Opinion ID: 2997111
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Analysis of Conner’s ineffective assistance

Text: claim Conner asserts that counsels’ performance during the guilt phase of his trial was both deficient and prejudicial based upon: (1) the decision to limit investigation into Conner’s mental health; (2) the decision to put the state to its burden of proof and to seek an acquittal, instead of presenting the defenses of intoxication or mental illness, or the lesser-included offense of manslaughter; and (3) myriad other alleged errors, including an overall lack of preparation and coordination of his defense; the failure to object to various pieces of evidence, the jury instructions, and the state’s closing argument; and the failure to argue in Conner’s motion to suppress his confession that the confession was unreliable. Similarly, Conner asserts that his counsels’ performance was deficient and prejudicial during the penalty phase of his trial due to: (1) counsels’ decision to limit investigation into his mental health and his family background; (2) the failure to present the mitigating circumstances of intox28 No. 03-1951 ication or mental illness; and (3) miscellaneous other mistakes, including the failure to object to certain evidence and the jury instructions, as well as counsels’ opening and closing arguments. Since Conner’s arguments regarding both phases of his trial are nearly identical, we will address them together, assembled into three general categories. First, we address Conner’s allegation that counsels’ investigation was inadequate. Second, we consider counsels’ choice of guilt and penalty-phase strategy. And third, we briefly discuss the remaining alleged blunders by counsel. Because, with one exception, we ultimately conclude the post-conviction court reasonably found that counsels’ performance was not deficient, we do not address Strickland’s second requirement, prejudice, with respect to the first two categories. And as to the third category, which is a veritable cornucopia of highly particularized complaints, we find that Conner cannot meet either requirement of Strickland with respect to alleged errors in defense counsels’ motion practice and alleged failures to object to certain evidence and arguments by opposing counsel; nor can Conner meet the prejudice prong of Strickland with respect to counsels’ failure to object to and/or proffer alternative jury instructions.
and family background With respect to assertions of inadequate investigation as the basis for an ineffectiveness claim, the principal inquiry as to Strickland’s deficiency requirement is whether the investigation, which justified or supported counsels’ subsequent strategic decisions, was in and of itself reasonable. See Wiggins, 539 U.S. at ___, 123 S. Ct. at 2536. In assessing counsels’ investigation, their performance must be reviewed objectively, measured against “ ‘reasonableness No. 03-1951 29 under prevailing professional norms.’ ” Id. (quoting Strickland, 466 U.S. at 688). Conner relies primarily upon the Supreme Court’s recent Wiggins decision to support his argument that counsels’ investigation was objectively unreasonable. In Wiggins, the Court held that investigation prior to the defendant’s sentencing, with respect to both its scope and depth (i.e., experts consulted, extent of research into known mitigating circumstances), fell below established professional standards of conduct, including the American Bar Association’s Guidelines for capital defense work. Id. at 2536-38. Defense counsel’s investigation in Wiggins relied upon three sources. First, a psychologist determined that the defendant had an IQ of 79, problems coping with difficult situations, and exhibited features of a personality disorder. Second, the presentence investigation report included a onepage account of the defendant’s personal history, noting his “misery as a youth,” quoting his description of his own background as “disgusting,” and observing that he spent most of his young life in foster care. Third, counsel obtained the Baltimore City Department of Social Services (“DSS”) records documenting the defendant’s various placements in the foster care system. Id. at 2536. Although funds were allocated by the state court to retain a forensic social worker, no further inquiries were made, and no social history was compiled by counsel. In response to the ineffectiveness claim, the state of Maryland asserted that counsel’s limited pursuit of mitigating evidence and counsel’s ipso facto decision not to present any mitigating evidence at sentencing (instead arguing that the defendant was not directly responsible for the murder) was a tactical decision. Id. at 2533-34. But the Supreme Court found that counsel deficiently abandoned their inquiry into the defendant’s background “after having acquired only rudimentary knowledge of his history from a narrow set of sources.” Id. at 2537. The Court reasoned that the DSS records alerted counsel to numerous 30 No. 03-1951 issues (like his mother’s alcoholism and his foster system record) in the defendant’s background which merited additional investigation because such was necessary “to mak[e] an informed choice among possible defenses.” Id. No evidence was uncovered, the Court emphasized, to suggest that a mitigation case would have been counterproductive. And counsel never abandoned the possibility of a mitigation defense, even entreating the jury at sentencing to consider “who [the defendant] is” and presenting evidence about the rehabilitation prospects of the defendant, thereby necessitating counsel to “develop the most powerful mitigation case possible.” Id. at 2530. Moreover, at the Wiggins PCR hearing, a licensed social worker certified as an expert