Opinion ID: 750665
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Performance of Karl's Counsel

Text: 120 The United States Constitution guarantees that criminal defendants shall enjoy the right to have the assistance of counsel for [their] defense. U.S. Const. amend VI. This constitutional right to counsel means that all defendants have the right to effective counsel. McMann v. Richardson, 397 U.S. 759, 771 n. 14, 90 S.Ct. 1441, 1449 n. 14, 25 L.Ed.2d 763 (1970). 121 To establish that he was deprived of his right to the effective assistance of counsel, a defendant must show that his counsel's performance falls below an objective standard of reasonableness. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 688, 104 S.Ct. at 2064. This inquiry must focus on whether counsel's assistance was reasonable considering all the circumstances. Id. at 688, 104 S.Ct. at 2065. 122 Prevailing norms of practice ... are guides to determining what is reasonable, but they are only guides. No particular set of detailed rules for counsel's conduct can satisfactorily take account of the variety of circumstances faced by defense counsel or the range of legitimate decisions regarding how best to represent a criminal defendant. 123 Id. at 688-89, 104 S.Ct. at 2065. 124 A reviewing court's scrutiny of counsel's performance must be highly deferential. Id. There is a strong presumption that counsel's conduct falls within the wide range of reasonable professional assistance; that is, the defendant must overcome the presumption that, under the circumstances, the challenged action 'might be considered sound trial strategy.'  Id. 125 In deciding whether counsel's performance was deficient, we must judge the challenged conduct based on the facts of the particular case, viewed as of the time of counsel's conduct. Id. at 690, 104 S.Ct. at 2066. We must determine whether, in light of all the circumstances, the identified acts or omissions were outside the wide range of professionally competent assistance, keeping in mind that counsel is strongly presumed to have rendered adequate assistance and made all significant decisions in the exercise of reasonable professional judgment. Id. [S]trategic choices made after thorough investigation of law and facts relevant to plausible options are virtually unchallengeable. Id. 126 In analyzing counsel's performance, [w]e will neither second-guess counsel's decisions, nor apply the fabled twenty-twenty vision of hindsight. Campbell v. Wood, 18 F.3d 662, 673 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 511 U.S. 1119, 114 S.Ct. 2125, 128 L.Ed.2d 682 (1994). A fair assessment of attorney performance requires that every effort be made to eliminate the distorting effects of hindsight, to reconstruct the circumstances of counsel's challenged conduct, and to evaluate the conduct from counsel's perspective at the time. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 689, 104 S.Ct. at 2065. 127 Karl claims that his counsel's performance was deficient in numerous ways. We will discuss each claim of ineffectiveness individually.a. Impulsivity Defense 128 Karl claims that his background and his statements to the police indicate that he murdered Hartsock in a moment of rage after being kicked. He argues that this moment of rage and his notorious lack of control showed that he committed this crime on impulse and did not premeditate the crime. Thus, he claims that his attorney acted deficiently by failing to thoroughly investigate or pursue a defense of impulsivity on his behalf. The district court held that Karl's counsel was not ineffective on this issue, see LaGrand v. Lewis, 883 F.Supp. 451, 457-58 (D.Ariz.1995), and we agree. 129 In State v. Christensen, 129 Ariz. 32, 35-36, 628 P.2d 580, 583-84 (1981), the Arizona Supreme Court recognized that impulsivity could be a viable defense for premeditated murder because it tends to negate the mental element of premeditation. The defendant in Christensen was charged with having committed the premeditated murder of his wife. There was no evidence supporting a claim of felony murder. Therefore, the defendant could be found guilty of first-degree murder only if he was found to have premeditated the murder. 130 As found by the district court, Karl's counsel was clearly aware of the Christensen impulsivity defense. Prior to his representation of Karl, counsel represented a defendant in a case in which the impulsivity defense and Christensen were discussed. See State v. Ramos, 133 Ariz. 12, 648 P.2d 127 (App.1981), vacated, 133 Ariz. 4, 648 P.2d 119 (1982). 131 Furthermore, Karl's counsel did not ignore evidence of defendant's impulsivity. Impulsivity evidence was presented during trial through the testimony of Walter and argued by Karl's attorney during closing argument. However, counsel apparently made a decision to not pursue the impulsivity defense more fully. 