Opinion ID: 779400
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Penalty-Phase Challenges.

Text: 173
174 Williams argues that his defense counsel's performance during the penalty phase was ineffective because counsel failed to investigate and present mitigating evidence. Williams contends that Ingber did not sufficiently investigate his family and life history, drug use, and mental state. Williams also asserts that no reasonable tactical decision supported Ingber's failure to present any mitigating evidence to the jury. 175 As with his guilt-phase claim, Williams must first establish that Ingber's representation was deficient, or in other words, that it fell below an objective standard of reasonableness under prevailing professional norms. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 687-88, 104 S.Ct. 2052. Although counsel is under a duty to make reasonable investigations, counsel may make a reasonable decision that particular investigations are unnecessary. Id. at 691, 104 S.Ct. 2052. Thus, counsel's decision not to mount an all-out investigation into petitioner's background in search of mitigating circumstances is not deficient when it is supported by reasonable professional judgment. Burger v. Kemp, 483 U.S. 776, 794, 107 S.Ct. 3114, 97 L.Ed.2d 638 (1987). We apply a heavy measure of deference to counsel's judgments. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 691, 104 S.Ct. 2052. However, our deference to counsel is predicated on counsel's performance of sufficient investigation and preparation to make reasonably informed, reasonably sound judgments. Mayfield, 270 F.3d at 927 ( citing Strickland, 466 U.S. at 691, 104 S.Ct. 2052). 176 1. Ingber's Investigation Was Sufficient To Support His Reasonable Decision Not To Present Mitigating Evidence. 177 Although the exact parameters of Ingber's investigation and preparation for the penalty phase are unknown due to the loss of his original trial file 18 and the passage of time, the record nonetheless shows that he did investigate evidence regarding Williams's family and life history, drug use, and mental state with an eye towards using it at the penalty phase. 19 In researching and preparing for the case, Ingber spoke extensively with Williams, visiting him in jail many times, and also with Williams's mother and step-father, with whom Ingber was in frequent contact. Ingber interviewed a number of witnesses suggested by Williams, and hired at least one investigator to subpoena witnesses and collect information relevant to the case. Ingber reviewed the entire case file provided him by Williams's prior counsel, the mental-health evaluations submitted by Drs. Coodley, Coburn, and Siegel, 20 and the police murder books regarding the 7-Eleven and Brookhaven Motel murders, which contained interview transcripts, arrest reports, investigative reports, and autopsy reports. In accordance with his regular custom and practice, Ingber also compiled a client history, which included information about Williams's background, inclinations, police arrest record, and the arrest at issue in the case. Ingber put together this client history because, in his experience, 21 he found it to be especially useful in preparing for the penalty phase of trial. However, Ingber did testify that the client history that he compiled in Williams's case was less extensive than the client history that he would normally assemble because, as the fifth or sixth attorney to work on Williams's case, Ingber's time frame for compiling the history was shorter than usual. 178 Based upon these investigative efforts, Ingber was aware of aspects of Williams's family and life history, drug use, and mental state. There was some evidence of turbulence in Williams's family relationships. Williams's mother was a dominant presence throughout much of his childhood. Williams fought frequently with his sister during childhood because he believed that his mother preferred her. Williams's father never lived with the family, and Williams felt anger towards his father, informing Dr. Coodley that he would attack his father if he saw him. Williams's mother remarried when he was fourteen, and Williams got along very well with his stepfather. Williams had many girlfriends, and had two children with one of them. 179 Ingber knew of evidence of Williams's drug use and psychiatric history, but believed the evidence to be weak. Williams suffered head injuries as a child from running into a door on one occasion and a monkey bar on another. Williams sniffed glue and smoked marijuana as a teenager. In his twenties, Williams became a regular user of first LSD and later PCP. Williams was involuntarily committed to a state hospital at one point; however, Williams indicated that his drug use was the likely reason for this hospitalization. Williams's stepfather informed Ingber that Williams had participated in group therapy sessions, but Williams told Dr. Coodley that he had skipped the sessions at the outpatient mental-health clinic that he was to attend after his hospitalization. Coward's statements to the police showed that Williams had smoked Sherms before the 7-Eleven robbery-murder, and Dr. Coodley's report flagged the possibility that Williams's mental capacity was diminished at the time of the offenses because of PCP use. However, Dr. Coodley concluded that Williams was sane, and both Drs. Coburn and Siegel found no evidence to support a mental-state defense. Furthermore, no lay witness that Ingber interviewed provided any facts suggesting that Williams's PCP use had the specific effect of diminishing his mental capacity at or near the times of the crimes. 