Opinion ID: 76034
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Deficient Performance Prong of the Strickland Analysis

Text: 130 On many occasions, this Court and the Supreme Court have been called on to assess the adequacy of a defense attorney's efforts in preparing for and presenting a defendant's penalty phase case in capital cases. As Strickland itself recognized, a capital sentencing proceeding ... is sufficiently like a trial ... that counsel's role in that proceeding is comparable to counsel's role at trial ... [and] therefore, [a] capital sentencing proceeding need not to be distinguished from an ordinary trial, for purposes of assessing a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 686-87, 104 S.Ct. at 2064 (citations omitted). 131 Of particular importance in many cases concerning counsel's preparation for and performance at capital sentencing proceedings is whether or not an attorney performed an adequate investigation. The Strickland Court noted: 132 These standards require no special amplification in order to define counsel's duty to investigate, the duty at issue in this case. As the Court of Appeals concluded, strategic choices made after thorough investigation of law and facts relevant to plausible options are virtually unchallengeable; and strategic choices made after less than complete investigation are reasonable precisely to the extent that reasonable professional judgments support the limitations on investigation. In other words, counsel has a duty to make reasonable investigations or to make a reasonable decision that makes particular investigations unnecessary. In any ineffectiveness case, a particular decision not to investigate must be directly assessed for reasonableness in all the circumstances, applying a heavy measure of deference to counsel's judgments. 133 Id. at 690, 104 S.Ct. at 2066. 134 On several occasions, this Court and the Supreme Court have recognized that [n]o absolute rules dictate what is reasonable performance for lawyers, and, accordingly, no absolute duty exists to investigate particular facts or a certain line of defense. Chandler v. United States, 218 F.3d 1305, 1317 (11th Cir.2000) ( en banc ). Moreover, [c]ounsel is not required to present every nonfrivolous defense; nor is counsel required to present all mitigation evidence, even if the additional mitigation evidence would not have been incompatible with counsel's strategy. Id. at 1319 (citing Waters v. Thomas, 46 F.3d 1506, 1511 (11th Cir.1995) ( en banc )). In fact, [n]o absolute duty exists to introduce mitigating or character evidence. Id. As we noted in Waters : 135 To the contrary, the Supreme Court and this Court in a number of cases have held counsel's performance to be constitutionally sufficient when no mitigating circumstance evidence at all was introduced, even though such evidence, including some relating to the defendant's mental illness or impairment, was available. 136 Waters, 46 F.3d at 1511 (citing Darden v. Wainwright, 477 U.S. 168, 184-87, 106 S.Ct. 2464, 2473-74, 91 L.Ed.2d 144 (1986)). See also Putman v. Head, 268 F.3d 1223, 1243-44 (11th Cir.2001) (discussing standards for judging deficient performance by counsel during penalty phase of death penalty case). 137 Rather than laying down absolute rules that defense counsel must investigate certain things or must present certain types of evidence, our decisions teach that whether counsel's performance is constitutionally deficient depends upon the totality of the circumstances viewed through a lens shaped by the rules and presumptions set down in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984), and its progeny. Waters, 46 F.3d at 1511. In applying those rules and presumptions, we must bear in mind that the touchstone of a lawyer's performance under the Constitution is reasonableness. Chandler, 218 F.3d at 1319. As we have explained: 138 The test has nothing to do with what the best lawyers would have done. Nor is the test even what most good lawyers would have done. We ask only whether some reasonable lawyer at the trial could have acted, in the circumstances, as defense counsel acted at trial.... We are not interested in grading lawyers' performances; we are interested in whether the adversarial process at trial, in fact, worked adequately. 139 Waters, 46 F.3d at 1512 (quoting White v. Singletary, 972 F.2d 1218, 1220-21 (11th Cir.1992)). Accordingly, [t]he relevant question is not whether counsel's choices were strategic, but whether they were reasonable. Putman, 268 F.3d at 1244 (quoting Roe v. Flores-Ortega, 528 U.S. 470, 481, 120 S.Ct. 1029, 1037, 145 L.Ed.2d 985 (2000)). This recognizes that [t]o uphold a lawyer's strategy, a court `need not attempt to divine the lawyer's mental processes underlying the strategy,' but instead must simply determine whether the course actually taken by counsel might have been reasonable. Id. (quoting Chandler, 218 F.3d at 1315 n. 16). 