Opinion ID: 171694
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The OCCA's rationale for finding the errant instruction harmless

Text: The OCCA concluded that Mr. Taylor's errant instruction was harmless on the ground that a second degree murder instruction was unnecessary under the facts of this case. It reasoned as follows: Appellant testified that as he ran through the living room, he saw movement out of the corner of his eyes and fired in that direction twice, killing Sauer. These facts suggest a design to effect the death of Sauer and therefore do not support a second degree murder instruction. Taylor II, 998 P.2d at 1231 (emphasis added). Under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA), an application for a writ of habeas corpus on behalf of a person in custody pursuant to the judgment of a state court shall not be granted with respect to any claim that was adjudicated on the merits in state court proceedings unless the adjudication of the claim: (1) resulted in a decision that was contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established Federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court of the United States; or (2) resulted in a decision that was based on an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented in the State court proceeding. 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1-2). A state court decision is contrary to clearly established law if the state court applies a rule different from the governing law set forth in [Supreme Court] cases, or if it decides a case differently than [the Supreme Court has] done on a set of materially indistinguishable facts. Bell v. Cone, 535 U.S. 685, 694, 122 S.Ct. 1843, 152 L.Ed.2d 914 (2002). A state court decision is an unreasonable application of clearly established law when the state court identifies the correct governing legal principle from [the Supreme Court's] decisions but unreasonably applies that principle to the facts of petitioner's case. Wiggins v. Smith, 539 U.S. 510, 520, 123 S.Ct. 2527, 156 L.Ed.2d 471 (2003) (citing Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. 362, 413, 120 S.Ct. 1495, 146 L.Ed.2d 389 (2000)). The OCCA reached the merits of Mr. Taylor's objection to the defective lesser-included offense instruction, but its analysis of harmlessness was contrary to clearly established federal law, as set forth by the Supreme Court in Beck. We therefore do not defer to the OCCA's ruling. The OCCA erred by assuming that if the evidence suggested a finding of first degree murder, it therefore did not support a second degree murder instruction. Taylor II, 998 P.2d at 1231. This is inconsistent with the inquiry demanded by Beck. Under Beck, courts are not directed to evaluate the evidence to determine whether it would support a first degree murder conviction, or even whether a conviction for first degree murder or a lesser-included offense is better supported. As the Supreme Court noted in Hopper v. Evans, the jury must be permitted to consider a verdict of guilt of a noncapital offense `in every case' in which `the evidence would have supported such a verdict,' 456 U.S. 605, 610, 102 S.Ct. 2049, 72 L.Ed.2d 367 (1982) (citation omitted), not just in those cases where the court believes the lesser verdict would be most consistent with the evidence. If the evidence would support a verdict of either first degree murder or second degree murder, the jury must be allowed to make the choice. The effect of the OCCA's contrary approach is to deny the defendant the benefit of the second-degree murder instruction in precisely the circumstance where it is most important: where the evidence would support conviction for first degree murder but would also support conviction on the lesser-included offense. In Hogan v. Gibson, 197 F.3d 1297 (10th Cir. 1999), this court reviewed a capital conviction in which the state appellate court had upheld denial of a lesser-included offense instruction on the ground that the evidence was consistent with conviction for first degree murder. We found this approach squarely contrary to the holding of Beck,  id. at 1305, and therefore found that the state court ruling was not entitled to deference under AEDPA. See id. at 1306. Indeed, the error made by the OCCA in that case was essentially the same as that made here. Compare Hogan v. State, 877 P.2d 1157, 1160 (Okla.Crim. App.1994) (OCCA concluded that lesser-included instruction was unwarranted because the facts show a clear design to effect the victim's death in a cold and calculated manner) with Taylor II, 998 P.2d at 1231 (OCCA reached same conclusion because the[ ] facts suggest a design to effect the death of Sauer). The proper inquiry is whether the defendant presented sufficient evidence to allow a jury to rationally conclude that the defendant was guilty of the lesser-included offense. Hogan, 197 F.3d at 1308. In Mr. Taylor's case, the court should have determined whether the evidence presented at trial was sufficient to allow the jury to find that the defendant shot at Mr. Sauer without intending to kill him. Because the OCCA's analysis here, as in Hogan, was contrary to clearly established federal law, as set forth by the Supreme Court, we cannot defer to its conclusion that no lesser-included offense instruction was required.