180 Ingber also learned of Williams's gang involvement from Williams and the police interviews transcribed in the murder books. Williams related to Ingber that he had been a member of the Crips for years, and that all of his friends were Crips. According to Williams, the police had stopped him and his companions on a number of occasions, and filled out field interview cards that identified them as gang members. From his conversations with Williams, Ingber formed the impression that Williams's gang involvement wasn't a coerced part, but rather was a fun part of his life. In his Mirandized post-arrest interview with the police, Williams admitted that he used to be the leader, not the follower, ... of the westside Crips. James Garrett also informed the police in a recorded interview that Williams was one of the top ... gang leaders ... Crips there is.... [H]e's respected by all the Crips, and hated by all the other gangs, the Pirus, the Top Hats, or whatever. Garrett stated that Williams made his reputation in gang banging, in fighting and killing members of other gangs. According to Garrett, no one could really get a line on [Williams] for the simple reason that he puts fear ... in ... guy's hearts .... That's the type of guy he is. Williams's statements in his Mirandized interview with the police tended to confirm the image that Garrett painted. Williams said that a lot of people hate me because I'm ... mean sometimes. He claimed to be real good at [a]ttacking people, [e]specially to [their] back. He also answered that he doubt[ed] it would bother him if [he] ever killed anybody. 181 Ingber's investigation was sufficient to support his reasonable strategic decision that the presentation of evidence regarding Williams's family and life history, drug use, or mental state at the penalty phase would not serve Williams's interest. As we noted in the context of Williams's guilt-phase claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, strategic choices made after less than complete investigation are reasonable precisely to the extent that reasonable professional judgments support the limitations on investigation. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 690-91, 104 S.Ct. 2052. The above-described results of Ingber's investigation provided him with adequate basis for a reasonable professional judgment not to present mitigating evidence because (1) the evidence available was not especially helpful, (2) the presentation of mitigating evidence would open the door to damaging rebuttal evidence of Williams's gang activities, (3) Williams specifically requested that no witnesses be called at the penalty phase, and (4) lingering doubt regarding Williams's guilt was a viable defense. Having made this reasonable strategic choice, Ingber cannot be faulted for any failure to investigate further or locate additional witnesses who would have made statements about Williams's past. See Burger, 483 U.S. at 794-95, 107 S.Ct. 3114 (after evaluating the available mitigating evidence and reasonably deciding that the evidence would not have minimized the risk of the death penalty, and would have harmed the chances for a life sentence, counsel had no obligation to continue investigating the defendant's background). 182 In support of his argument that Ingber failed sufficiently to investigate mitigating evidence for the penalty phase, Williams points to numerous lay-witness declarations amassed in his habeas corpus proceedings to show the mitigating evidence that Ingber allegedly could have presented. The state argues that many of these declarations are not part of the record on appeal because the district court did not admit them into evidence. We do not resolve whether these declarations are properly part of the appellate record because we need not consider them. `[T]he relevant inquiry under Strickland is not what defense counsel could have pursued, but rather whether the choices made by defense counsel were reasonable.' Babbitt v. Calderon, 151 F.3d 1170, 1173 (9th Cir.1998) (quoting Siripongs v. Calderon, 133 F.3d 732, 736 (9th Cir.1998)). Ingber made a reasonable strategic choice not to present mitigating evidence based upon the investigation he conducted. Consequently, what he might have uncovered had he investigated further is not relevant. 183 2. Ingber Made A Reasonable Strategic Decision Not To Present Mitigating Evidence. 184 Turning to the four reasons that supported Ingber's decision not to present mitigating evidence at the penalty phase, we now explain why these reasons made Ingber's decision a reasonable penalty-phase strategy. 185
186 Ingber legitimately concluded that the available evidence regarding Williams's family and life history, drug use, and mental state offered only weak mitigation, if that. At the federal evidentiary hearing, Ingber testified that the evidence of Williams's troubled family background was by no means uniformly helpful because it suggested violent propensities that were at odds with the goal of portraying Williams as less culpable. For example, Dr. Coodley's mental-health report to the court indicated that Williams often clashed with his sister because he believed his mother favored her, and that he resented his absent father, whom he wanted to attack. Ingber noted that, on the one hand, these family relationships could have created some type of psychological problems that would make Williams seem less blameworthy. On the other hand, Ingber did not want th[e] jury to hear that [Williams] wants to attack his father and [has] this ongoing hostility with his sister. Ingber made a reasonable strategic decision to keep these potentially damaging facts from the jury. See id. at 793 (counsel was not deficient for failing to present information about petitioner's troubled family background that could have affected the jury adversely by introducing facts [suggesting violent tendencies and encounters with law enforcement authorities] not disclosed by his clean adult criminal record). 187 Ingber also exercised reasonable professional judgment in concluding that a penalty-phase defense that relied upon Williams's drug use and mental state was not practicable, and would have detracted from a viable defense strategy that capitalized on any lingering doubt that the jury might have had regarding Williams's guilt. Ingber testified that a defense of diminished mental capacity was raisable, but not potentially sellable to a jury because it lacked support in the opinions of the mental-health experts that examined Williams and in the facts of the case. Although Dr. Coodley had indicated a possibility of diminished mental capacity at the time of the alleged offenses due to PCP use, Ingber believed that any testimony by Dr. Coodley, or any other psychiatrist, about Williams's diminished mental capacity would be subject to persuasive expert testimony to the contrary. The prosecutor had notice of the appointment of Drs. Coburn and Siegel, both of whom had rejected a conclusion of Williams's diminished mental capacity from drug use. From the failure of the defense to call Drs. Coburn or Siegel as witnesses, the prosecutor could infer that their opinions were not favorable to the defense. Based upon his experience, Ingber knew that the prosecutor would likely subpoena these appointed experts to rebut any claim of Williams's diminished mental capacity at the time of the offenses. We do not question Ingber's professional judgment on this matter because [i]t is ... acceptable trial strategy to choose not to call psychiatrists to testify when they can be subjected to cross-examination based on equally persuasive psychiatric opinions that reach a different conclusion. Harris, 949 F.2d at 1525. 