9 132 Such a decision is supported by the record, which reveals the futility of an impulsivity defense. As the district court stated: 133 Prior to Ken Hartsock being stabbed, Walter LaGrand had stated that he was going to kill the bank manager if the bank manager was lying about being unable to open the vault. Before Dawn Lopez was permitted to leave the bank to turn off her headlights, she was told that if she did not return, Ken Hartsock would be killed. The bank manager was stabbed twenty-four times and Dawn Lopez was stabbed at least seven times. After Ken Hartsock was repeatedly stabbed, either [Karl] or Walter LaGrand was overheard to say: Just make sure he's dead. Ms. Lopez testified that she heard both [Karl] and Walter LaGrand make such a statement. This evidence belies a claim of impulsivity. 134 LaGrand, 883 F.Supp. at 458. 135 Karl's present counsel have spent much time and effort in gathering further evidence and opinion to support the impulsivity defense. However, fleshing it out further makes it no better. Karl's presentation does not overcome the presumption of soundness under Strickland. Impulsivity was absolutely no defense to the felony-murder charge, which was the State's principal claim. In fact, premeditated murder remained in the case only because the trial court rejected the State's objection to the defendants' requested instruction on premeditated murder. In addition, pursuit of the impulsivity defense, like the insanity defense, would have necessarily brought Karl's prior record into the case. Counsel's performance was not deficient. See Strickland, 466 U.S. at 691, 104 S.Ct. at 2066-67. 136 b. Insanity Defense 137 Karl claims that his attorney rendered ineffective assistance by failing to pursue an insanity defense. We reject this claim. 138 Karl's counsel researched the possibility of an insanity defense at length. Karl was examined by two doctors, psychologist Dr. Lewis Hertz and psychiatrist Dr. Edward Meshorer. Neither doctor's reports suggested an insanity defense was available to Karl. Dr. Hertz reported that Karl knew right from wrong, negating use of the M'Naughten test for insanity. Dr. Meshorer's report, while not addressing the M'Naughten test, gave no indication that an insanity defense would be a viable option for Karl. As the Arizona Supreme Court pointed out: [N]o evidence of M'Naughten insanity existed. State v. LaGrand, 152 Ariz. 483, 485, 733 P.2d 1066, 1068 (1987). 139 Furthermore, if Karl's counsel had pursued an insanity defense, Arizona procedure would have opened up Karl's juvenile record to inspection and exposed his past to scrutiny. See State v. Rodriguez, 126 Ariz. 28, 31, 612 P.2d 484, 487 (1980). As the district court stated: 140 Had [Karl's] counsel opened the door to [Karl's] past, the jury would have learned of a lengthy and violent criminal history. [Karl's] presentence reports indicate that less than three months before the events of this case occurred, on two separate occasions [Karl] committed armed robberies and kidnappings at Tucson grocery stores, and had prepared to commit another armed robbery at a third grocery store. When the murder of Ken Hartsock occurred, [Karl] had been released on bail while awaiting trial for armed robbery and kidnapping. 141 As a juvenile, [Karl] was adjudicated delinquent for multiple burglaries, armed robbery and kidnapping. 142 LaGrand, 883 F.Supp. at 458. 143 Because there was a lack of evidence supporting an insanity defense, and because pursuing an insanity defense would have made Karl's lengthy and violent criminal history admissible, counsel's decision not to pursue the insanity defense was reasonable and did not constitute ineffective assistance. 144 c. Suppression of Karl's Confession 145 After being arrested, Karl made two confessions to the police wherein he admitted committing the murder and stated that it was done in a moment of rage. Karl's previous attorney succeeded in having the confessions suppressed on the grounds that the confessions were involuntary and that Karl had not received his Miranda warnings. 146 After Karl's trial counsel became the lead counsel, he decided that the confessions would be useful at sentencing. The confessions contained statements that made the murder seem less heinous than the eyewitness testimony of Ms. Lopez. If Karl was convicted of first-degree murder, counsel wanted to use the confessions at sentencing in order to mitigate the sentence. Trial counsel sought reversal of the trial court's decision of involuntariness. The trial court agreed, and although the statements were inadmissible at trial due to the lack of a Miranda warning, the statements became admissible at sentencing. 147 Karl claims that his counsel acted ineffectively because counsel changed strategies on whether or not the confessions should be suppressed. We reject this claim. 