140 Despite our reluctance to adopt absolute rules concerning what an attorney must do during the penalty phase of a trial in order to be effective, both the Supreme Court and this Court have recognized that the circumstances of a particular case may require counsel to investigate and present certain mitigating evidence. This is because [t]he purpose of a sentencing hearing is to provide the jury with the information necessary for it to render an `individualized sentencing determination ... [based upon] the character and record of the individualized offender and the circumstances of the particular offense.' Dobbs v. Turpin, 142 F.3d 1383, 1386-87 (11th Cir.1998) (quoting Penry v. Lynaugh, 492 U.S. 302, 316, 109 S.Ct. 2934, 2945, 106 L.Ed.2d 256 (1989)). 141 Most recently in Williams, the Supreme Court held that a defense attorney was ineffective in his preparation for and performance during the penalty phase of a death penalty case. See Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. 362, 120 S.Ct. 1495, 146 L.Ed.2d 389 (2000). 2 The Supreme Court described the approach taken by the lawyer in that case as follows: 142 The evidence offered by Williams' trial counsel at the sentencing hearing consisted of the testimony of Williams' mother, two neighbors, and a taped excerpt from a statement by a psychiatrist. One of the neighbors had not been previously interviewed by defense counsel, but was noticed by counsel in the audience during the proceedings and asked to testify on the spot. The three witnesses briefly described Williams as a nice boy and not a violent person. The recorded psychiatrist's testimony did little more than relate Williams' statement during an examination that in the course of one of his earlier robberies, he had removed the bullets from a gun so as not to injure anyone. 143 In his cross-examination of the prosecution witnesses, Williams' counsel repeatedly emphasized the fact that Williams had initiated the contact with the police that enabled them to solve the murder and to identify him as the perpetrator of the recent assaults, as well as the car thefts. In closing argument, Williams' counsel characterized Williams' confessional statements as dumb, but asked the jury to give weight to the fact that he had turned himself in, not on one crime but on four ... that the [police otherwise] would not have solved. The weight of defense counsel's closing, however, was devoted to explaining that it was difficult to find a reason why the jury should spare Williams' life. 144 Id. at 369, 120 S.Ct. at 1500 (citations and footnote omitted). During the state habeas proceedings in that case, however, Williams presented the following mitigating evidence that his counsel had failed to present during sentencing: documents prepared in connection with Williams' commitment when he was 11 years old that dramatically described mistreatment, abuse, and neglect during his early childhood, as well as testimony that he was `borderline mentally retarded,' had suffered repeated head injuries, and might have mental impairments organic in origin. Id. at 370, 120 S.Ct. at 1501. Also, evidence was presented that the State's experts who testified at sentencing concerning future dangerousness had opined that Williams would not pose a future danger if he were kept in a structured environment, but defense counsel failed to introduce those portions of the expert's opinions to rebut the State's future dangerousness argument. Id. at 370-71, 120 S.Ct. at 1501. 145 After concluding that AEDPA's § 2254(d)(1) bar was inapplicable because the Virginia Supreme Court had applied the wrong legal standard in reviewing Williams' claims, the Supreme Court held that Williams' attorney had been ineffective during the sentencing hearing. Id. at 391-99, 120 S.Ct. at 1512-16. In reaching this conclusion, the Court noted that it is undisputed that Williams had a right — indeed, a constitutionally protected right — to provide the jury with the mitigating evidence that his trial counsel either failed to discover or failed to offer. Id. at 393, 120 S.Ct. at 1513. The court found that the counsel's performance was lacking in many respects, including: 146 The record establishes that counsel did not begin to prepare for that phase of the proceeding until a week before the trial. They failed to conduct an investigation that would have uncovered extensive records graphically describing Williams' nightmarish childhood, not because of any strategic calculation but because they incorrectly thought that state law barred access to such records. Had they done so, the jury would have learned that Williams' parents had been imprisoned for the criminal neglect of Williams and his siblings, that Williams had been severely and repeatedly beaten by his father, that he had been committed to the custody of the social services bureau for two years during his parents' incarceration (including one stint in an abusive foster home), and then, after his parents were released from prison, had been returned to his parents' custody. Counsel failed to introduce available evidence that Williams was borderline mentally retarded and did not advance beyond sixth grade in school. They failed to seek prison records recording Williams' commendations for helping to crack a prison drug ring and for returning a guard's missing wallet, or the testimony of prison officials who described Williams as among the inmates least likely to act in a violent, dangerous or provocative way. Counsel failed even to return the phone call of a certified public accountant who had offered to testify that he had visited Williams frequently when Williams was incarcerated as part of a prison ministry program, that Williams seemed to thrive in a more regimented and structured environment, and that Williams was proud of the carpentry degree he earned while in prison. 