188 Furthermore, Ingber respected Dr. Coburn's opinion that the witness statements to the police provided no basis for believing that PCP materially affected Williams's behavior or thought patterns at the time of the crimes. The facts of the crimes reflected deliberate and methodical action. The prosecution's witnesses testified that Williams shot out the television monitor at the 7-Eleven, killed witnesses to the crimes, and then picked up the expended shotgun shells all to escape detection. In Ingber's experience, a jury would not find credible a claim of diminished mental capacity unless there was evidence of drug use contemporaneous with the crimes and also a specific effect on the defendant's state of mind. No lay witness that Ingber interviewed was going to testify that Mr. Williams was materially affected by the use of ... PCP, that [PCP] caused his activities on the evening in question [and] prevent[ed] him from having a specific intent to commit the robberies. Given the facts of the crimes and the lack of credible evidence of contemporaneous drug use impacting Williams's mental state, Ingber's decision that a defense of diminished mental capacity was not feasible certainly fell within the wide range of reasonable professional assistance. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 689, 104 S.Ct. 2052. 189 Finally, Ingber reasonably concluded that presenting evidence in support of a nonviable diminished-mental-capacity defense would detract from a viable lingering-doubt defense. Ingber was terribly reluctant to [present psychiatric evidence] because [he thought] it would ... diffuse whatever [they] had going for [them] on a lingering doubt concept.... It would be like [they] were just throwing everything up on the wall and ask[ing] the jurors [to pick a theory]. Ingber thought it better to focus the jurors' attention on an argument that lingering doubt regarding Williams's guilt counseled against a death-penalty verdict. As we discuss in more detail below, and as the district court aptly noted, a lingering-doubt strategy was viable because [t]here were no eyewitnesses to the Brookhaven Motel murders and the only eyewitness to the 7-Eleven murder was an accomplice who had a strong motive to lie. The prosecutor's case was based on circumstantial evidence and the testimony of witnesses whose credibility was highly suspect. Williams IV, 41 F.Supp.2d at 1052. We cannot fault Ingber's reasonable strategic decision to capitalize on any lingering doubts of the jurors and to keep from them mental-state and drug-use evidence that might jeopardize their lingering doubts. See Harris, 949 F.2d at 1525 (it was professionally competent assistance for [counsel] to choose not to present a psychiatric defense theory that could conflict with ... his mitigation based on [the defendant's] alleged remorse and his abusive childhood) (internal quotations omitted); Siripongs v. Calderon, 133 F.3d 732, 736 (9th Cir.1998) (defense counsel made a reasonable tactical decision to capitalize on any lingering doubts about [the defendant's] actual involvement in the crimes themselves and to keep from the jury any evidence [in support of an accomplice defense] that [the defendant] had participated in the criminal activity). 190 (b) The Presentation Of Mitigating Evidence Would Open The Door To Damaging Rebuttal Evidence Of Williams's Gang Activities. 191 Ingber exercised reasonable professional judgment when he decided not to present mitigating evidence because, in his words, the vehicle of mitigation [could] create a worse picture than [had] already been presented, which was not good. Under California Penal Code § 190.3, the prosecution was required to give the defense notice before the start of the trial's guilt phase of any evidence to be introduced in aggravation at the penalty phase. Prior to trial, the prosecution did not notice its intent to introduce any aggravating evidence, which to Ingber was a cue that they think the case itself is aggravating enough. Ingber then filed a motion, which was granted, to preclude evidence in aggravation because he had received no timely indication from the prosecution that they intended to present any. Knowing that the prosecution was thus bound to rely on the evidence of the guilt phase, Ingber was faced with the question of whether to present mitigating evidence, which would allow the prosecution to introduce evidence in rebuttal without any notice to the defense. See Cal.Penal Code § 190.3 (1981). 192 Ingber knew that the prosecution was aware of evidence of Williams's gang affiliation, although Ingber did not know the exact scope of the evidence available to the prosecution. As outlined above, the murder books contained damaging admissions from Williams in his Mirandized police interview — that he was a leader of the westside Crips, and that he was mean, combative, and unmoved by the thought of killing another human being. James Garrett's statements to the police about Williams's gang activities were equally harmful, indicating that Williams was a top gang leader that made his reputation in gang banging. Williams did not have a prior criminal record, and no gang evidence had come in at the guilt phase. However, Ingber had strong reason to believe that if he presented evidence in mitigation at the penalty phase, the prosecutor would seek to introduce gang evidence in rebuttal. 