Opinion ID: 2632308
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Issues Relating to Defendant's Representation

Text: The trial court initially appointed James Burns and Charles Duff to represent defendant. On July 31, 1989, the court replaced Duff, the second counsel, with Mark Chambers. On August 21, 1989, the court granted defendant's Marsden motion ( People v. Marsden (1970) 2 Cal.3d 118, 84 Cal.Rptr. 156, 465 P.2d 44) and removed lead counsel James Burns. Two days later, at the hearing to appoint counsel, Chambers said he and defendant had interviewed several attorneys and wanted a one-week continuance so the attorneys could apply to the court for appointment. The court refused the continuance and also refused to delay matters for 15 minutes so one of the attorneys interviewed, Mr. Mueller, could appear. Instead, the court appointed Richard Grossberg as lead attorney. Chambers continued to serve as second counsel. The judge explained that he would not appoint Chambers as lead counsel because of Chambers's lack of experience and the fact that he was rated by the San Diego Public Defender's Office as a Class III Attorney; the office requires a Class VI rating to act as lead attorney in a capital case. On December 7, 1989, defendant moved to have Grossberg removed from the case, asserting that Grossberg was not putting in the time needed to prepare the defense. The motion was denied. On January 18, 1990, Grossberg moved to be relieved as counsel. This motion was also denied. Grossberg renewed his motion to be relieved on February 5, 1990. On the same day defendant moved to represent himself. After a hearing, the trial court again refused to relieve Grossberg. The court then turned to defendant's motion to represent himself. Finding that defendant was competent and lucid and had made a knowing waiver of the right to counsel, the court granted the motion. It appointed Chambers and Grossberg as advisory counsel. On February 13, defendant asked for a 60-day continuance to prepare for trial. He explained that because he was considered suicidal, he had been Placed in a cell that did not give him access to telephones or legal documents. The court granted the motion and ordered that defendant be housed in the downtown San Diego jail where he would have better access to legal materials. On March 9, defendant, through advisory attorney Chambers, asked for an additional six-month continuance of trial. The motion was based on problems with the lack of preparation and investigation by his former attorneys. The court denied the motion and the case went to trial on April 23,1990. Although defendant represented himself, with Grossberg and Chambers as his advisory counsel, at trial Chambers, who initially had been second counsel, took on the role of lead counsel. Grossberg did not participate and defendant's participation was minimal. Whenever the judge asked defendant if he intended to participate, he replied that Chambers was his attorney and would represent him. Chambers conducted the voir dire, examined witnesses, and presented all arguments, both at the guilt phase and at the penalty phase.
After granting defendant's motion to remove Burns as defendant's lead counsel, the trial court announced its intention to appoint Richard Grossberg. The judge described Grossberg as having a long legacy of having handled homicide matters, and being an amiable individual who could probably get along with defendant. Mark Chambers, the second counsel, explained that he and defendant had interviewed several attorneys. He asked for a 15 minute delay so that one of those attorneys, Mr. Mueller, could arrive, but the judge replied, [I]f Mr. Mueller was present, I would have to tell him, weighing the two, I would appoint Mr. Grossberg anyway. Mr. Grossberg has far more experience. The court said that another attorney suggested by Chambers, Mr. Mills, was well qualified but was not present and had not indicated a willingness to take the assignment. At the hearing defendant did not object to Grossberg's appointment other than to note he was not among the attorneys defendant and Chambers had interviewed. Now defendant claims that Grossberg was not qualified because he had tried only one capital case, and that trial had occurred before the United States Supreme Court decided Furman v. Georgia (1972) 408 U.S. 238, 92 S.Ct. 2726, 33 L.Ed.2d 346. But Grossberg's qualifications would depend on his experience in trying criminal cases, not just his experience in capital cases, and an attorney with a long legacy of handling homicide cases may be qualified to take on a capital case. Grossberg was one of three San Diego County attorneys classified by the public defender as Class VIqualified to handle a capital case. The trial court gave defendant the opportunity to express his views on who should be appointed. (See People v. Chavez (1980) 26 Cal.3d 334, 346-347, 161 Cal. Rptr. 762, 605 P.2d 401.) Chambers mentioned the names of some attorneys, but offered no reason why they would be a better choice than Grossberg. Under these circumstances, having found a competent attorney who was willing to serve as lead counsel, the trial court had no obligation to continue the proceedings to consider other possible appointees.