147 Id. at 395-96, 120 S.Ct. at 1514 (footnote omitted). In finding counsel's performance to be deficient, the Supreme Court found that it did not matter in that case that some of the additional evidence was unfavorable to Williams because the failure to introduce the comparatively voluminous amount of evidence that did speak in Williams' favor was not justified by a tactical decision to focus on Williams' voluntary confession. Id. at 396, 120 S.Ct. at 1514. The Court noted that the omissions by Williams' trial counsel demonstrate that trial counsel did not fulfill their obligation to conduct a thorough investigation of the defendant's background. Id. at 396, 120 S.Ct. at 1514-15. After then determining that the deficiencies in Williams' counsel's performance prejudiced him, the Court concluded that Williams was entitled to habeas relief. 148 Likewise, on several occasions we have found counsel's performance during the penalty phase of death penalty cases to be deficient. For example, in Dobbs v. Turpin, 142 F.3d 1383 (11th Cir.1998), we concluded that defense counsel's performance was deficient where the attorney failed to investigate the background or present any mitigating evidence concerning a capital defendant. Id. at 1387. We noted that an attorney in a death penalty case is obligated to conduct a reasonable investigation, including a reasonable investigation of the defendant's background, for purposes of mitigating evidence. Id. (citations and quotations omitted). Although we recognized that under some circumstances an attorney may make a strategic choice not to conduct a particular investigation, we also noted that [i]n any ineffectiveness case, a particular decision not to investigate must be directly assessed for reasonableness in all the circumstances, applying a heavy measure of deference to counsel's judgments. Id. at 1388-89 (citations and quotations omitted). Under the circumstances of that case, we found that there was no good reason for the attorney not to have investigated and presented the substantial mitigating evidence that was available. Id. at 1388. We also noted that in order to receive deference, strategic decisions ... must flow from an informed decision. Id. (citations and quotations omitted). We stated that [t]his circuit `rejects the notion that a strategic decision can be reasonable when the attorney has failed to investigate his options and make a reasonable choice between them.' Id. (citations and quotations omitted). 149 We have reached similar conclusions in several other cases. See, e.g., Fortenberry v. Haley, 297 F.3d 1213, 1229-30 (11th Cir.2002) (holding that failure to investigate and discover mitigating evidence about defendant's psychological problems, alcoholism and good character was deficient performance, and noting that [a]bsent any viable strategic reason, however, the failure to present available mitigating evidence renders assistance constitutionally ineffective); Collier v. Turpin, 177 F.3d 1184, 1201-02 (11th Cir.1999) (holding that performance during penalty phase was deficient despite adequate investigation where the presentation of mitigating evidence is wholly inadequate and amounts to nothing more than an empty shell of the testimony necessary for the jury to make an individualized determination concerning the proper sentence for the defendant); Blanco v. Singletary, 943 F.2d 1477 (11th Cir.1991) (holding that an attorney's performance was deficient where he failed to prepare for the penalty phase until after the defendant's conviction, and then failed to present any mitigating evidence); Cunningham v. Zant, 928 F.2d 1006, 1018 (11th Cir.1991) ([W]e find that, in light of the ready availability of this evidence and in the absence of a tactical justification for its exclusion, the failure by trial counsel to present and argue during the penalty phase any evidence regarding Cunningham's mental retardation, combined with their failure to present and argue readily available additional evidence regarding Cunningham's head injury, his socioeconomic background, or his reputation as a good father and worker, fell outside the range of professionally competent assistance.); Harris v. Dugger, 874 F.2d 756, 759-60 (11th Cir.1989) (holding performance deficient where defense counsel had performed essentially no investigation related to mitigation prior to the defendant's conviction and efforts to discover such evidence during a subsequent 3-day continuance were ineffectual where approach was result of neglect and not informed decision). 