193 Before trial, Ingber had brought to the court's attention that there has been numerous and repeated reference in the discovery, which was generously provided to [the defense] by [the prosecution], in interviews of witnesses concerning activity that could be described as gang activity. [Ingber] noted Mr. Murray and Mr. Garrett and Mr. Coleman and Mr. Coward. Ingber argued that [g]angs are not an issue in this case, and requested that those People's witnesses be requested to refrain from voluntarily making such reference to any gang activity. The prosecutor represented that the People have no intention at this time of introducing testimony concerning gangs, unless it comes out either from the psychiatric standpoint or the standpoint of the defense and rebuttal. The prosecutor asserted that if Williams put his state of mind in issue, then his gang activities — particularly his own statements regarding his gang activities — would be relevant to his state of mind. The court decided that before any statements are offered having to do with gang activity, that matter should be brought to the attention of the court so that [there] can [be] an appropriate ruling on the relevancy issue. At that point, the court was not in a position to say what is relevant and what is not. In response to Ingber's contention that Williams's statements to the police about his gang affiliation were not voluntary, the court declared that [i]f any statements of the defendant are going to be offered, of course, we have to have a hearing as to their voluntariness, and rights, and so on and so forth. 194 Given this pre-trial argument before the court, Ingber had substantial basis for believing that any mitigating evidence proffered would meet with an offer of rebuttal evidence in the form of gang activity. If the defense presented sympathetic evidence to humanize Williams before the jury, then the prosecution would likely counter with gang evidence to portray him as a heartless killing machine. If the defense introduced evidence to suggest that Williams's troubled family background or diminished mental capacity caused the offenses at issue, then the prosecution would probably present gang evidence to show that the offenses were part of Williams's gang lifestyle, not the result of any family problems or diminished mental capacity. Ingber knew that the prosecution had available to it witnesses that could testify to Williams's gang involvement because these witnesses had already testified for the state at the guilt phase. Moreover, Ingber noted that California law in 1981 broadly allowed for the admission of rebuttal gang evidence. Ingber was also of the opinion that the trial judge would admit the evidence because the judge was quite liberal in allowing rebuttal evidence and had given the prosecutor a lot of elasticity throughout the trial. 195 It was Ingber's experience that when jurors are presented with evidence of gang activity, they are likely to conclude that it is predominating rather than the mental defect or the diminished capacity. Ingber was also aware of the fact that the opportunity for the introduction of rebuttal evidence can be more devastating sometimes than the introduction of the evidence in aggravation. In this case, Ingber thought that Coward and possibly the other men involved in the 7-Eleven robbery-murder were Crips members. Ingber feared that the introduction of rebuttal gang evidence would allow the prosecution to depict the 7-Eleven robbery-murder as four gang members leaving South Central Los Angeles and going out to Whittier, which is about twelve miles southeast of Los Angeles, to execute the clerk by having him bend down in the back room and Mr. Williams shoot him in the back. Ingber felt that portraying these crimes as part and parcel of gang life would only expand[] an already horrendous situation. Because by statute the prosecution could not present any evidence in aggravation, Ingber concluded that [i]t was foolish to present mitigating evidence that he didn't think would help [his] client, but would hurt him by opening the door to damaging rebuttal evidence of his gang activities. 196 We do not second-guess Ingber's reasonable professional judgment. The Supreme Court and this court have consistently held that counsel's performance is not deficient for the failure to present evidence in mitigation at the penalty phase when counsel's decision is based upon a reasonable tactical determination that the mitigating evidence would allow for the introduction of rebuttal evidence that might be literally fatal. Burger, 483 U.S. at 791-94, 107 S.Ct. 3114 (counsel's failure to present any mitigating evidence, including the defendant's own testimony or the testimony of the defendant's mother that he had an exceptionally unhappy and physically abusive childhood, or the expert testimony of a psychologist, was reasonable professional judgment because the testimony would risk bringing before the jury evidence of the defendant's unremorseful attitude, violent tendencies, and prior criminal acts); see Strickland, 466 U.S. at 699, 104 S.Ct. 2052 (counsel's decision not to present mitigating evidence of the defendant's character or mental state was a reasonable strategic choice because (1) counsel could rely upon the defendant's statements regarding his financial troubles, extreme emotional distress, and acceptance of responsibility for the crimes that came in at the plea colloquy, (2) the mitigating evidence would have been of little help, and (3) would have opened the door to damaging rebuttal evidence of the defendant's criminal history and contrary opinions regarding the defendant's character and mental state); Darden v. Wainwright, 477 U.S. 168, 186-87, 106 S.Ct. 2464, 91 L.Ed.2d 144 (1986) (counsel's decision not to present character or mental-state evidence in mitigation, and instead to rely upon a simple plea for mercy from the defendant himself, was sound trial strategy because the mitigating evidence would have opened the door to damaging rebuttal evidence of the defendant's prior convictions, marital infidelity, and a psychiatric opinion that the defendant was a sociopathic personality who was very capable of committing the crimes at issue); Siripongs, 133 F.3d at 736-37 (counsel reasonably decided not to present mitigating testimony from the defendant's friends and family, particularly from his mother regarding his financial support of her and his abusive and dysfunctional family life during childhood, because doing so would risk the introduction of rebuttal evidence of the defendant's prior criminal conduct); Campbell v. Kincheloe, 829 F.2d 1453, (9th Cir.1987) (counsel's failure to present any mitigating evidence, including evidence that the defendant had an alcoholic father, was a victim of child abuse, suffered from various medical problems as a child, had a history of drug and alcohol abuse, had attempted suicide, and was the father of two children, was a reasoned strategic choice because evidence in mitigation would have opened the door to devastating rebuttal evidence that he forcibly raped his ex-wife, repeatedly raped fellow inmates, was involved in drug- and alcohol-induced violence, and participated in sexually abhorrent conduct with children and animals). 