Defendant first sought to remove lead counsel Grossberg on December 1, 1989. On December 7, he moved to recuse the trial judge because he had appointed Grossberg, and advanced several objections to Grossberg's performance. Some of his defendant's objections were quite general: that Grossberg had failed to follow through on many defense options, and that he was unwilling to fight for defendant's basic rights. Defendant's only specific complaint was that Grossberg had interviewed him in a jail interview room that was reputed to be illegally monitored. Defendant said his relationship with Grossberg had deteriorated to the point that defendant had ordered Grossberg not to contact him or anyone else concerning the case. The trial court concluded that defendant had failed to show that he was not receiving adequate assistance from counsel, and that the difficulties encountered by defense counsel were caused by defendant's unwillingness to cooperate. On January 18, 1990, Grossberg moved to be relieved as counsel. He said he could not properly prepare for trial because his relationship with defendant had completely broken down and defendant refused to speak with him. Grossberg also said he had a conflict with second counsel Chambers. Defendant and Chambers wanted the robbery charges against defendant tried first, which Grossberg opposed. There were other disagreements about strategy and investigation. The judge denied the motions for recusal and for removal of Grossberg. A further hearing on February 5, 1990, showed continuing conflict between Grossberg, Chambers, and defendant. The court refused to remove Grossberg, but suggested the possibility that Chambers take over as lead counsel. Defendant, however, said he would prefer to represent himself. A trial court must grant a motion to replace counsel if the record clearly shows that the ... appointed attorney is not providing adequate representation [citation] or that defendant and counsel have become embroiled in such an irreconcilable conflict that ineffective representation is likely to result [citations]. ( People v. Crandell (1988) 46 Cal.3d 833, 854, 251 Cal.Rptr. 227, 760 P.2d 423.) Nothing in the record here shows that Grossberg was incompetent or would not provide adequate representation if he received defendant's cooperation. But it is clear that he and defendant were in a conflict that could imperil Grossberg's ability to provide effective representation. One consequence of the conflict is that defendant refused to review his confession with Grossberg, depriving Grossberg of the opportunity to determine whether any part of it was untrue. But that does not demonstrate an irreconcilable conflict that would require the trial court to replace appointed counsel. Defendant cannot simply refuse to cooperate with his appointed attorney and thereby compel the court to remove that attorney. `[I]f a defendant's claimed lack of trust in, or inability to get along with, an appointed attorney were sufficient to compel appointment of substitute counsel, defendants effectively would have a veto power over any appointment and by a process of elimination could obtain appointment of their preferred attorneys, which is certainly not the law.' ( People v. Berryman (1993) 6 Cal.4th 1048, 1070, 25 Cal.Rptr.2d 867, 864 P.2d 40, quoting People v. Crandell, supra, 46 Cal.3d at p. 860, 251 Cal.Rptr. 227, 760 P.2d 423.) Here the record suggests that defendant would not cooperate with any attorney not pre-cleared by him and second counsel Mark Chambers. Defendant complained that Grossberg was not doing enough to prepare for trial, yet Grossberg at defendant's request worked diligently to improve defendant's conditions of confinement, attended the trial of codefendant Popik, and interviewed witnesses. Defendant objected that defense investigator Thomas, of whom he disapproved, called a witness and scared the witness, but defendant did not set out what Thomas said to the witness. The nature of defendant's complaints suggests that defendant's principal objection to Grossberg was that Grossberg was managing the defense as a lead attorney should do, rather than deferring to defendant's opinions. Under these circumstances, the trial court could reasonably conclude that the conflict between lead counsel and defendant was not irreconcilable, but that defendant was rejecting reconciliation and refusing to cooperate with the goal of removing Grossberg and replacing him with Chambers.
