Opinion ID: 2584286
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Counsel's Failure To Attempt To Negotiate a Plea Bargain

Text: ¶ 107 Mr. Elmore's counsel did not attempt to negotiate a plea bargain with the prosecutor. He stated in an affidavit, I . . . believe that I told the prosecutor that Mr. Elmore would probably enter a guilty plea no matter what the prosecutor decided. I do not recall specifically attempting to negotiate a deal with the prosecutor whereby Mr. Elmore would plead guilty in exchange for the prosecutor either agreeing not to seek the death penalty or agreeing by stipulation or some other means at sentencing that a life sentence was the appropriate sentence. . . . I did not attempt to negotiate a plea bargain whereby the prosecutor would agree to dismiss one of the aggravating circumstances in exchange for a guilty plea. I did not consider how the existence of two aggravating circumstances could negatively affect proportionality review if a death sentence was imposed. Decl. of Jon Komorowski at 2-3. ¶ 108 Because Mr. Elmore alleges ineffective assistance of counsel, he `must show in the record' the absence of legitimate strategic or tactical reasons supporting the challenged conduct by counsel. In re Pers. Restraint of Hutchinson, 147 Wash.2d 197, 206, 53 P.3d 17 (2002) (quoting State v. McFarland, 127 Wash.2d 322, 336, 899 P.2d 1251 (1995)). This test is easily met here as Mr. Komorowski's failure to negotiate for a plea bargain was based on neither strategy nor tactic; nor was his failure to negotiate the product of reasonable profession judgment. See Strickland, 466 U.S. at 690, 104 S.Ct. 2052 (defendant claiming ineffective assistance of counsel must identify the acts or omissions of counsel that are alleged not to have been the result of reasonable professional judgment). Dennis Balske observed, In a case where [a] defendant is competent to proceed and still wants to plead guilty, reasonably competent counsel would make all efforts to attempt to obtain a plea offer that avoids the possibility of a death sentence in exchange for a guilty plea. If trial counsel is unable to obtain such a bargain and the defendant nonetheless insists on pleading guilty after exhaustive discussions with counsel, reasonably competent counsel would seek to minimize the number of aggravating factors by persuading the prosecuting attorney to dismiss one or more aggravating factors in return for the plea. Decl. of Dennis Balske at 11. ¶ 109 Because Mr. Komorowski's failure to attempt to negotiate a plea bargain was simply a negligent oversight and not the result of strategy or tactic, I agree with Mr. Elmore that such failure constitutes ineffective assistance of counsel. Had counsel even attempted negotiation, there is a reasonable probability that he might, at the very least, have convinced the prosecutor to dismiss one of the two aggravators. See Strickland, 466 U.S. at 694, 104 S.Ct. 2052 (to demonstrate prejudice, defendant alleging ineffective assistance of counsel must show there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel's unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different).