197 Moreover, we have previously recognized that in the early 1980s, evidence of criminal conduct alone, independent of a conviction, was admissible in California for a wide variety of purposes at the penalty phase, and that the scope of admissible rebuttal evidence was a `frequent source of uncertainty for both trial counsel and trial courts.' Siripongs, 133 F.3d at 736 (quoting In re Jackson, 3 Cal.4th 578, 11 Cal.Rptr.2d 531, 835 P.2d 371, 394 (1992) (en banc)); see also People v. Gonzalez, 51 Cal.3d 1179, 275 Cal.Rptr. 729, 800 P.2d 1159, 1200 (1990) (en banc) (the limits of permissible rebuttal were not so clear at the time of the defendant's trials in 1980 and 1981). Given this state of the law and Ingber's experience that the trial judge liberally allowed rebuttal evidence, see Campbell, 829 F.2d at 1462-63 (deferring to counsel's professional judgment, based upon his experience and education, that the trial judge would deny any motion in limine to exclude the harmful rebuttal evidence), Ingber was understandably concerned that the judge would admit the prosecution's damaging rebuttal evidence of Williams's gang activities. Under the circumstances, Ingber made a reasonable tactical decision to leave the jury with the impression that Williams had no gang involvement, rather than risk introduction of gang evidence that in all likelihood would have overwhelmed the mitigating evidence presented. 198 (c) Williams Specifically Requested That No Witnesses Be Called At The Penalty Phase. 199 Ingber also reasonably took into consideration his client's desire that no witnesses be called to testify at the penalty phase. The reasonableness of counsel's actions may be determined or substantially influenced by the defendant's own statements or actions. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 691, 104 S.Ct. 2052. In accordance with his usual practice, Ingber broached the subject of penalty-phase witnesses with Williams in advance of the jury's verdict in the guilt phase. Certain witnesses were available to the defense to provide mitigating testimony at the penalty phase, and Ingber thought it prudent to consider presenting evidence in mitigation in every case. Ingber explained to Williams that the purpose of introducing the witnesses' testimony was [t]o try to influence the jury to render a verdict of life without possibility of parole instead of the death penalty. Nonetheless, Williams's feelings were intense about not calling anyone. Williams did not want to testify himself, nor did he want any family members, friends, mental-health experts, or other potential witnesses to testify. 200 We reject Williams's argument that he told Ingber only that he did not want his mother or step-father to testify, and that he put no restrictions on Ingber's calling of other witnesses. The district court found specifically that Williams's prohibition was not limited to his mother and step-father, but included mental health experts and any other potential witness. Williams IV, 41 F.Supp.2d at 1050. Support for the district court's factual finding exists in Ingber's statements on the record before the trial court, in Ingber's deposition conducted in conjunction with the federal habeas corpus proceedings below, and in Ingber's testimony at the federal evidentiary hearing before the district court. Accordingly, the factual finding is not clearly erroneous. See Easley, 532 U.S. at 242, 121 S.Ct. 1452 (reversal of a district court's factual finding is appropriate under the clear error standard only when on the entire evidence the appellate court is left with the definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed). 201 Before the penalty phase commenced, Ingber brought to the trial court's attention Williams's opposition to calling witnesses to testify in mitigation. Ingber represented, I do believe that I do have available to me witnesses who would help this jury make the ultimate determination. By the same token, I do have to regard the wishes of my client in connection with the noncalling of certain witnesses. When Ingber requested that Williams state on the record whether he wanted to testify at the penalty phase, Williams responded, Hell no. Ingber also asked Williams to express his opinion concerning the calling of certain other witnesses. After a discussion held off the record, Ingber stated, He is shaking his head and indicating to me it is his desire, his wish, that no other witnesses be called in the penalty phase. The court recessed so that Ingber and Williams might confer further on the subject. After the break, Ingber informed the court, It's the defendant's desire that no one testify on his behalf in this phase, and I acquiesce to the desires of the defendant. So there will be no testimony called in this phase of the trial. The trial court addressed Williams directly and strongly urged him to present mitigating evidence. When the court asked Williams whether he had enough time to discuss the matter with counsel, Williams declined to respond. 202 In the federal proceedings below, Ingber testified that Williams's aversion to the calling of penalty-phase witnesses was only one of the factors that influenced Ingber's ultimate decision not to present mitigating evidence. Ingber acknowledged, It's my job sometimes to overlook what [my clients] say and do what I think is in their best interest with my experience. However, in this particular case, Ingber concluded that the factors converged. His assessment that the available mitigating evidence was weak and his trepidation that the prosecution would introduce damaging gang evidence in rebuttal, coupled with Williams's resistance to the presentation of witness testimony, all persuaded Ingber to forsake mitigating evidence at the penalty phase and rely upon an argument that capitalized on any lingering doubts of the jurors regarding Williams's guilt. 