Opinion ID: 774614
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Ineffective Assistance of Appellate Counsel and Erroneous Jury Instructions at the Penalty Phase

Text: 105 While I agree with the majority that many of Petitioner's claims in Case No. 99-4088 are meritless, I believe that the district court's determination that Plaintiff failed to show prejudice sufficient to demonstrate ineffective assistance of appellate counsel was in error. In the district court, Petitioner asserted that he received ineffective assistance of appellate counsel because his counsel failed to assert as assignments of error on direct appeal certain grounds that Petitioner thought warranted argument. One such assignment of error which Petitioner requested that his counsel put forward was the eighth claim or ground for relief in his habeas petition before the district court, which provided 106 [t]he trial court's instructions to the jury at the sentencing phase of the proceedings advised the jury they must consider death first before commencing deliberation on either of the two life verdicts. This instruction is fundamentally unfair, and violates the Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. 107 (J.A. at 66) (hereinafter acquittal-first instruction claim). Petitioner attempted to raise this assignment of error in a prosesupplemental brief that was filed on his direct appeal, but the state appellate court rejected the supplemental brief. Petitioner argues that the state violated his constitutional right by first precluding him from raising the assignments of error on his direct appeal, and then denying him the ability to establish ineffective assistance of appellate counsel in his post-conviction petition. Petitioner claims that the State's failure to provide an adequate procedure by which he could raise his ineffective assistance of appellate counsel claim violates his constitutional rights under the Sixth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments. 108 The record and the law demonstrate that Petitioner received ineffective assistance of appellate counsel inasmuch as Petitioner's counsel's failure to raise his acquittal-first instruction claim on direct appeal constituted deficient representation and Petitioner was prejudiced by such representation. Moreover, as discussed below, Petitioner's claim of ineffective assistance of counsel is sufficient to demonstrate the cause and prejudice necessary to overcome Petitioner's procedural default of his acquittal-first instruction claim. A. 109 As his twenty-seventh ground for relief in his habeas petitioner, Petitioner claims that he received ineffective assistance of appellate counsel. Petitioner claimed that the ineffective assistance of appellate counsel claim would demonstrate the cause and prejudice necessary to overcome the procedural default of, inter alia, his eighth ground for relief, the acquittal-first instruction claim. 110 Petitioner attempted to amend his state post-conviction petition to raise a claim for ineffective assistance of appellate counsel as his thirteenth cause of action. The state opposed the motion and the trial court denied Petitioner's request and struck it from the record. Petitioner's first habeas petition was dismissed without prejudice so that he could seek review of his ineffective assistance of appellate counsel claim. Petitioner thereafter filed an Application for Delayed Reconsideration of his direct appeal, which was denied as untimely. Procedural Default 111 Respondent argued in the district court that Petitioner had defaulted his claim for ineffective assistance of appellate counsel as demonstrated by the state appellate courts' rejection of Petitioner's claim as being untimely filed. The district court properly rejected this argument and held that the procedural rule upon which the state appellate court relied was not an independent and adequate state ground. 112 In Coleman v. Thompson, 501 U.S. 722, 729 (1991), the Supreme Court reiterated that a federal court could not hear the habeas petition of a state prisoner where the decision to deny relief in the state court rested on an adequate and independent state ground. This Court set forth a four-part test to determine whether a petitioner has procedurally defaulted a claim on habeas review under which the court must determine: (1) whether there is a state procedural rule that is applicable to the petitioner's claim and the petitioner failed to comply with the rule; (2) whether the state courts actually enforced the state procedural rule; (3) whether the state procedural rule is an adequate and independent state ground on which the state can rely to foreclose review of a federal constitutional claim; and (4) whether the petitioner has demonstrated that there exists cause for his failure to comply with the rule and that he was prejudiced by the alleged constitutional error. Maupin v. Smith, 785 F.2d 135, 138 (6th Cir. 1986). 113 In holding that Petitioner's claim was untimely, the Ohio Court of Appeals relied on Ohio Rules of Appellate Procedure Rules 14(B) and 26. Rule 26(A) provides: 114 Application for reconsideration of any cause or motion submitted on appeal shall be made in writing before the judgment or order of the court has been approved by the court and filed by the court with the clerk for journalization or within ten days after the announcement of the court's decision, whichever is the later. The filing of an application for reconsideration shall not extend the time for filing a notice of appeal in the Supreme Court. 