150 It was within this legal framework that the state habeas court was called on to determine whether Siemon's performance during the penalty phase of trial was deficient, and that court determined that counsel performed adequately. Of course, that is an adjudication to which we must defer, unless it was an unreasonable application of relevant Supreme Court precedent. See 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1). After a thorough review of the record, including both the performance of Crawford's attorney at trial and the available, but undiscovered or unused, mitigating evidence, we believe that it is a very close question whether the state court could reasonably conclude that Siemon's performance was not deficient. It is clear that a considerable amount of mitigating evidence concerning Crawford's background and condition was available to counsel, but Siemon failed to investigate and present much of that evidence to the jury. In particular, we are troubled by the fact that counsel chose not to investigate or present that mitigating evidence, even though the evidence would have in no way been inconsistent with, or undermined, the approach taken by Siemon of focusing on Crawford's family. 151 The state habeas court found that Siemon deliberately chose the approach of focusing on Crawford's family during the penalty phase, and we have to defer to that finding of fact because there is support for it in the record and Crawford has not rebutted the finding by clear and convincing evidence. See 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(2) & (e)(1). However, even though Siemon deliberately chose to forego investigating the mitigating evidence that he informed the trial court would be important and instead expended his time and resources pursuing other approaches, that does not necessarily end the inquiry. As the Supreme Court recognized in Strickland and as we stated in Dobbs, Harris and other cases, counsel's strategic choices are only entitled to deference to the extent that they are based on an informed decision. 152 Here, our meticulous review of this record persuades us that there is some reason to doubt whether the choice made by Siemon not to investigate or pursue mitigating evidence was based on an informed decision or was reasonable under the circumstances. On several occasions, Siemon informed the trial court that he felt particularly unprepared to handle the penalty portion of the trial if it went that far. Siemon indicated to the trial court that he needed more time, and additional money, to prepare for the penalty phase, in large part because he hoped to have Crawford examined by a medical doctor who could testify about his alcoholism and the effects of alcohol abuse. It was only after the court denied Siemon's request for a continuance and for additional funds that Siemon reverted to the approach he employed during the penalty phase of focusing on Crawford's family. Therefore, even if the approach taken by Siemon was deliberate or strategic, it may be that Siemon's choice of strategy was forced by the unreasonable time and monetary constraints that resulted from Siemon's own neglect in waiting so late to begin preparing for trial and lack of diligence in timely seeking funds from the court. Moreover, considering the evidence concerning the minimal or superficial nature of Siemon's investigation of possible mitigating evidence, we have some doubts whether Siemon's choice of strategies was informed. 153 In considering the adequacy of counsel's performance, we view the totality of the attorney's actions and omissions and determine whether, under the circumstances, any other objectively reasonable lawyer might have taken the approach he actually took. See Chandler, 218 F.3d at 1315-16 ([B]ecause counsel's conduct is presumed reasonable, a petitioner must establish that no competent counsel would have taken the action that his counsel did take.). In performing this task, we are not required to focus solely on the evidence and argument that Siemon presented during the penalty phase, but instead we are to consider the totality of the circumstances surrounding his representation in light of the circumstances presented by the case. Williams, 529 U.S. at 397, 120 S.Ct. at 1515. 154 The facts surrounding Siemon's representation of Crawford, as recounted in detail above, reveal that, with the exception of reading the transcript from the first trial at the time that he was retained over a year before the retrial, Siemon did not begin to prepare for the trial until two weeks before it started — even though the trial court issued its initial scheduling order three months earlier, and its amended scheduling order several weeks earlier. In his preparations, Siemon failed to consult with, or review the file of, one of Crawford's attorneys from his first trial, and Siemon did not take the attorney up on her offer of free assistance. At the time that Siemon began preparing, and after receiving $1,000 from the trial court, he employed an investigator to look into issues concerning the jury array and to investigate other potential suspects. A week later, on January 19, after he informed the court that he had used up the $1,000 and needed additional funds, the court indicated a willingness to consider granting more funds if Siemon documented that the initial $1,000 had been used. Despite this statement from the court, Siemon did nothing to document his use of the initially granted funds, or to request additional funds, until the first day of the trial a week later. 