203 Although our case law does not quite say that the defendant absolutely controls counsel's representation, Landrigan v. Stewart, 272 F.3d 1221, 1226 (9th Cir.2001), [t]he client's wishes are not to be ignored entirely. Campbell, 829 F.2d at 1463; see also Gerlaugh v. Stewart, 129 F.3d 1027, 1034-35 (9th Cir.1997) (counsel was not ineffective at the penalty phase for failing to develop and use psychological evidence because, inter alia, the defendant's personal wish that he did not want to undergo a psychological examination was entitled to respect). A defendant's insistence that counsel not call witnesses at the penalty phase does not eliminate counsel's duty to investigate mitigating evidence or to advise the defendant of the potential consequences of failing to introduce mitigating evidence, thereby assuring that the defendant's decision regarding such evidence is informed and knowing. See Silva, 279 F.3d at 838 (counsel rendered ineffective assistance at the penalty phase by not informing the defendant, who opposed calling certain witnesses, of the potential significance of mitigating evidence, and by not conducting any investigation of the defendant's background). However, having reasonably investigated mitigating evidence and prepared for the penalty phase, counsel is not deficient for failing to introduce evidence in mitigation when the defendant makes an informed and knowing decision not to present the evidence. See Jeffries v. Blodgett, 5 F.3d 1180, 1197-98 (9th Cir.1993) (counsel, which had been prepared to present a mitigation case, was not ineffective for failing to present mitigating evidence when the defendant made a considered decision not to introduce evidence in mitigation). Counsel also cannot be faulted for deferring to the defendant's desire to forgo presentation of mitigating evidence when the defendant's wish coincides with counsel's reasonable professional judgment that no mitigating evidence be introduced. Campbell, 829 F.2d at 1462 n. 5, 1463 (counsel's acceptance of the defendant's decision not to present mitigating evidence did not constitute ineffective assistance when counsel had legitimate strategic reasons for not presenting the evidence). 204 In the instant case, Ingber appropriately considered Williams's desire that no witnesses be called in making the ultimate decision not to present any evidence in mitigation. As already discussed, Ingber reasonably investigated mitigating evidence in preparation for the penalty phase. See Silva, 279 F.3d at 838 (the defendant's directive that counsel not call particular witnesses did not extinguish counsel's duty to investigate the defendant's personal history in order to ascertain mitigating evidence). Moreover, the trial record shows that Ingber had witnesses that would have testified at the penalty phase if he, in consultation with Williams, decided to introduce mitigating evidence. At the same time that Ingber brought to the trial court's attention Williams's insistence that no witnesses testify, Ingber informed the court that defense witnesses were available to testify that day if necessary. Ingber also notified the court that if the defense were to put on mitigating evidence, he would seek a continuance so that he might call other witnesses whom he was unable to reach between the Friday on which the jury returned its verdict in the guilt phase and the following Tuesday on which the penalty phase was scheduled to begin. Thus, although Ingber could not recall at the federal evidentiary hearing who, besides Williams's mother and stepfather, these defense witnesses were due to the loss of his original trial file and the passage of seventeen years, it is apparent from the trial record that Ingber was prepared to go forward with a mitigation case if he determined that was the most prudent course of action. See Jeffries, 5 F.3d at 1197-98 (although the defendant ultimately asked counsel not to introduce evidence in mitigation, counsel was prepared to present a mitigation case). 205 In conferring with Williams about calling witnesses at the penalty phase, Ingber adequately informed Williams of the potential ramifications of failing to present evidence in mitigation. See Silva, 279 F.3d at 838 (competent counsel must advise the defendant of the potential consequences of a decision not to introduce mitigating evidence). Ingber advised Williams that the purpose of mitigating evidence was to influence the jury to return a sentence of life imprisonment rather than the death penalty, and Ingber discussed with Williams what mitigating evidence might be presented. Ingber had no doubt that Williams fully understood the potential consequences of his wish that no witnesses testify at the penalty phase. The trial judge also impressed upon Williams the importance of presenting mitigating evidence. Williams therefore made an informed and knowing decision to forgo evidence in mitigation at the penalty phase. See Jeffries, 5 F.3d at 1198 (the defendant's decision not to introduce mitigating evidence was informed and knowing when counsel had discussed with him the ramifications of failing to present the evidence and he appeared to understand them). 206 Williams's request that no witnesses testify also coincided with Ingber's reasonable professional judgment that introducing mitigating evidence was unlikely to help Williams much, and would probably harm him by allowing the prosecutor to present damaging rebuttal evidence of Williams's gang activities. Accordingly, the deference that Ingber showed Williams's request is beyond criticism. See Campbell, 829 F.2d at 1462 n. 5, 1463 (counsel reasonably deferred to the defendant's wish that no witnesses be called when that wish was in accord with counsel's reasonable strategic decision not to present mitigating evidence). Counsel's actions are usually based, quite properly, on informed strategic choices made by the defendant and on information supplied by the defendant. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 691, 104 S.Ct. 2052. Ingber reasonably factored Williams's wishes into the balance of considerations that ultimately persuaded Ingber not to introduce evidence in mitigation at the penalty phase. 207 (d) Lingering Doubt Regarding Williams's Guilt Was A Viable Defense. 