115 Ohio R. App. P. 26(A). And Rule 14(B) provides that [e]nlargement of time to file an application to reconsider pursuant to App. R. 26(A) shall not be granted except on a showing of extraordinary circumstances. Ohio R. App. P. 14(B). The Ohio Court of Appeals determined that Petitioner had not shown good cause for the delay in filing his application for reconsideration under State v. Murnahan, 584 N.E.2d 1204 (1992). The record therefore clearly shows that Petitioner failed to comply with a procedural rule upon which the state court relied to dismiss his claim. 116 The question now becomes whether this procedural rule is an adequate and independent state ground. The law demonstrates that it is not. For a state procedural rule to be an adequate and independent state ground, it must be firmly settled and regularly applied. Rogers v. Howes, 144 F.3d 990, 992 (6th Cir. 1998). 117 The Ohio Supreme Court decided State v. Murnahan, 584 N.E.2d 1204 (1992), in February of 1992, which was six years after Petitioner pursued his direct appeal in 1986, three years after Petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief, and nine months prior to the filing of his application for delayed consideration. In Murnahan, recognizing that the law was unsettled, the Ohio Supreme Court established the proper method by which a petitioner could pursue a claim of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel. Id. at 1209. At that time, the court held that claims of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel could not be raised in post-conviction proceedings. Id. The court stated that, from that point forward, petitioners could bring claims of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel by filing applications for delayed reconsideration in the Ohio Court of Appeals, and if denied, by filing a delayed appeal in the Ohio Supreme Court. Id. In making its ruling, the court noted the unsettled nature of the law: 118 In light of the fact that Ohio has no statutory authority or court rules dedicated to the procedure to be followed by defendants who allege ineffective assistance of appellate counsel, we recommend that the Rules Advisory Committee appointed by this court review whether an amendment to App. R. 14(B) or a new rule should be adopted to better serve claimants in this position. 119 Id. at 1209 n.6. 120 In response to the ruling by the Murnahan Court, Ohio Appellate Rule 26 was amended, effective July 1, 1993, well after Petitioner had filed his application for delayed reconsideration, permitting a defendant in a criminal case to apply for reopening of his appeal. It provides: 121 A defendant in a criminal case may apply for reopening of the appeal from the judgment of conviction and sentence, based on a claim of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel. An application for reopening shall be filed in the court of appeals where the appeal was decided within ninety days from journalization of the appellate judgment unless the applicant shows good cause for filing at a later time. 122 Ohio R. App. P. 26(B)(1). 123 Based on the Ohio Supreme Court's ruling in Murnahan, the district court was correct in ruling that the procedural law was not firmly established and regularly applied at the time of Petitioner's direct appeal. 2 See Rogers, 144 F.3d at 995 (holding that state court rule was not firmly established rule and regularly followed where substance of rule precluding relief on grounds that could have been pursued on direct appeal was not established until after petitioner's conviction); see also Manning v. Alexander, 912 F.2d 878, 881-83 (6th Cir. 1990) (finding that petitioner had exhausted his state court remedies where he presented a claim for ineffective assistance of counsel in post-conviction proceeding because, by 1990, Ohio Supreme Court had not spoken clearly on how a petitioner should pursue claims of ineffective assistance of counsel). The procedural rule upon which the Ohio Court of Appeals relied to reject Petitioner's claim does not operate as an adequate and independent state ground upon which to deny federal review of Petitioner's claim; his claim therefore is not procedurally barred. Merits 124 To demonstrate a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel under Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687 (1984), Petitioner must show that his counsel's performance was deficient and that he was prejudiced by that deficiency. A counsel's performance is deficient if it falls below an objective standard of reasonableness such that the counsel's identified acts and omissions were outside the wide range of professionally competent assistance. White v. McAninch, 235 F.3d 988, 994 (6th Cir. 2000) (internal quotations and citation omitted). To show prejudice, the petitioner must be able to demonstrate a reasonable probability that, but for counsel's unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different. Id. at 995 (internal quotations and citation omitted). In the instant case, Petitioner has demonstrated deficient performance and has established prejudice with respect to his counsel's failure to raise his acquittal-first instruction claim on direct appeal. 125 The Court in White noted that one of counsel's most overarching duties is to consult with the defendant on important decisions. Id. at 994. Examinations into whether the counsel met his obligations, although not determinative, provides insight into whether the counsel's performance was objectively reasonable: Although the Strickland Court warned that counsel's trial tactics should not be subject to second-guessing by reviewing courts, even deliberate trial tactics may constitute ineffective assistance of counsel if they fall outside the wide range of professionally competent assistance. As this Court has recognized, the label 'strategy' is not a blanket justification for conduct which otherwise amounts to ineffective assistance of counsel. 