Opinion ID: 214892
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Counsel's Failure to Request a Theft Instruction

Text: Breakiron argues that trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance by failing to request a jury instruction on theft, which is a lesser-included offense in the charge of robbery. See 18 Pa. Cons.Stat. § 3701(a)(1); Commonwealth v. Williams, 521 Pa. 556, 559 A.2d 25, 27 n. 2 (1989). We agree. At trial, Breakiron testified that he took the money bags only after he left the bar following the assault, returned, put Martin's body in his truck, went back into the bar, and then spotted the bags as he was on his way back out. (N.T. 1260-61; A. 1558-59.) At closing, his counsel argued that, although Breakiron stole the money bags, he was not guilty of robbery because he decided to take the money only after Martin was dead. (N.T. 1320-21; A. 1618-19.) The trial court then instructed the jury that it could find Breakiron guilty of robbery only if it found both that Breakiron committed a theft and that he inflicted serious bodily injury on Martin in the course of committing that theft. (N.T. 1352-53; A. 1650.) [10] Breakiron's counsel did not request a further instruction that the jury could find him guilty solely of the lesser-included offense of theft, and the trial court did not give one. Breakiron claims that his counsel rendered ineffective assistance in that regard. He raised this claim in his first PCRA proceeding. The PCRA court held an evidentiary hearing, at which counsel testified, then rejected the claim on the merits. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court affirmed. See Breakiron-2, 729 A.2d at 1094-95. The District Court deferred to that ruling under AEDPA, but explained that it would deny the claim even under de novo review. This claim is governed by the standard set forth in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984), which constitutes clearly established Federal law for AEDPA purposes. Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. 362, 391, 120 S.Ct. 1495, 146 L.Ed.2d 389 (2000); Rainey v. Varner, 603 F.3d 189, 197 (3d Cir. 2010). A habeas petitioner asserting a claim under Strickland must establish two elements. 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. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052. In evaluating counsel's performance, a court must indulge a strong presumption that counsel's conduct falls within the wide range of reasonable professional assistance[.] Id. at 689, 104 S.Ct. 2052. Thus, counsel's performance will be deemed deficient only if it fell below an objective standard of reasonableness. Id. at 688, 104 S.Ct. 2052. The question ultimately is whether, in light of all the circumstances, the [challenged] acts or omissions were outside the wide range of professionally competent assistance. Id. at 690, 104 S.Ct. 2052. 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. Id. at 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052. To establish prejudice, [t]he 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. at 694, 104 S.Ct. 2052.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court did not address the issue of performance and instead rejected this claim solely on the ground that Breakiron failed to show prejudice. See Breakiron-2, 729 A.2d at 1094-95. The District Court also did not address counsel's performance. Nevertheless, we may do so in the first instance because the record is adequately developed. See Hodge v. United States, 554 F.3d 372, 379 n. 9 (3d Cir.2009). We will review the issue de novo because the state court did not address it. See Porter, 130 S.Ct. at 452. We conclude that counsel's failure to request a theft instruction was objectively unreasonable. As Breakiron argues, he would have been entitled under Pennsylvania law to an instruction on the lesser-included crime of theft if counsel had requested one because the charge was supported by the evidence. See Commonwealth v. Polimeni, 474 Pa. 430, 378 A.2d 1189, 1192 & nn. 3-4 (1977) (citing, inter alia, Keeble v. United States, 412 U.S. 205, 213, 93 S.Ct. 1993, 36 L.Ed.2d 844 (1973)); see also Beck v. Alabama, 447 U.S. 625, 635-36 & n. 12, 100 S.Ct. 2382, 65 L.Ed.2d 392 (1980) (counting Pennsylvania among the states that have unanimously so held and citing Commonwealth v. Terrell, 482 Pa. 303, 393 A.2d 1117 (1978)). [11] The Commonwealth does not argue otherwise. The Commonwealth also does not defend counsel's performance on this point, and it is apparent from the record that counsel did not have a strategic reason for not requesting a theft instruction. When asked at the PCRA hearing whether he ever considered doing so, he answered merely I don't believe so. (N.T. PCRA 7/17/97 PM at 70; A. 1892.) Thus, the record establishes that counsel's decision not to request a theft instruction was not the kind of strategic choice entitled to deference under Strickland. See Thomas v. Varner, 428 F.3d 491, 499-500 (3d Cir. 2005). The record also establishes that it was objectively unreasonable. Counsel's