Opinion ID: 2184797
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Inadequate Pretrial Investigation

Text: Defendant claims that trial counsel failed to adequately investigate the possibility that Ronald Baker was responsible for the murder of Jimmy Christian. Defendant first asserts that counsel should have interviewed Reverend Jerry Gibson, and that had he done so, he would have learned of Ronald Baker's alleged admission to killing Jimmy Christian. As discussed earlier, Baker's allegedly self-incriminating statements would not have been admissible. Accordingly, the failure to interview Reverend Gibson did not affect the outcome of the case and defendant has failed to establish prejudice under Strickland. Defendant also maintains that counsel rendered deficient performance by failing to interview Baker's former wife, Pat, and her one-time paramour and present husband, Brian Diffy. Defendant argues that had counsel done so, he would have learned that Ronald Baker was a drug addict who sold drugs to support his habit. According to defendant, counsel also would have learned that Baker was a violent, jealous and paranoid individual, that the victim sometimes rode to work with Pat, and that members of Baker's family once assaulted Diffy because of his relationship with Pat. Defendant asserts that this information would have supported the theory that Baker may have killed Jimmy Christian because of jealousy. Defendant's argument is meritless. The record reveals that Brian Diffy and Pat Diffy (formerly Pat Baker) were each privy to essentially the same information about Ronald Baker, and thus interviewing both Pat and Brian (as opposed to one or the other) would not have advanced counsel's investigation. Defendant's claim fails because the record does not clearly substantiate the assertion that trial counsel failed to interview Pat Diffy. Trial counsel's affidavit submitted with defendant's post-conviction petition specifically identifies a number of witnesses who were not interviewed, including Brian Diffy. With respect to Pat Diffy, however, the affidavit merely indicates that although subpoenaed, she was not called to testify at trial. The affidavit is silent as to whether or not she was interviewed. It is also unclear from Pat Diffy's affidavit whether defense counsel interviewed her. Her affidavit merely states that she had a brief conversation with defense counsel, but does not detail the content of that conversation. Defendant also contends that an adequate investigation would have revealed: (1) that packets of a white powder were found in the victim's car, suggesting the possibility of a drug deal gone awry; (2) that Baker missed work the day of the murder; and (3) that a polygraph examination was administered to Ronald Baker, and the examiner concluded that Baker may have had some knowledge of the Jimmy Christian murder. Contrary to defendant's assertions, trial counsel's affidavit shows that he was aware of the packets of white powder found in the victim's car. In fact, trial counsel cross-examined one of the investigating officers about the packets. Defendant cites a police report in support of the assertion that Ronald Baker was absent from work the day of the murder. Defendant has not alleged that the prosecution suppressed this report, and hence defendant has failed to show that defense counsel was unaware of this information. Finally, as discussed earlier, the results of Baker's polygraph would have been inadmissible at trial and sentencing. Thus, even if defense counsel failed to discover the polygraph results, as defendant asserts, no prejudice under Strickland resulted. Defendant further claims that trial counsel's failure to interview Martha Jackson and numerous other witnesses represents ineffective assistance of counsel. While defendant broadly argues that the failure to interview these witnesses impaired his ability to effectively cross-examine them, the possibility that the result of the trial was thereby affected is wholly speculative. A defendant cannot rely on speculation or conjecture to justify his claim of incompetent representation. People v. Holman, 164 Ill.2d 356, 369, 207 Ill.Dec. 467, 647 N.E.2d 960 (1995). Accordingly, this argument is without merit. Defendant also contends that trial counsel's failure to interview Nadine Christian's uncle, Tom Wolverton, constitutes ineffective assistance of counsel. The record contains an anonymous letter found in Jimmy Christian's wallet charging that Wolverton was having an affair with Nadine. In addition, a police report indicates that defendant and Martha Jackson had a conversation in which they discussed how Nadin's [ sic ] uncle Tom had been caught in bed with her by the victim and thrown from the house by the victim. Defendant contends that Wolverton thus had a motive to kill Jimmy Christian. Counsel has only a duty to make reasonable investigations or to make a reasonable decision which makes particular investigations unnecessary, and the reasonableness of a decision to investigate is assessed applying a heavy measure of deference to counsel's judgment. People v. Orange, 168 Ill.2d 138, 149, 213 Ill.Dec. 589, 659 N.E.2d 935 (1995). Where circumstances known to counsel at the time of his investigation do not reveal a sound basis for further inquiry in a particular area, it is not ineffective for the attorney to forgo additional investigation. Orange, 168 Ill.2d at 150, 213 Ill.Dec. 589, 659 N.E.2d 935. Thus, counsel is not necessarily required to investigate every individual with some conceivable motive to kill the victim. It was entirely reasonable for counsel to focus his strategy on the weaknesses in the State's case rather than developing a speculative theory assigning blame for the murder to Tom Wolverton. With regard to our assessment of counsel's decision, we note that [w]here circumstantial evidence relied upon to support the defense that another committed the crime is unsatisfactory, based upon mere surmise or possibility, without evidence to support it, a hypothesis of innocence may be rejected by the trier of fact. People v. Coleman, 168 Ill.2d 509, 533, 214 Ill.Dec. 212, 660 N.E.2d 919 (1995). Moreover, both the anonymous letter and the information related in the police report alleging a sexual relationship between Nadine Christian and Tom Wolverton are inadmissible as hearsay. Since defendant has failed to produce any admissible evidence that Tom Wolverton had a motive to kill Jimmy Christian, there is no basis to conclude that any investigation counsel might have conducted would have produced any evidence useful to the defense. Accordingly, defendant has not demonstrated that the failure to interview Tom Wolverton, or otherwise investigate his possible responsibility for the murder, was prejudicial under Strickland. Defendant also alludes to counsel's failure to investigate an individual named Jack Louvier. Defendant contends that Louvier moved to Texas with Nadine Christian shortly after the murder and, accordingly, Louvier should be considered yet another possible suspect in the murder of Jimmy Christian. Because defendant's post-conviction petition as amended and supplemented contains no allegations related to the failure to investigate Jack Louvier, the issue is waived. In any event, the theory that Jack Louvier was involved in the murder is entirely speculative. There is no reasonable probability that a defense theory implicating Jack Louvier as the killer would have succeeded.