155 After reviewing the transcript from the first trial once again, Siemon indicated that he was fairly well prepared to proceed with the guilt-innocence phase of Crawford's trial — assuming it stayed true to the script provided by the earlier trial — but would need additional time and resources to prepare for any penalty phase. In particular, based on his reading of the transcript of the first trial, he indicated to the court that the issue of Crawford's alcoholism and associated blackouts, and the issue of Crawford's experience in Vietnam were significant issues which he would need to develop and present in mitigation, and that he would need the assistance of experts in doing so. Siemon stated to the court: 156 It would be my intention, and this clearly is one of the reasons why we've got to have an ex parte hearing on this type of thing — but it would be my intention to — if this case goes as far as penalty, to put up people from Mr. Crawford's family, to talk about his personality and how his personality may have changed since he returned from Vietnam, also, expert testimony on the effects of alcoholism and how that might mitigate — or what his state of mind might have been, if in fact — if we assume that he's committed the crime, which for the purpose of the sentencing hearing I would do, if he had been convicted. 157 Of course, the types of evidence Siemon described during this colloquy would not have been inconsistent with or undermined the approach ultimately taken of focusing on Crawford's family. It was at the time of this presentation, just before opening arguments in the case, that the court granted Siemon an additional $1,000 to use however he saw fit. 158 Two days later while the jury was deliberating on the guilt-innocence phase — and the evening before the penalty phase began — Siemon indicated to the court that he remained unprepared and needed a continuance in order to prepare witnesses and obtain expert witnesses related to the issues that he had previously determined would be important in a mitigation case. After the trial court denied the motion for a continuance and the jury returned a guilty verdict that night, Siemon had to go forward with the mitigation case the following morning. Therefore, the record reflects that aside from reading the transcript of the first trial, several conversations with Crawford, and some superficial conversations with some of Crawford's family members, Siemon devoted little time to preparing mitigating evidence before the beginning of the penalty phase. 159 Despite his earlier statements to the court concerning the issues that would be important in mitigation, the fact that those issues were not inconsistent with the approach ultimately taken, and the court's grant of additional funds to pursue those or other avenues, it is clear that Siemon did not pursue the mitigation issues which he had informed the court would be central to the penalty phase of the case. Instead, the evidence he presented was limited to calling several of Crawford's relatives to testify concerning their relations to Crawford and, in some cases, their desire that the jury not sentence Crawford to death. In preparation for this stage, Siemon had only superficial discussions with these family members, in addition to several discussions with Crawford. Siemon did not obtain or review Crawford's military or mental health care records, nor did he have Crawford examined by any medical doctors, psychiatrists, or other experts. Even after the court specifically granted Siemon funds to bring in a friend who served with Crawford in the military, Siemon did not do so. Siemon reiterated repeatedly to the habeas court that the basis for this changed approach was due to the lack of time and money that he had to prepare for the penalty phase. 160 Moreover, when presenting the few witnesses who did testify, Siemon's examination was minimal and did not delve into issues such as Crawford's unfortunate, abusive childhood or changes to Crawford's personality as a result of serving in Vietnam. Nor did Siemon present any other evidence concerning Crawford's experience in Vietnam, his resulting personality change, his alcoholism, or the effects of his military experience and alcohol abuse on his mental condition. This is even though several of the witnesses who testified for Crawford had knowledge of many or all of these issues and were willing to testify about those issues, and even though such information was in no way inconsistent with asking the jury to have mercy on Crawford's family. Moreover, Siemon explained his focus on Crawford's family by suggesting to the jury that Crawford himself was not worthy of mercy and that the family members had nothing good to say about Crawford. 161 Despite our concerns over Siemon's performance, we have to bear in mind the narrow scope of our review. The question before us is not whether we would find that Siemon's performance was deficient if we were to decide that issue in the first instance. Instead the question is whether the state court unreasonably applied Strickland and its progeny in concluding that some objectively reasonably lawyer could have taken the approach Siemon took under the circumstances of this case. As we shall explain below, however, we conclude that Crawford failed to satisfy the prejudice prong of the Strickland standard. Therefore, because that conclusion is enough to resolve the claim before us, we need not and do not decide whether the state court acted unreasonably by concluding that Siemon's preparation for and performance during the penalty phase of trial was adequate. 162