sole theory of defense to the robbery charge was that Breakiron had committed a theft but not a robbery. Without a theft instruction, the jury was left with only two choicesconviction of robbery or outright acquittal. In such all-or-nothing situations, `[w]here one of the elements of the offense charged remains in doubt, but the defendant is plainly guilty of some offense, the jury is likely to resolve its doubts in favor of conviction.' Beck, 447 U.S. at 634, 100 S.Ct. 2382 (quoting Keeble, 412 U.S. at 212-13, 93 S.Ct. 1993). Thus, even though juries are obligated `as a theoretical matter' to acquit if they do not find every element of a crime, there is a `substantial risk that the jury's practice will diverge from theory' when it is not presented with the option of convicting of a lesser offense instead of acquitting outright. Id. (quoting Keeble, 412 U.S. at 212, 93 S.Ct. 1993). By conceding theft but not requesting a theft instruction, Breakiron's counsel exposed him to that substantial risk, and the record reveals that he had no strategic reason for doing so. Nor could there have been any. Counsel did not pursue an all-or-nothing strategy at trial by arguing that Breakiron had not committed any crime. Instead, he conceded that Breakiron had committed theft, but neglected to request the theft instruction that not only would have been consistent with that theory of defense but would have given the jury an opportunity to effectuate it. Under the circumstances, no reasonable counsel would have failed to request that instruction. See Richards v. Quarterman, 566 F.3d 553, 569-70 (5th Cir.2009) (holding that failure to request a lesser-included-offense instruction consistent with theory of the defense fell below an objective standard of reasonableness); cf. Lopez v. Thurmer, 594 F.3d 584, 588 (7th Cir.2010) (holding that decision not to request lesser-included-offense instruction appears to have been strategic where instruction would have been inconsistent with defendant's testimony that he was innocent of any crime).
To show prejudice, Breakiron must establish that there is a reasonable probability that the jury would have convicted him of theft only and not of robbery if counsel had requested the theft instruction to which he was entitled. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that Breakiron had not made that showing. Thus, under AEDPA, we may not grant relief on this claim unless that ruling either was contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established Federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court of the United States[.] 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1). If we determine that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's ruling was contrary to or an unreasonable application of Strickland, then we still must review the claim de novo to determine whether Breakiron is entitled to relief. See Bronshtein v. Horn, 404 F.3d 700, 724 (3d Cir.2005). The Pennsylvania Supreme Court's prejudice analysis reads in relevant part: We find that even if this argument had merit and that trial counsel could have requested a theft and a robbery jury charge, Breakiron cannot establish that he was prejudiced. The charge of the trial court instructed the jury not to return a guilty verdict of robbery without first finding that a theft had occurred. (N.T. at 1352-54) Moreover, trial counsel argued to the jury during closing argument that there could be no robbery, but solely a theft because Breakiron took money only after Ms. Martin was dead. (N.T. at 1312, 1320-21) The jury rejected this argument and convicted Breakiron of robbery. In Breakiron I, we held that the evidence supported this verdict because there was no question that Breakiron took the victim's purse and the bags of money from the bar. Breakiron I, 524 Pa. at 296-97, 571 A.2d at 1042. Had a theft instruction been given, it is not likely that the jury would have returned a verdict only on the theft charge. Breakiron-2, 729 A.2d at 1095. Thus, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court rejected this claim because (1) the trial court's instruction made it clear that Breakiron was not guilty of robbery based on a theft alone, so the jury necessarily rejected counsel's argument that Breakiron committed theft alone, and (2) the evidence of robbery was sufficient. [12] Breakiron challenges both rationales, arguing that the first is an unreasonable application of Strickland and that the second is contrary to Strickland. We agree on both counts. First, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court reasoned that the jury would have found Breakiron guilty of robbery even if a separate theft instruction had been given because the trial court's instruction made clear that theft alone was not enough to convict of robbery, and the jury thus necessarily rejected Breakiron's argument that he committed theft alone. This reasoning is a significant stretch of plausibility. The problem with this analysis is that it rests solely on the jury's duty `as a