Opinion ID: 2069831
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Ineffective assistance of counsel second 23-110 motion

Text: In the second 23-110 motion, Dobson argued that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to interview and make available for trial James Harris, Dobson's accomplice, who allegedly would have testified that another man was his accomplice on the night of the robbery. The trial court rejected the motion without a hearing as a successive motion presenting the same ground for relief as the first motion. See D.C.Code § 23-110(e). Because the second motion stated an identical legal basis for relief  ineffective assistance of trial counsel  and because Dobson demonstrates no cause for and prejudice from his failure to raise this ineffective assistance claim in his first 23-110 motion, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying the second motion without a hearing. See Minor v. United States, 647 A.2d 770, 776 (D.C.1994) (holding that trial court did not abuse discretion in denying, without a hearing, second 23-110 motion as second or successive motion for similar relief based on ineffective assistance of counsel). As an alternative ground, Dobson contends that even if he is unable to show cause for and prejudice from failing to include his second ineffective assistance claim in his first 23-110 motion, he has produced evidence of actual innocence to overcome any procedural bar under Schlup v. Delo, 513 U.S. 298, 115 S.Ct. 851, 130 L.Ed.2d 808 (1995). In Schlup, the Supreme Court held that a procedural bar can be overcome if the evidence of innocence is so strong that a court cannot have confidence in the outcome of the trial... Id. at 316, 115 S.Ct. 851. The evidence that Dobson claims demonstrates actual innocence  a signed, unsworn statement of James Harris, Dobson's accomplice in the armed robbery  does not meet the standard of actual innocence required under Schlup. [15] See Diamen v. United States, 725 A.2d 501, 512 (D.C.1999) (holding that newly discovered evidence  affidavit by confessed murderer and admitted perjurer  seeking to shift blame for murder to two deceased members of Pagans motorcycle club, does not meet Schlup standard). For these reasons, the trial court properly denied the second 23-110 motion as a successive motion for similar relief. SCHWELB, Associate Judge, concurring: The offense in this case was committed on June 6, 1978, more than twenty-four years ago. Dobson's § 23-110 motion was filed almost fifteen years after the robbery. At the time of the hearing of the motion, Dobson's trial attorney had little active recollection of what took place at trial and had to rely primarily on a reconstruction based on available written materials. If Dobson's convictions were now to be vacated so many years after the events in question, it would probably be impossible for the prosecution to present the case again. Such delay is a part of the court's calculus that the court must consider, see Dobson II, supra, 711 A.2d at 84, and under all of the circumstances I do not believe that trial counsel's performance was sufficiently deficient to warrant reversal under Strickland, supra . My view of the case, however, is somewhat different from Judge King's. Some of the justifications for trial counsel's tactics in this case strike me as quite unpersuasive. An alibi defense is not an alternative to a defense based on the weakness of identification testimony; on the contrary, the two defense ordinarily complement each other. A defendant with a strong alibi can argue that of course the identification testimony is weak, because the defendant was not there. Similarly, the weakness of the identification makes alibi evidence more credible. If the alibi defense in the present case was strong enough for counsel to use his opening statement to promise to present it, then it did not lose its persuasiveness when the prosecution presented somewhat weaker identification testimony than had been expected. If, on the other hand, presentation of the defense was risky because it might require disclosure of other criminal activity on Dobson's part, that danger existed at the time counsel made his opening statement. [1] Surely, under those circumstances, the sensible course of action would have been to defer any mention of the alibi defense until it became clear to Dobson's attorney that the benefits of presenting it outweighed its risks, and that counsel therefore ought to use it. If the risk/benefit calculus was uncertain, then a prudent silence at the time of opening statement would have avoided the obviously unfavorable consequence of promising important testimony to the jury and failing to deliver it  a tactic which surely risked undermining the jury's confidence in the reliability of counsel's entire presentation. I recognize that circumstances often change during a trial, and that almost a quarter of a century after the fact an appellate court has the benefit of 20/20 hindsight. Dobson's attorney, on the other hand, had to make important tactical decisions quickly and while under the considerable pressure of a trial in which counsel's client's long-term liberty was at risk. I cannot say that Dobson's attorney's performance was so deficient that he did not function as the counsel guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment. See Strickland, supra, 466 U.S. at 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052. But if the prolonged delays which have distorted this litigation had not occurred, and if vacation of Dobson's conviction would not require the government to prove events that took place nearly a quarter of a century ago, then I would regard the correct disposition of this appeal as a close call indeed. WASHINGTON, Associate Judge, dissenting: While I agree with Judge Schwelb that this is an extremely close case, I disagree that the pressure faced by counsel at trial or the prolonged delay in the filing of the 23-110 motion necessarily leads to the conclusion that the performance of Dobson's trial counsel was not so deficient as to warrant reversal under Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984). In fact, the concerns raised by Judge Schwelb in his concurring opinion concerning the prejudice to Dobson from his counsel's decision to preview his defense in opening statement and then not produce the promised evidence leads me to conclude that under our decision in Edwards v. United States, 767 A.2d 241 (D.C.2001), the trial court's decision