Opinion ID: 760927
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Trial Stage

Text: 50 According to Mr. Cooks, Mr. Hilliary failed to adequately investigate and prepare for the guilt/innocence stage of trial, particularly with regard to presentation of an intoxication defense. He asserts Mr. Hilliary's defense strategy to hold the State to their burden of proof on each and every element of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt, hoping ... that during the course of the trial there would be some substantial errors ... and that the State would just not be able to meet their burden of proof in the case, amounted to no coherent defense strategy at all. In support of this claim, Mr. Cooks relies in part on the testimony of Mr. David Autry, an attorney with experience litigating capital offenses, who testified as an expert during the 1995 evidentiary hearing in federal district court concerning Mr. Cooks' ineffective assistance of counsel claims. Mr. Autry opined that Mr. Hilliary was ineffective during the guilt stage of trial, and that Mr. Cooks was substantially prejudiced by his counsel's errors and omissions. 51 Under the circumstances, we need express no opinion whether Mr. Hilliary's performance fell below the prevailing professional standard. Since Mr. Cooks fails to prove he was in any way prejudiced by Mr. Hilliary's performance, we proceed directly to our analysis of that issue. See Castro, 138 F.3d at 832. 52 In evaluating prejudice during the guilt/innocence stage of trial, the question is whether there is a reasonable probability that, absent the errors, the factfinder would have had a reasonable doubt respecting guilt. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 695, 104 S.Ct. 2052. To answer this question we must look at the totality of the evidence, not just evidence that would have been helpful to Mr. Cooks' case. See Brewer v. Reynolds, 51 F.3d 1519, 1527 (10th Cir.1995), cert. denied, 516 U.S. 1123, 116 S.Ct. 936, 133 L.Ed.2d 862 (1996); see also Robison v. Maynard, 829 F.2d 1501, 1510 (10th Cir.1987). 53 Perhaps as Mr. Cooks suggests, Mr. Hilliary could have gathered and presented further evidence of Mr. Cooks' state of intoxication immediately prior to the crime. The record demonstrates, however, the jury was generally aware Mr. Cooks had been drinking for some time prior to entering Mrs. Ridling's home. In addition, during closing arguments, Mr. Hilliary told the jury Mr. Cooks' judgment had been impaired by his drinking. Mr. Cooks offers no cogent argument the law provided an intoxication defense to the felony murder charges, or that if an intoxication defense was available, he was intoxicated to the extent he was incapable of forming the necessary criminal intent. Under these circumstances, we fail to see how additional, more specific evidence of intoxication would have had any bearing on the jury's determination of Mr. Cooks' guilt. 54 Even more important to our analysis here is the fact the record is replete with evidence of Mr. Cooks' guilt, not the least of which is Mr. Cooks' own statements admitting he bound, gagged, raped, and robbed Mrs. Ridling. Mr. Cooks' admissions were corroborated by the post-arrest statements and trial testimony of his co-defendant, Mr. Masters. For these reasons, we conclude there is no reasonable probability Mr. Cooks would have avoided the murder conviction had his counsel performed differently. Accordingly, Mr. Cooks was not prejudiced by Mr. Hilliary's performance during the guilt stage of trial, and he is not entitled to habeas relief on this ground.