148 Previous counsel's decision to seek suppression of the confessions was reasonable. The confessions, while evidencing impulsivity, also contained statements that were highly incriminating because they tended to place the entire blame for Hartsock's death on Karl. Previous counsel believed that Karl was confessing to something that he did not do. Eyewitness testimony contradicted what Karl had confessed to. Thus, previous counsel believed that Karl's confessions would be harmful to the case and therefore made a decision to seek suppression, an effort in which trial counsel participated. 149 Trial counsel's decision to seek retraction of the trial court's ruling to the extent that the confessions were involuntary was also reasonable. This enabled counsel to exclude the confessions when they would have been the most damaging--during the guilt finding phase--and utilize them at a time when they could prove useful--during sentencing. 150 However, Karl claims that the use of the confessions at sentencing was only useful to Walter and that trial counsel's decision to have the confessions admissible during sentencing was therefore ineffective. We disagree. The confessions revealed a less egregious crime than that presented by the eyewitness testimony of Ms. Lopez. The sentencing was to be done by the trial judge, who would have already heard Ms. Lopez's testimony. Thus, counsel introduced the confessions at the sentencing phase, with the possibility that Karl's version of the events would offset the testimony of Ms. Lopez. In the absence of the confessions, the sentencer would have no record evidence of Karl's conduct except that of Ms. Lopez. This use of Karl's confessions during sentencing was a sound and reasonable strategic decision by Karl's trial counsel and, as such, does not constitute ineffective assistance. 151 d. Interview and Examination of Witnesses 152 Karl argues that his counsel acted ineffectively by failing to interview and examine all of the witnesses at trial. We are not persuaded. 153 Prior to the time that trial counsel was appointed to represent Karl, all of the witnesses had been interviewed. Trial counsel reviewed the transcripts of these interviews. An investigator had also been working on the case prior to trial counsel's appointment, and trial counsel had access to, and reviewed, this investigator's reports. Trial counsel put in the equivalent of twenty-seven eight-hour days in trial preparation. He personally interviewed the only eyewitness, Ms. Lopez. The fact that trial counsel did not personally interview each witness does not constitute ineffective assistance. See Eggleston v. United States, 798 F.2d 374, 376 (9th Cir.1986) (trial counsel does not need to interview a witness if the witness's account is fairly known to counsel). 154 At trial, Karl's trial counsel was very quiet. Of the eighteen witnesses called by the Government, trial counsel cross-examined only two. One of the witnesses cross-examined by trial counsel was Ms. Lopez. The Arizona Supreme Court held: 155 Although trial counsel here kept an exceedingly low profile, we cannot say that his performance was so deficient as to compromise the adversarial nature of the trial.... Failure to cross-examine most witnesses was not deficient because co-defendant's counsel did an excellent job of cross-examining them. Counsel did cross-examine Dawn Lopez, and establish that Karl was kicked. While we normally expect to see more vigorous representation from counsel, particularly in a death penalty case, we cannot say that counsel's trial performance was ineffective. 156 LaGrand, 152 Ariz. at 486, 733 P.2d at 1069. We agree. 157 The trial court's sequence of examination of witnesses resulted in Walter's counsel cross-examining each of the State's witnesses prior to Karl's trial counsel having that opportunity. All parties agree that Walter's counsel did an exceptional job cross-examining the witnesses. Thus, there was not much left to cross-examine when Karl's counsel was allowed to address the witness. If Karl's counsel repeated the questions asked by Walter's counsel, any negative answers would simply have been magnified in the jury's mind. Karl's counsel made a reasonable decision not to add to the questioning of most of the witnesses. 158 The strategies of respective defense counsel at trial were not nearly as antagonistic as Karl now urges. The evidence against Karl and Walter overlapped. Questions asked by Walter's counsel often inured to the benefit of Karl. In fact, both brothers had the same interests as against each witness except Ms. Lopez. Walter's counsel presented expert testimony regarding flaws associated with eyewitness testimony and extensively cross-examined Ms. Lopez regarding prior inconsistent statements, both of which benefited Karl. In addition, Karl's trial counsel cross-examined Ms. Lopez and attempted to elicit responses from her that would have aided Karl in establishing that his actions were the result of an impulsive reaction rather than premeditation. 