126 Id. at 994, 995 (internal quotations and citations omitted). 127 In Martin v. Rose, 744 F.2d 1245, 1249 (6th Cir. 1984), where it was conceded that defense counsel's actions were part of trial strategy, this Court held that the counsel's actions nevertheless resulted in ineffective assistance of counsel. The Court noted that [d]efense strategy and tactics which lawyers of ordinary training and skill in the criminal law would not consider competent deny a criminal defendant the effective assistance of counsel, if some other action would have better protected a defendant and was reasonably foreseeable as such before [the appeal]. Id. (citation and internal quotations omitted). 128 Here, Petitioner informed his counsel of his desire to assert several additional claims which had merit in his direct appeal from his conviction and sentence of death. Particularly, the acquittal-first instruction claim is meritorious as demonstrated by the Ohio Supreme Court's decision in Brooks. 661 N.E.2d at 1042. Brooks held that § 2929.03(D) on its face prohibits such an acquittal-first instruction. Id.; see also discussion supra Part I.A. Given the potential that Petitioner could waive any claim that he did not bring on direct appeal of his death-penalty case, even as a tactic or strategy, failure to raise a meritorious claim that is known to counsel is objectively unprofessional conduct that falls below the level required under the Sixth Amendment. See United States v. Baird, 218 F.3d 221, 225 (3d Cir. 2000); Jones v. Gibson, 206 F.3d 946, 959 (10th Cir. 2000). 129 Petitioner has also demonstrated that he was prejudiced by his counsel's deficient conduct. To show that he was prejudiced, Petitioner must show to a reasonable probability that but for his counsel's deficient performance, the outcome of the appellate proceedings would have been different. In Lucas v. O'Dea, 179 F.3d 412, 420 (6th Cir. 1999), this Court acknowledged that counsel's failure to raise an issue whose resolution is clearly foreshadowed by existing decisions may constitute ineffective assistance of counsel. Accord Gov't of the Virgin Islands v. Forte, 865 F.2d 59, 62-63 (3d Cir. 1989) (holding that even though Batson had not been decided, counsel's failure to object to improper use of peremptory challenges was unreasonable). Here, Brooks had not been decided when Petitioner filed his direct appeal. Notwithstanding, this Court found in Mapes, and the Ohio Supreme Court in Brooks, that Ohio Rev. Code § 2929.03 (D)(2) clearly stated the law; Brooks only clarified it. A reading of Ohio Rev. Code § 2929.03(D)(2) and the Brooks decision clearly indicate that there was a reasonable probability that, but for Petitioner's counsel's failure to raise the acquittal-first instruction claim, the outcome of his direct appeal would have been different. Petitioner was therefore prejudiced by his counsel's deficient conduct and was denied constitutionally effective assistance of appellate counsel. The district court erred in denying the writ of habeas corpus on this ground. B. 130 Similarly, the district court erred in denying the writ of habeas corpus on Petitioner's eighth ground for relief, the acquittal-first instruction itself. 131 Petitioner failed to bring this claim on direct appeal. It was first raised in his state post-conviction petition as his tenth cause of action. The court dismissed the claim, holding that it was barred by the doctrine of res judicata. Res judicata has been established as an adequate and independent state ground upon which to deny review of a constitutional claim.Seymour v. Walker, 224 F.3d 542, 554-55 (6th Cir. 2000) (holding that doctrine of res judicata, Ohio rule which prohibits claims that could have been brought on direct appeal from being raised in post-conviction petition, was adequate and independent state ground to deny federal habeas review). However, as discussed above, Petitioner's counsel's failure to raise this claim in his direct appeal constitutes ineffective assistance of counsel, which is sufficient to demonstrate the cause and prejudice necessary to overcome the procedural bar. See Washington v. Hofbauer, 228 F.3d 689, 698 (6th Cir. 2000) (recognizing that ineffective assistance of counsel can establish cause and prejudice necessary to overcome procedural bar). Moreover, it would be a miscarriage of justice to enforce the procedural default in the instant case inasmuch as Petitioner in fact attempted to raise the claim on direct appeal in a pro se brief only to have it rejected by the court. See Wainwright v. Sykes, 433 U.S. 72, 84- 87, 90-91 (1977). While Petitioner is not entitled to hybrid representation, it would be fundamentally unjust to foreclose his claim on habeas review when, in spite of his counsel's deficiency, Petitioner himself attempted to preserve his claim. 132 As to the merits of Petitioner's acquittal-first instruction claim, as discussed above, see discussion supra Part I.A., I believe that the trial court in fact erred in giving the instruction, which violated Ohio law. Moreover, the trial's court error so undermined the reliability of the jury verdict on the death sentence that Petitioner was denied a fundamentally fair trial and his death sentence should not be permitted to stand. See Brooks, 661 N.E.2d at 1042. Accordingly, the district court also erred in denying the writ on this ground.