Defendant contends that the trial court erred in granting his request to represent himself. (See Faretta v. California (1975) 422 U.S. 806, 95 S.Ct. 2525, 45 L.Ed.2d 562.) Defendant does not claim that he was incompetent to represent himself, or that the judge failed to advise him properly on the dangers and consequences of that action. He contends, instead, that his request to represent himself was not unequivocal, because he made it clear that he only wanted to represent himself if the court refused to remove Grossberg as his attorney. He points out that the court is not required to grant an equivocal request for self-representation. ( People v. Hines (1997) 15 Cal.4th 997, 1028, 64 Cal.Rptr.2d 594, 938 P.2d 388.) Defendant confuses an equivocal request with a conditional request. There is nothing equivocal in a request that counsel be removed and, if not removed, that the defendant wants to represent himself. Once the court has decided not to remove counsel, the defendant has the choice of going ahead with existing counsel or representing himself. There is nothing improper in putting the defendant to this choice, so long as the court did not err in refusing to remove counsel. ( People v. Smith (1985) 38 Cal.3d 945, 957, 216 Cal.Rptr. 98, 702 P.2d 180; see People v. Crandell, supra, 46 Cal.3d 833, 860-861, 251 Cal.Rptr. 227, 760 P.2d 423 [Faretta motion voluntary, although made in response to trial court's ruling denying defendant's motion to remove counsel].) If, under these circumstances, the defendant elects to represent himself, he need not show that he would make the same decision if offered other counsel. Moreover, even if an initial request for self-representation is equivocal, the trial court is not required to deny it without further inquiry. Here the trial court discussed the perils of self-representation with defendant, and in that discussion defendant made it unequivocally clear that he wanted to represent himself.
One week after the trial court had granted his motion to represent himself, defendant asked for a 60-day continuance to prepare for trial. The court granted the request and set the trial for April 23, 1990. On March 9, however, defendant asked for an additional six-month continuance. Defendant complained that he had not been put in a pro. per. cell with access to law books and writing implements until February 23; that his former investigator, Thomas, had done little work; and that he did not receive necessary funding until March 13, 1990. The prosecutor pointed out that Attorney Chambers and the new defense investigator, Atwell, had been working on the case for months. Funding of $54,081.25 had been approved on February 7. The court noted that defendant would have the benefit of pretrial motions prepared by Grossberg. It noted also that defendant had been placed in the pro. per. cell 60 days before trial, and that he would probably have at least 90 days before opening statements at the trial. (The actual time before opening statements was 105 days.) The court then denied the request. The granting or denial of a motion for continuance rests within the sound discretion of the trial court. ( People v. Mickey (1991) 54 Cal.3d 612, 660, 286 Cal. Rptr. 801, 818 P.2d 84.) Here considerable work had been done to prepare for trial at the time of defendant's motion, and although much remained to be done, defendant had 60 days remaining in which to prepare. He had funding, an active investigator, and advisory counsel who was familiar with the case. The trial court's ruling was not an abuse of discretion.
Before looking to the specific instances of ineffective assistance claimed by defendant, we address the Attorney General's preemptive contention that there is no right to advisory counsel ( People v. Clark (1992) 3 Cal.4th 41, 111, 10 Cal.Rptr.2d 554, 833 P.2d 561; People v. Bloom (1989) 48 Cal.3d 1194, 1218, 259 Cal.Rptr. 669, 774 P.2d 698; see McKaskle v. Wiggins (1984) 465 U.S. 168, 183, 104 S.Ct. 944, 79 L.Ed.2d 122), and therefore defendant cannot complain if advisory counsel's performance falls below professional standards. Respondent cites three federal cases that have rejected a contention of ineffective assistance of standby counsel, the federal equivalent of advisory counsel: United States v. Schmidt (2d Cir.1997) 105 F.3d 82, 90; United States v. Cochrane (9th Cir.1993) 985 F.2d 1027, 1029; and United States v. Windsor (7th Cir.1992) 981 F.2d 943, 946-947. Each of these decisions, however, left open the possibility that on different facts the federal court might allow a pro se defendant to challenge the performance of standby counsel. California decisions, however, provide a narrow and limited range within which a defendant can raise the issue of ineffectiveness of advisory counsel. In People v. Hamilton (1989) 48 Cal.3d 1142, at footnote 14 on pages 1164-1165, 259 Cal.Rptr. 701, 774 P.2d 730, we said that [o]n posttrial review, ... a self-represented defendant may only raise those narrow claims of `ineffective assistance' which arise directly from assisting counsel's breach of the limited authority and responsibilities counsel has assumed. In People v. Bloom, supra, 48 Cal.3d at pages 1226-1227, 