theoretical matter' to acquit if it does not find every element of a crime and does not acknowledge the `substantial risk that the jury's practice will diverge from theory' when it is not presented with the option of convicting of a lesser offense instead of acquitting outright. Beck, 447 U.S. at 634, 100 S.Ct. 2382 (quoting Keeble, 412 U.S. at 212, 93 S.Ct. 1993). The crux of Breakiron's claim of prejudice is that he was exposed to this substantial risk, but the Pennsylvania Supreme Court did not acknowledge it. [13] Second, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court also noted that the evidence of robbery was sufficient because Breakiron admitted taking money from the bar. Breakiron argues that it was contrary to Strickland to rely on the mere sufficiency of the evidence of robbery because the only relevant question is whether there was a reasonable probability that the jury would have convicted him only of theft instead. The District Court rejected this argument because (1) the Pennsylvania Supreme Court did not rely solely on the sufficiency of the evidence, and (2) it is proper to consider the weight of the evidence in assessing prejudice under Strickland. (Dist. Ct. Op. at 94-95.) The District Court is right that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court did not solely rely on the sufficiency of the evidence, and thus did not apply a sufficiency of the evidence standard that is contrary to the reasonable probability standard set forth in Strickland. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court's partial reliance on the sufficiency of the evidence, however, is nevertheless problematic. It is of course true that courts must weigh the evidence in assessing prejudice. See Buehl v. Vaughn, 166 F.3d 163, 172 (3d Cir.1999) (citing Strickland, 466 U.S. at 695, 104 S.Ct. 2052). The Pennsylvania Supreme Court, however, merely noted the sufficiency of the evidence without examining its weight. It did not weigh all the evidence of record (including Breakiron's testimony that he took the bags of money only after spotting them after the assault was over) to determine whether there was a reasonable probability that the jury would have convicted him only of theft if it had been given that option. Merely noting that the evidence was sufficient to convict does not accomplish that task. In sum, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court did not acknowledge the substantial risk to which Breakiron was exposed in the absence of a theft instruction and did not weigh the evidence of record to determine whether it prejudiced him. Thus, its ruling is both contrary to and an unreasonable application of Strickland. The question remains whether Breakiron suffered prejudice when the issue is considered de novo. Breakiron argues that the failure to request a theft instruction deprived the jury of the only way to give effect to counsel's theory of defense (i.e., that Breakiron committed a theft but not a robbery). The District Court reasoned that it would deny this claim even considered de novo essentially for the same reason as the Pennsylvania Supreme Court: the trial court properly instructed the jury on the elements of robbery, so the jury must have found those elements and not merely a theft in finding Breakiron guilty. (Dist. Ct. Op. at 95-96.) Thus, under the District Court's reasoning, counsel's failure to obtain a theft instruction did not deprive the jury of a way of giving effect to counsel's argument because the jury could have done so simply by finding Breakiron not guilty of robbery. Like the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, however, the District Court did not account for the substantial risk that a jury will convict of an unproven offense when the defendant is guilty of some crime but the jury instructions present it with an all-or-nothing choice. See Beck, 447 U.S. at 634, 100 S.Ct. 2382. The question in assessing prejudice is whether there is a reasonable probability that the jury did so here, and we conclude that there is. Breakiron testified that he did not decide to take the money bags until after his assault on Martin was complete and he left and then returned to the bar. The only evidence to the contrary was the mere fact that he took the money and Price's testimony suggesting that the incident as a whole was premeditated and that Breakiron took the money before his assault on Martin was complete. Thus, although Price's testimony supported the robbery charge for Brady purposes and the evidence was sufficient to convict, the prosecution's evidence on that charge was not particularly strong and was far from overwhelming. Moreover, the robbery instruction actually given by the trial court, though initially proper, compounded the error by closing with the erroneous suggestion that the jury could convict Breakiron of robbery on the basis of a theft alone. Under the circumstances, there is a reasonable probability that the jury would have convicted Breakiron only of theft if the jury instructions had given it that option. [14]