159 Although Karl's trial counsel's performance was not perfect, it was not so unreasonable as to overcome the presumption that, under the circumstances, counsel's conduct was within the wide range of competent professional assistance. Karl's trial counsel's performance was therefore not ineffective. See Strickland, 466 U.S. at 687-88, 104 S.Ct. at 2064-65. 160 e. Zealous Representation 161 Karl claims that the totality of his counsel's representation was not effective, pointing out that counsel did not give an opening statement, only cross-examined two witnesses, and was inexperienced. In this sense, Karl asserts, his attorney acted as a neutral observer rather than a zealous advocate. But trial counsel was not the potted plant that Karl now paints him as. 162 Karl's counsel filed several pretrial motions, which were joined by Walter's counsel, as well as joining in motions filed by Walter's counsel. He persisted in pursuing the psychological test when the first results were inconclusive and finally obtained a usable result when the questions were read to Karl. He examined Ms. Lopez during the hearing on the identification of the defendants, as well as joining in motions filed by Walter's counsel. Trial counsel also questioned well over half of the available prospective jurors during the individual voir dire. 163 Trial counsel's conduct during trial was not so limited as to be ineffective. First, the failure to give an opening statement did not render trial counsel's assistance ineffective. Counsel did not waive opening statement, but rather chose to reserve it and wait until he heard all of the state's evidence before making an opening statement. After the closing of the state's case, counsel chose not to put on any witnesses. Trial counsel thus lost the opportunity to give an opening statement. This was a reasonable strategic decision by counsel and did not constitute ineffective assistance. See United States v. Rodriguez-Ramirez, 777 F.2d 454, 458 (9th Cir.1985) (the timing of opening statement, including the decision on whether or not to make one, is a trial tactic and does not constitute a basis for a claim of ineffective assistance). 164 Karl argues that trial counsel's inexperience rendered his assistance ineffective. In considering a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, it is not the experience of the attorney that is evaluated, but rather, his performance. 165 Finally, as stated previously, trial counsel's decision to cross-examine only two of the State's witnesses did not constitute ineffective assistance. Most of the testimony applied to both defendants. The witnesses did not, for the most part, distinguish between Walter and Karl. Cross-examination simply because it was permissible would have served no purpose. The one conspicuous exception was Dawn Lopez, and trial counsel did cross-examine her. 166 Although Karl's counsel was not very active during the trial, there is nothing to suggest that he was ineffective. Walter's counsel presented numerous arguments that benefitted both parties equally. Karl's counsel made a reasonable decision to lay low and allow Walter's arguments to represent them both. There was nothing to be gained by repeating the same arguments advanced by another attorney. Although Karl's counsel chose not to argue every point, his representation did not fall below the reasonably competent performance guaranteed by the Constitution. See Atkins v. Singletary, 965 F.2d 952, 960 (11th Cir.1992) (The Constitution requires a good deal less than maximum performance.), cert. denied, 515 U.S. 1165, 115 S.Ct. 2624, 132 L.Ed.2d 865 (1995). 167 f. Mitigation 168 Karl claims that his counsel failed to competently investigate, prepare and present evidence at the mitigation hearing. We reject this claim. 169 The record shows that Karl's counsel presented numerous mitigating factors at the sentencing hearing. Counsel called a psychiatrist to testify about Karl's impulsiveness and introduced a report by a clinical psychologist. Counsel introduced Karl's confessions into evidence because he thought they presented a less egregious account of the events in the bank than the eyewitness account and because it bolstered Karl's impulsivity defense. 170 Furthermore, Walter's counsel introduced extensive mitigation evidence which applied equally to both Walter and Karl. Walter's counsel called Walter and Karl's sister to present mitigation evidence and her testimony about the nature of the LaGrand family applied equally to Karl and Walter. 171 We cannot say that counsel's performance fell outside the wide range of reasonable professional assistance. Counsel's assistance was therefore not ineffective. See Paradis v. Arave, 20 F.3d 950, 959 (9th Cir.1994) (counsel was not ineffective despite defendant's claim that counsel called only one mitigation witness and failed to develop information regarding defendant's oppressive upbringing and the fact that he was easily angered), cert. denied, 513 U.S. 1117, 115 S.Ct. 915, 130 L.Ed.2d 796 (1995).