208 Finally, Ingber reasonably selected a lingering-doubt defense for the penalty phase. As already touched upon, the prosecution's case lent itself to such a defense because the case comprised of circumstantial evidence and the testimony of witnesses with less-than-clean backgrounds and incentives to lie in order to obtain leniency from the state in either charging or sentencing. No eyewitness linked Williams to the Brookhaven Motel robbery and murders, and the credibility of the sole eyewitness to the 7-Eleven robbery and murder, Alfred Coward, was suspect because he was an accomplice that received government immunity in exchange for his testimony against Williams. Ingber therefore could persuasively argue that lingering doubt about Williams's guilt counseled against a death-penalty verdict. Furthermore, the lingeringdoubt defense offered strategic advantages. Pursuing the defense did not require introduction of mitigating evidence that would open the door to damaging rebuttal evidence of Williams's gang activities. In choosing the defense, Ingber also avoided conflict with Williams by respecting Williams's request that no witnesses testify at the penalty phase. 209 In sum, based upon our review of the reasons underlying Ingber's penalty-phase strategy, we cannot fault Ingber's sound tactical decision to present a lingering-doubt defense in lieu of a defense based upon mitigating evidence of Williams's family and life history, drug use, or mental state. We note in this regard that the defense of `residual doubt has been recognized as an extremely effective argument for defendants in capital cases.' Lockhart v. McCree, 476 U.S. 162, 181, 106 S.Ct. 1758, 90 L.Ed.2d 137 (1986) (quoting Grigsby v. Mabry, 758 F.2d 226, 248 (8th Cir.1985) (en banc) (Gibson, J., dissenting)). A comprehensive study on the opinions of jurors in capital cases concluded: 210 Residual doubt over the defendant's guilt is the most powerful mitigating fact. ... [T]he best thing a capital defendant can do to improve his chances of receiving a life sentence has nothing to do with mitigating evidence strictly speaking. The best thing he can do, all else being equal, is to raise doubt about his guilt. 211 Stephen P. Garvey, Aggravation and Mitigation in Capital Cases: What Do Jurors Think?, 98 COLUM. L. REV. 1538, 1563 (1998) (footnote omitted); accord William S. Geimer & Jonathan Amsterdam, Why Jurors Vote Life or Death: Operative Factors in Ten Florida Death Penalty Cases, 15 AM. J. CRIM. L. 1, 28 (1988) (The existence of some degree of doubt about the guilt of the accused was the most often recurring explanatory factor in the life recommendation cases studied.). We conclude that Ingber performed capably at the penalty phase. Accordingly, we affirm the district court's denial of Williams's penalty-phase claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. 22
212 Williams argues that he was deprived of his Sixth Amendment right to a fair and impartial jury at the penalty phase because various jurors misconstrued as a threat a question that he asked defense counsel at the close of the guilt phase. The trial record shows that after the jurors returned their guilty verdicts, Williams said, Sons of bitches, in a voice sufficiently loud that the court reporter included this statement in the trial transcript. The trial judge did not hear Williams speak, however, and he did not interrupt the court proceedings. 213 On the day that the jury began its penalty-phase deliberations, an alternate juror reported to the bailiff that some jurors believed that Williams had threatened them. In response to questioning by the trial judge, the alternate juror stated that the jurors sitting in the center of the jury box had told her that after the verdicts were read, Williams looked at the jury and said that he was going to get all of them. She indicated, though, that there had been no conversation that day among the jurors regarding Williams's purported threat. The judge separately questioned three other alternate jurors, asking each whether Williams had directed any comments to the jury that day. Each answered negatively. 214 Out of the presence of the jurors, the trial judge observed that the alternate juror's report apparently related to Williams's incident after the return of the guilt-phase verdicts. The judge indicated that although he did not hear Williams's comment at the time that he made it, defense counsel had brought it to the judge's attention afterwards in chambers. Defense counsel then explained the circumstances of the incident, apparently for the second time, stressing that Williams did not direct any threat to the jury. According to counsel, after the reading of the verdicts, Williams turned to counsel and asked, Are those the sons of bitches who are going to decide what happens to me? Defense counsel urged the judge to poll the jurors concerning what effect the perceived threat had on their penalty-phase deliberations, and argued that the jurors' misunderstanding of Williams's question to counsel might warrant a mistrial as to the penalty phase. 215 The judge called the jury foreman into the courtroom for questioning. The following colloquy ensued: 216 THE COURT: It has come to the court's attention that there is a possibility that some remark might have been made by the defendant that was heard by the jury on the date that the jury returned its verdict at the guilt phase. Do you have any information concerning that? 217 MR. BRAMHALL: I do. 218 THE COURT: What is that? 219 MR. BRAMHALL: He did utter a statement as we were concluding. 220 THE COURT: What was the statement? 221 MR. BRAMHALL: I'm going to get each and every one of you mother fuckers. 222 THE COURT: Did you personally hear him make that statement? 223 MR. BRAMHALL: I did not. I saw him mouthing it; but I did not hear it. 224 THE COURT: In other words, were you able to make out the words? 225 MR. BRAMHALL: I was not. One of the other jurors was. 226 THE COURT: All right. Did that play any part in the deliberations of this case concerning the penalty? 227 MR. BRAMHALL: It did not. 228 THE COURT: Was there any discussion of that comment at any time during the penalty phase of this trial? 229 MR. BRAMHALL: No. Not until after the verdict had been reached. 230 THE COURT: You've now reached a verdict? 231 MR. BRAMHALL: We have. 232 At this point, the judge ordered that the jury return to the courtroom. 