259 Cal.Rptr. 669, 774 P.2d 698, we explained that: To prevail on a claim that counsel acting in an advisory or other limited capacity has rendered ineffective assistance, a self-represented defendant must show that counsel failed to perform competently within the limited scope of the duties assigned to or assumed by counsel [citations] and that a more favorable verdict was reasonably probable in the absence of counsel's failings [citations]. A self-represented defendant may not claim ineffective assistance on account of counsel's omission to perform an act within the scope of duties the defendant voluntarily undertook to perform personally at trial. Our recent decision in People v. Lawley (2002) 27 Cal.4th 102, 145, 115 Cal.Rptr.2d 614, 38 P.3d 461 confirmed that when advisory counsel is appointed the defendant is entitled to expect professionally competent assistance within the narrow scope of advisory counsel's proper role. We find no reason to reconsider that analysis. The record here, however, is insufficient to establish ineffective assistance of advisory counsel. We have repeatedly emphasized that a claim of ineffective assistance is more appropriately decided in a habeas corpus proceeding. ( People v. Mendoza Tello (1997) 15 Cal.4th 264, 266-267, 62 Cal.Rptr.2d 437, 933 P.2d 1134; People v. Wilson (1992) 3 Cal.4th 926, 936, 13 Cal.Rptr.2d 259, 838 P.2d 1212; People v. Pope (1979) 23 Cal.3d 412, 426, 152 Cal.Rptr. 732, 590 P.2d 859.) The defendant must show that counsel's action or inaction was not a reasonable tactical choice, and in most cases `the record on appeal sheds no light on why counsel acted or failed to act in the manner challenged ( People v. Mendoza Tello, supra, at p. 266, 62 Cal.Rptr.2d 437, 933 P.2d 1134; People v. Wilson, supra, at p. 936, 13 Cal.Rptr.2d 259, 838 P.2d 1212; People v. Pope, supra, at p. 426, 152 Cal. Rptr. 732, 590 P.2d 859.) Moreover, when, as here, a defendant has chosen self-representation, the defendant has the power to make the tactical decisions. Thus when a defendant raises an issue of effective assistance of advisory counsel, defendant must also show that counsel's challenged action or inaction was not the result of the defendant's own decision, with advisory counsel merely carrying out defendant's directions. Finally, in ruling on the merits of a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, the appellate court may need to assess the cumulative effect of several claimed deficiencies, which is difficult if discussion is fragmented between the appeal and the habeas corpus petition. [6] Defendant argues that his advisory counsel was incompetent on five grounds:
(2) Chambers's cross-examination of Mark Herbert and Velinda Davis elicited negative testimony that defendant had sold methamphetamine to Herbert and that Davis did not believe that defendant's girlfriend, Christina, had so much influence over defendant that he would kill for her. (3) Chambers failed to object to instances of prosecutorial misconduct. Defendant points in particular to the prosecutor's cross-examination of Christina about the incident where she and defendant had been arrested for illegal possession of knives, and evidence that defendant had beaten Christina and once had left her bound for several hours. Some of the evidence about defendant's beating Christina was ultimately excluded by the trial court on its own motion, and the jury was directed to disregard it. (4) Chambers's cross-examination of witnesses, and his closing argument, fell below professional standards. Defendant objects in particular to Chambers's concession in closing argument that defendant was guilty of first degree murder, even though Chambers went on to argue against special circumstance findings. (5) Counsel failed to object on the right grounds when, after a prosecution witness, criminologist William Chisum, testified that he did not know how many knives were used in the murder, the prosecutor asked him if he had talked to defendant about where the knives might be. Chambers did object to the question as argumentative, and the objection was sustained. Defendant's claim on appeal is that Chambers should also have objected that the question sought an unconstitutional comment on defendant's decision not to testify, a form of objection that might preserve a federal constitutional issue that could be raised in a federal habeas corpus proceeding. The appellate record does not disclose advisory counsel Chambers's reasons for any of these alleged derelictions, nor whether he was acting under defendant's direction. The latter point is particularly relevant to Chambers's concession in closing argument of defendant's guilt of first degree murder, because in a discussion outside the jury's presence defendant had personally told the trial court he admitted guilt of first degree murder and asked the court to limit the trial to the issue of special circumstances. Because the record on appeal does not show Chambers's reasons for any of the challenged actions, nor whether he was acting under defendant's direction, we conclude that all the competency of counsel issues should be raised by petition for habeas corpus, instead of on appeal.