Opinion ID: 796176
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Failure to Present Mitigating Evidence During Sentencing

Text: 37 Garcia also contends that his attorney failed to present mitigating evidence during his sentencing hearing and that this constituted ineffective assistance. The North Dakota Supreme Court disposed of this issue on prejudice grounds as well. We affirm the district court's ruling that the court's decision was not objectively unreasonable. 38 At the sentencing hearing, Garcia's trial counsel made an impassioned argument as to why the court should consider a sentence less than life without parole. He spoke of Garcia's youth and the possibility that young people can change. He also stated that Garcia's family could testify as to his positive characteristics. 39 However, Garcia's counsel did not present any other mitigating evidence, nor did he include the mitigating circumstances relating to Garcia's traumatic and chaotic childhood in his argument. He did not have any members of Garcia's family or any of Garcia's neighbors testify at the sentencing hearing. The presentence investigation report contained no letters from Garcia's family and friends, although it did contain one paragraph discussing his troubled childhood. The paragraph stated that Garcia had a history significant for extreme family chaos and instability. He was exposed to criminal activity at a very early age, his mother was murdered when he was twelve-years-old, and his father was incarcerated on a parole violation for an original conviction of murder. It also noted that prior to his arrest, Garcia had lived with his Grandmother and his three younger brothers. Garcia did not testify at the hearing. 40 The trial court evaluated the fourteen guiding sentencing factors set forth in N.D. Cent.Code § 12.1-32-04. The court determined that the factors favored the State's position of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. As it had discretion to do, the court also looked at other factors, and ultimately based its sentence on the cold, senseless nature of the crime, Garcia's long and often violent criminal history, and Garcia's unwillingness to accept responsibility and acknowledge the wrongfulness of his actions. 41 At the state post-conviction evidentiary hearing, Garcia provided a number of affidavits from people stating that they would have testified that Garcia was a hardworking, kind boy who took care of his younger brothers and was trusted by his neighbors. The affidavits also describe his troubled childhood in more detail than the one paragraph included in the presentence investigation report. In his testimony during the post-conviction hearing, Garcia's trial counsel stated that he had not presented any mitigating evidence because he believed that it would not do any good given that Garcia was maintaining his innocence and not accepting responsibility for the offense. 42 To show he was prejudiced by his attorney's actions, Garcia must demonstrate a reasonable probability that he would have received a punishment other than life in prison without the possibility of parole had the sentencing court heard the testimony in question. Middleton, 455 F.3d at 847; see also Strickland, 466 U.S. at 699-700, 104 S.Ct. 2052 (stating that prejudice does not exist if there is no reasonable probability that the omitted evidence would have resulted in a lesser sentence). 43 The North Dakota Supreme Court concluded that there was no reasonable probability that the sentence would have been less harsh if the additional mitigating evidence had been presented. Garcia II, 678 N.W.2d at 577. Garcia's argument that he was prejudiced relies in part on the trial court's statement that it came into this case, looking for some reason, some justification, some excuse, to hand down a sentence less than the maximum. Mr. Garcia has given me no alternative, he has given me no opportunity. The court did appear frustrated. Looking at the complete statement, however, it appears that the real source of the court's frustration was Garcia's refusal to accept responsibility and to express a real willingness to make amends to the fullest extent possible. The court was looking for evidence showing that Garcia was in a position to change so that it could justify giving him a lower sentence. 44 Under North Dakota law, the court had guidelines to follow in imposing Garcia's sentence. However, the court was also given considerable discretion to look at other factors, such as Garcia's youth, before determining the ultimate sentence. The trial court stated at the outset of sentencing that in determining Garcia's sentence, it would use information in the presentence investigation report, documents in the court file, police reports, a report from the North Dakota State Hospital, and victim impact statements. The information about Garcia's troubled upbringing in these documents, although brief, gave the court the information it needed to properly assess the sentencing factors. While the testimony from his friends and family may have been impassioned and would have elaborated on his troubled childhood, it would not have been materially different from the information in the presentence investigation report. Further, given the other evidence, such as Garcia's violent past and his unwillingness to accept responsibility for the crime, any mitigating testimony likely would have been outweighed even if presented. We do not think the testimony from Garcia's friends and family would have resulted in a more lenient sentence than Garcia received. We agree with the district court that the North Dakota Supreme Court's resolution of this issue was not objectively unreasonable.