Opinion ID: 163763
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Was Ms. Paine Prejudiced by Counsel's Deficient Performance?

Text: 48 The magistrate judge and the district court concluded that the OCCA's application of Strickland was not unreasonable because of Ms. Paine's inability to show prejudice. Both courts were persuaded because [a]lthough an expert in [BWS] might have helped Ms. Paine, she has not established a probability of a different outcome with the use of a specialist in the syndrome. R. Doc. 19 at 11; R. Doc. 21 at 1-2. Critical to the magistrate judge's conclusion was the idea that a BWS expert could not render an opinion on the ultimate fact of whether Ms. Paine's fear was actually reasonable. R. Doc. 19 at 11. There is no doubt that is true under Bechtel. 840 P.2d at 9. However, that is not the point. 49 Although the expert could not testify to the ultimate fact, testimony about BWS from an expert was necessary (in the words of the OCCA, 840 P.2d at 8) to equip the jury to properly assess the reasonableness of Ms. Paine's fear. The magistrate judge emphasized that Dr. King did testify in support of the notion that Ms. Paine's fear was genuine. R. Doc. 19 at 10. But, without testimony about BWS from an expert, the jury was rendered unable to consider fully the evidence presented and to follow the jury instruction to assess the reasonableness of that fear based on the circumstances and from the viewpoint of the defendant. Bechtel, 840 P.2d at 11 (quoting what is now Okla. UJI-Cr. § 8-47, the revised self-defense instruction required in all BWS cases). Ms. Paine's self-defense theory, the only theory offered, was effectively eviscerated by this failure. 50 The State's case cited in opposition, Seymour v. Walker, 224 F.3d 542, 557 (6th Cir.2000), concluded that a failure to offer expert BWS testimony was not ineffective assistance. Aplt. Br. at 21. However, Seymour is inapposite because it is based on Ohio law which has a completely subjective self-defense test. Therefore, the usefulness of expert BWS testimony in Ohio is much different than its usefulness under Oklahoma's self-defense test given its reasonableness requirement. 51 Although the lesson to be drawn from Bechtel is obvious, the record before us is unclear on the last remaining element needed to convince us that Ms. Paine was prejudiced under Strickland: a qualified BWS expert willing to testify that Ms. Paine was suffering from BWS at the time of the killing and willing to explain the impact of BWS on her state of mind and, specifically, to opine that Ms. Paine's belief that the use of deadly force was necessary to protect herself from imminent danger of death or great bodily harm could be considered reasonable based on her circumstances and viewed from her perspective. See Bechtel, 840 P.2d at 6-8. The magistrate judge recognized that Ms. Paine, who was incarcerated and proceeding pro se at the time, claimed that she had already been evaluated by a BWS expert who could testify favorably on her behalf. R. Doc. 19 at 7. Although it is not clear, apparently Ms. Paine's former habeas counsel 2 had the supporting materials in her possession. To further complicate matters, the magistrate judge also explained that parts of the state appellate record are missing. R. Doc. 18 at 2. Given the gaps in the record pertaining to this critical piece of missing information, we will remand to the district court to conduct a hearing during which Ms. Paine will be given the opportunity to produce a qualified BWS expert as described above. 52 If Ms. Paine is able to satisfy this showing on remand, the prejudice inquiry will be complete. Given the OCCA's insistence that juries entertain misconceptions about BWS that must be overcome before a proper assessment of reasonableness is possible, there would exist at the very least a  reasonable probability that, but for counsel's unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 694, 104 S.Ct. 2052 (emphasis added). 3 53 Therefore, if Ms. Paine satisfies the requirement on remand, the district court is instructed to grant a conditional writ of habeas corpus effective only if the State refuses to retry Ms. Paine within a reasonable time. If Ms. Paine does not satisfy the requirement, however, then the district court is instructed to deny the petition for failure to demonstrate prejudice under Strickland. 54 This case is REMANDED with instructions.