introduce the testimony of Wilfred Van Gorp, Ph.D., a neuropsychologist. Dr. Van Gorp concluded that defendant had suffered from ADHD since childhood, and his abilities were further diminished by years of substance abuse. Dr. Van Gorp concluded that defendant's impairments made it difficult for him to make sense of social situations, and resulted in his being excessively influenced by mentor-type figures like Franciotti. Third, defendant sought to present the testimony of Robert L. Smith, Ph.D., a psychologist with an expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of substance abuse. Dr. Smith evaluated the effects of defendant's drug abuse on his cognitive functioning and concluded that, at the time of the offense, defendant's ability to appreciate the wrongfulness of his actions was diminished due to his substance abuse. Dr. Smith further concluded that defendant's cognitive capacity was severely impaired at the time of his confession, due to the combination of withdrawal from heroin and acute cocaine intoxication. Fourth, defendant sought to introduce the testimony of Jill Miller, a mitigation specialist, who completed a comprehensive psychosocial history of defendant. Miller found defendant to be remorseful, a conclusion supported by her interview with Sister Gnam, a prison chaplain who met with defendant many times and reported that defendant was remorseful. Based on interviews with people who have known defendant throughout his life, Miller concluded that defendant was capable of rehabilitation. In addition, Miller evaluated the mitigation investigation conducted by the defense counsel for retrial and concluded that it was inadequate and deficient. Finally, defendant sought to introduce the expert report and testimony of David I. Bruck, an attorney with expertise in capital litigation. In his report, Bruck stated that his analysis of defendant's case led him to conclude that retrial counsel's performance fell well below national standards for capital defense counsel. The PCR court accepted into evidence the above reports prepared by the new experts, with the exception of Bruck's report. The court declined to hear in-court testimony from any of those experts or their sources. Instead, the court heard testimony from defendant's previous experts, and from the lawyers who represented defendant at his sentencing retrial and their supervisors. The PCR court denied defendant's motion to interview jurors. After all witnesses had testified, defendant argued six points of ineffective assistance of counsel. The court denied defendant's petition. As to all but one issue, the court found that retrial counsel's performance had been reasonable. The sole issue on which the court found deficient conduct was the second motion to withdraw defendant's guilty plea. On that issue, however, the court held that defendant had not been prejudiced by counsel's performance. Defendant also contended that he was deprived of his constitutional right to the effective assistance of experts, and that the death penalty is unconstitutional. The court ruled that both claims were beyond the scope of the PCR hearing. Defendant appeals to this Court as of right. R. 2:2-1(a)(3).