233 After the court clerk read the penalty-phase verdicts, defense counsel renewed his request that the judge canvass the jury to determine whether the perceived threat tainted the jurors' deliberations. The judge declined, stating that he was willing to accept the jury foreman's word that the jurors did not discuss the matter until after they had reached their verdicts. The judge further declared that, in any event, Williams's wrongdoing had provoked the situation, and Williams could not benefit from his wrongdoing. 234 The Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial `guarantees to the criminally accused a fair trial by a panel of impartial, indifferent jurors.' United States v. Sarkisian, 197 F.3d 966, 981 (9th Cir.1999) (quoting Irvin v. Dowd, 366 U.S. 717, 722, 81 S.Ct. 1639, 6 L.Ed.2d 751 (1961)) (internal quotations omitted). However, the constitutional right to an impartial jury is not absolute. The Sixth Amendment affords no relief when the defendant's own misconduct caused the alleged juror partiality and the trial judge employed reasonable means under the circumstances to preserve the trial's fairness. See United States v. Hernandez, 952 F.2d 1110, 1116-18 (9th Cir.1991) (no relief when a juror observed the defendant making a slit across his throat, a motion to the witness who was on the stand and the court questioned the juror and admonished the entire jury to ignore any gestures or body language); United States v. Trevino-Rodriguez, 994 F.2d 533, 535 (8th Cir.1993) (no relief when the defendant interrupted defense counsel's opening statement and the trial court called an immediate recess, excused the jury, and the trial judge gave a curative instruction when the jury returned); United States v. Chaussee, 536 F.2d 637, 639-41 (7th Cir.1976) (no relief when the defendant attempted to escape from the courtroom in the jury's presence and the trial judge fully informed himself of what had occurred, assessed its impact on the jury, and promptly admonished the jury to disregard the defendant's misconduct), abrogated on other grounds by Lewis v. United States, 523 U.S. 155, 162, 118 S.Ct. 1135, 140 L.Ed.2d 271 (1998); see also Illinois v. Allen, 397 U.S. 337, 346, 90 S.Ct. 1057, 25 L.Ed.2d 353 (1970) (the defendant's Sixth Amendment right to be present in the courtroom at every stage of trial is not absolute and may be lost by the defendant's misconduct). 235 Our decision derives from practical concerns about the proper administration of criminal justice, which would suffer appreciably if defendants through their own misconduct could overturn the results of their trials. [G]ranting [habeas corpus relief] on the basis of [the defendant's] own misconduct would subvert the judicial process and allow [the defendant] to benefit from his own wrongdoing. If such behavior on the part of the defendant were held to require [relief], `it would provide an easy device for defendants to provoke [constitutional error] whenever they might choose to do so.' United States v. Stewart, 256 F.3d 231, 242 (4th Cir.2001) (quoting United States v. West, 877 F.2d 281, 289 (4th Cir.1989)). Justice Brennan, in his concurring opinion in Allen, 397 U.S. at 349, 90 S.Ct. 1057 (quoting Falk v. United States, 15 App.D.C. 446 (1899)), recognized this problem: 236 It does not seem ... to be consonant with the dictates of common sense that an accused person ... should be at liberty, whenever he pleased, ... to break up a trial already commenced. The practical result of such a proposition, if allowed to be law, would be to prevent any trial whatever until the accused person himself should be pleased to permit it.... This would be a travesty of justice which could not be tolerated.... Neither in criminal nor in civil cases will the law allow a person to take advantage of his own wrong. 237 Nonetheless, even when it is the defendant's own misconduct that jeopardizes the fairness of the trial, the trial court must use reasonable means tailored to the particular circumstances of the case to help ensure a fair trial. See Chaussee, 536 F.2d at 641. 238 In the case before us, the trial judge concluded that Williams's wrongdoing caused the jurors to perceive a threat, and this conclusion finds support in the record. Williams argues that he engaged in no misconduct because he did not threaten or even address the jury, but merely directed a question to defense counsel. However, the record shows that Williams's question was something more than the usual, discreet interchange between attorney and client that occurs when a court is in session. The court reporter heard Williams pronounce, Sons of bitches. Moreover, defense counsel deemed the incident sufficiently out-of-the-ordinary as to warrant explanation to the trial judge in chambers even before counsel learned of the jurors' perceived threat from the alternate juror who reported the matter. We are unconvinced that Williams cannot be held responsible for his unruly behavior in the courtroom simply because he may not have intended the consequences that ensued. Nor do we find it unreasonable to require a defendant such as Williams to refrain from engaging in behavior that could unnecessarily disrupt the court proceedings. The Constitution would protect none of us if it prevented the courts from acting to preserve the very processes that the Constitution itself prescribes. Allen, 397 U.S. at 350, 90 S.Ct. 1057 (Brennan, J., concurring) 239 It is clear that it was Williams's statement that created any possible problem in this regard, thus invoking the strong policy that a defendant should not profit from his own wrongdoing at trial. Furthermore, the trial judge's actions were reasonable to ensure that the jurors considered the case on the evidence presented, unaffected by any threat perceived from Williams's statement. The judge had earlier instructed the jurors that they must base their verdicts upon evidence, and evidence is what [they] heard from the witness stand and exhibits that were introduced into evidence. Prior to receiving the jurors' verdicts, the judge informed himself of what had occurred and determined that the jury had not discussed any perceived threat by Williams during the jurors' deliberations. In light of the strong policy against a defendant profiting from his own wrongdoing at trial and the trial judge's reasonable actions to ensure a fair trial, we conclude that Williams is not entitled to relief under the Sixth Amendment, and we affirm the district court's grant of summary judgment in the state's favor on this claim.