Opinion ID: 777262
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Counsel's failure to pursue a particular defense theory

Text: 63 Moss next argues that his counsel's failure to investigate and pursue a theory that Thomas was the only person who shot Manley constitutes ineffective assistance. According to Moss, if his counsel had interviewed Thomas, called him as a witness, and elicited testimony that he fired all of the bullets, the result in this case would likely have been different. 64 Moss's contention overlooks the fact that, according to Modelski, she had no reason at the time of trial to believe that Thomas was the sole shooter. She testified that Moss repeatedly told her that Gould had fired the gun after Thomas fled, and that she did not remember Moss informing her that Thomas also shot Manley. Although Moss testified at the evidentiary hearing that he had told Modelski that Thomas fired the gun, this testimony does not necessarily conflict with Modelski's account of what Moss told her. Moss's testimony at the evidentiary hearing does not clearly establish that he told Modelski prior to trial that Thomas was the sole shooter. It is conceivable that Moss told Modelski that both Thomas and Gould fired the gun. Modelski's trial strategy of attempting to raise doubts about the circumstances of Manley's shooting would be consistent with this possibility, and it might explain why she did not recall Moss telling her that Thomas also shot Manley. 65 Moss's argument that his counsel should have conducted an independent investigation into Thomas's account of the shooting does not alter our analysis. Although counsel has a duty to make reasonable investigations or to make a reasonable decision that makes particular investigations unnecessary[,] ... [t]he reasonableness of counsel's actions may be determined or substantially influenced by the defendant's own statements or actions. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 691, 104 S.Ct. 2052. Modelski testified that Moss told her that Gould fired the gun after Thomas fled. Assuming this to be true, Moss cannot now challenge his counsel's failure to pursue a theory that Thomas fired all of the bullets. Id. (noting that when a defendant has given counsel reason to believe that pursuing certain investigations would be fruitless or even harmful, counsel's failure to pursue those investigations may not later be challenged as unreasonable). 66 Even if the record clearly supported the fact that Moss had told Modelski from the beginning that Thomas was the sole shooter (which it does not), we doubt whether this would establish that Modelski's performance was constitutionally deficient. Thomas, after all, had made statements to the police and at his guilty plea hearing that he had fired only two shots, and that someone else also shot Manley. It is therefore highly unlikely that Thomas would have given a different account of Manley's shooting even if Modelski had interviewed him or had called him to testify at trial. 67 A different attorney might have seized upon the existence of this remote possibility if Moss had indeed claimed at the time that only Thomas shot Manley. Modelski's failure to do so, however, must be evaluated under the circumstances she faced and in light of her trial strategy. Concluding that Modelski's performance in this respect was deficient would approach and perhaps constitute impermissible second-guessing of her decision not to interview Thomas. 68 Regardless of what Moss actually told Modelski prior to trial, he cannot base his ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim on Modelski's failure to interview Thomas or call him as a witness because Moss is unable to satisfy Strickland's second requirement of establishing prejudice. Our conclusion that no prejudice would be shown is premised on (1) the fact that the prosecutor could have thoroughly impeached Thomas with his contrary statements given first to the police and later at his guilty plea proceeding, and (2) the magistrate judge's determination that Thomas's testimony at the evidentiary hearing lacked credibility. 69 As we noted above, Thomas's claim that he fired all of the shots directly conflicts with the statements that he made to the police and at his guilty plea hearing. The prosecutor would therefore have been able to impeach Thomas if he had testified that he was the sole shooter. 70 Moreover, the magistrate judge who conducted the evidentiary hearing found Thomas's testimony to be totally unworthy of belief. The magistrate judge based this finding on (1) the inconsistencies in Thomas's testimony at the evidentiary hearing, (2) the multiple, conflicting accounts of Manley's shooting that Thomas has given, and (3) the lack of any reason for the police officers to pressure Thomas into altering his account of the crime given that his alleged initial statement — that he fired all of the bullets in the gun — demonstrated a willingness to accept complete responsibility for the crime. Furthermore, the magistrate judge pointed out the numerous discrepancies between the affidavit that Thomas signed after the trial and his evidentiary hearing testimony. In particular, Thomas testified at the evidentiary hearing that he could not recall where Moss was standing after the shooting, that Thomas was accompanied by an unidentified person as he ran from the scene, and that he had told this person on the run that he had killed someone. Thomas's affidavit, in contrast, includes his declaration that he saw Moss standing in shock at the scene of the crime, contains no reference to someone running from the scene with him, and fails to acknowledge making a statement admitting his guilt as he fled. 71 Moss's testimony at the evidentiary hearing raises additional doubts about Thomas's credibility. According to Moss, Thomas was the first person to flee, and Moss, Gould, and Vaught remained at the scene of the crime for a minute before beginning to run. No one else, other than the victim, was present at the scene of the crime. As a result, Moss's testimony conflicts with Thomas's statement that an unidentified person accompanied Thomas as he fled. 72 We find no reason to substitute our judgment for the credibility determination of the magistrate judge who had the opportunity to observe Thomas's testimony and assess his demeanor on the witness stand. See Peveler v. United States, 269 F.3d 693, 702 (6th Cir.2001) (refusing to second-guess the credibility determination of the magistrate judge, and noting the general reluctance of this court to set aside credibility determinations made by the trier of fact, who has had the opportunity to view the witness on the stand and assess his demeanor). 73 Given that Thomas would have been subject to impeachment if he had testified at Moss's trial, and that the magistrate judge found Thomas to lack any credibility, no reasonable probability exists that the result at trial would have been any different if Moss's counsel had interviewed Thomas prior to trial and then called him as a witness. We thus conclude that Moss failed to establish an ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim based upon his counsel's failing to investigate or pursue a theory that Thomas was the sole shooter.