to deny Dobson's first 23-110 motion in this case must be reversed. As Judge King points out in his concurring opinion, we addressed this very issue recently in Edwards and therefore the present case must be analyzed under the five-prong test that we articulated in that case. Judge King concludes and I agree that both the first prong, that a promise was made to the jury, and the fourth prong, that no other alibi evidence was presented to the jury, argues in favor of Dobson's motion. I also agree with Judge King that we are hampered by the passage of time in our ability to fully address the third factor, the explanation, if any, given to the jury for the failure of defense counsel to call the promised witnesses. Where we part company, however, is in our analysis of the weight that should be given to the second prong of Edwards, the strategic decision prong, and the fifth prong, whether the decision caused substantial prejudice to Dobson given the facts of this case. Judge Schwelb notes in his concurring opinion that Dobson's alibi defense was entirely consistent with his attack on the credibility of the complaining witness' identification of him as the perpetrator of the crime. It is for this reason that I believe Judge King has given far too much weight to the second Edwards prong, the strategic justification for the decision not to produce the evidence, and far too little weight to the other Edwards factors that we agree weigh in favor of Dobson. In addition, Judge King appears to improperly conflate the second and fifth prongs of Edwards when he concludes that the impact on the jury was minimal because the decision not to offer the evidence was a tactical decision. In Edwards, we cited to the decisions of several federal circuit courts that have held that the failure of defense counsel to produce evidence promised in an opening statement supports a claim of deficient performance of trial counsel sufficiently prejudicial to warrant a new trial. Id. at 247. In doing so, we recognized that there are cases where such a promise, coupled with sufficient prejudice from the failure to follow through on that promise, could result in the granting of a new trial. We also once again noted that the determination of ineffective assistance of counsel is necessarily fact based, id. at 248, and that all of the Edwards' factors must be considered in making that determination. In this case, I submit that the Edwards factors argue in favor of reversal. First, as I pointed out earlier, the alibi defense promised to the jury and the defense ultimately relied upon by defense counsel were entirely consistent. This is not an Edwards -type circumstance where the promises made to the jury in opening statement were modified because trial counsel was compelled to explore other strategies when the defendant's version of the events changed. Here, defense counsel was never confronted with new evidence or information that required him to alter his original trial strategy. In fact, defense counsel was well aware of the risks inherent in presenting Dobson's alibi defense before he made his opening statement to the jury and still he chose to do so. The mere fact that the government's evidence was weaker than expected, although strong enough to withstand a motion for judgment of acquittal, is not a sufficient strategic justification for a change in trial strategy that severely undermines the jury's expectations of what evidence will be presented. The effect of such a break in trust with a jury cannot be underestimated in terms of the potential prejudice to the defendant. For that reason, trial counsel's decision to forgo presenting the testimony of several apparently credible alibi witnesses because he thought the government's case was weak, was a tactical decision that in my opinion should not be given overriding weight in our decision. With respect to the fifth prong of Edwards, the impact on the defense and the jury of the failure to present this alibi testimony, I also respectfully disagree with my colleague's analysis. Judge King appears to argue that because the jury probably would have discovered that Dobson had a prior criminal conviction, either through the direct or cross-examination of the alibi witnesses, the decision not to present those witnesses was a reasonable tactical choice. While that may be an appropriate consideration under the second prong of Edwards, I believe the question posed under the fifth prong of Edwards is more appropriately analyzed in a manner more consistent with this court's jurisprudence under the second prong of Strickland. Thus, the question is not whether Dobson's counsel made a reasonable tactical decision but rather whether Dobson has demonstrated a reasonable probability that but for counsel's unprofessional errors, the result of the proceedings would have been different. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052. While reasonable people can disagree on this point, I believe that the failure of Dobson's trial counsel to present the witnesses, whom he promised in opening statement would account for Dobson's whereabouts on the night in question, actually helped to bolster the weak identification evidence offered by the government. While juries are presumed to follow instructions of the trial court, and the trial court properly instructed the jury in this case that the statements of counsel are not evidence, there is little doubt that counsel's failure to follow through on his promised alibi defense created a credibility gap with the jury. When Dobson failed to fill the gap with any evidence supporting an alibi defense, it became much easier for the jury to conclude that he was merely trying to confuse them as opposed to defending himself. Even if we assume that the jury would have learned that Dobson had been incarcerated in the past, it is quite probable, especially given the weak identification evidence tying Dobson to the crime, that had the jury heard the testimony of the proffered alibi witnesses the outcome of the case would have been different. After applying all five Edwards factors to the facts of this case, I believe that trial counsel's promise to the jury to present alibi witnesses and his subsequent failure to present those witnesses or any other evidence in support of his purported alibi defense constituted deficient performance, and that given the weakness of the government's case, there was sufficient prejudice to the defense to warrant reversal. Therefore, I respectfully dissent.