by the court testified that the defendant had suffered severe sexual and physical abuse at the hands of his mother and while in the care of a series of foster parents—a fact the state reviewing court erroneously found to have been included in the DSS report. Id. at 2539. In addition, the expert testified about the extreme conditions the defendant endured first in his alcoholic mother’s home (including being abandoned for days and being forced to beg for food and eat paint chips and garbage, an incident where the defendant’s hand was held against a hot stove burner, and repeated instances where the mother had sex with men while the defendant slept in the same bed), then in the homes of various foster parents (repeated physical abuse, rapes, gang-rape, and molestation), and lastly as a runaway. Id. at 2532-33. The Court inferred that “[h]ad counsel investigated further, they may well have discovered the sexual abuse [and other extreme conditions] later revealed during state post[-]conviction proceedings.” Id.at 2537. Hence, the Court concluded that counsel’s failure to investigate thoroughly was the result of inattention, not reasoned strategic judgment, and held that the Maryland court’s determination that counsel’s performance had not been deficient under Strickland was unreasonable. Id. at 2537, 2539. No. 03-1951 31 Conner’s case is easily distinguishable. First, counsel did investigate both Conner’s mental history and family background. In addition to evaluations conducted by two court-appointed psychiatrists, which found Conner both competent and sane, counsel obtained funding for an examination by a psychiatrist of their own choosing, Dr. King. Dr. King subsequently did evaluate Conner. Counsel considered Dr. King’s findings and concluded that the report did not conclusively support a mental-health defense (the wisdom of which we discuss in more detail below). Second, unlike counsel in Wiggins, who focused upon challenging the defendant’s guilt during the penalty phase and failed to elicit more than a scintilla of mitigating evidence despite having promised the jury that evidence about the defendant’s difficult life would be presented, the focus of Conner’s counsel throughout the penalty phase was mitigation—including counsels’ opening statement, presentation of evidence, and closing statement. Third and relatedly, Conner’s counsel investigated and then presented extensive testimony during the penalty phase regarding Conner’s painful family history, alcohol abuse, adoption, and Conner’s positive qualities. And as we have previously held, trial counsel is not required to investigate the defendant’s past with the thoroughness of a biographer. Stewart v. Gramley, 74 F.3d 132, 135 (7th Cir. 1996). Fourth, unlike Wiggins, where the PCR hearing revealed extensive physical and sexual abuse which the court found was unknown to counsel at sentencing but which likely would have been discovered by counsel had they not shirked their investigatory responsibilities, Conner presented very little evidence at the PCR hearing which was materially unknown to counsel. With respect to the “new” evidence which Conner did introduce at the hearing— regarding the significant impact of Conner’s discovery of his adoptive 32 No. 03-1951 status, the extent of Conner’s step-father’s alcoholism, and his own use of alcohol—we cannot consider counsel’s failure to uncover it deficient performance since these facts were at least referenced and/or generally presented to the jury during the penalty phase by many of the same testifying witnesses.6 In summary, we cannot say that the post-conviction court unreasonably held that counsels’ investigation with respect to both the guilt and penalty phases of Conner’s trial did not fall below prevailing professional standards.
(A) Guilt phase Counsel challenged the state to meet its burden of proof at trial and sought an acquittal, in lieu of pursuing a mental disease or defect or intoxication defense. Counsel also opted not to advocate for the lesser-included offense of manslaughter with respect to the killings of Wentland and Moore. Consistent with counsels’ strategy, counsel pointed to eyewitness testimony that suggested Moore was actually responsible for Wentland’s murder and presented factual 6 And even if it was deficient performance, we could not conclude that the PCR court’s determination that Conner did not meet the prejudice prong of Strickland was outside the parameters of permissible legal opinion because (1) again, this information was in fact presented, or at least introduced, to the jury, albeit in less detail, at the penalty phase; and (2) the information is not as shockingly extreme or graphic in nature as that in Wiggins. As we stated in Eddmonds v. Peters, 93 F.3d 1307, 1322 (7th Cir. 1996), “a few more tidbits from the past. . . [thrown] onto the scale would not have tipped it in [Conner’s] favor.” No. 03-1951 33 disputes regarding Voge’s murder, indicating that Mark Via may have been the killer. Clearly, once counsel opted to challenge whether the state could prove beyond a reasonable doubt that it was Conner who had killed Wentland and Voge, then counsel would have been hard-pressed to concomitantly assert with any degree of legitimacy that, assuming it actually was Conner who committed these two murders, then he should be held less accountable because of mental disease or defect, intoxication, or because he was acting with “sudden heat” (one basis for the lesser offense of manslaughter, Ind. Code § 35-42-1-3 (1989); see, e.g., Olive v. State, 696 N.E.2d 381, 382-83 (Ind. 1998)). Moreover, we cannot say that the Indiana Supreme Court’s7 assessment that “counsel was not outside their bounds of discretion in deciding not to invoke an intoxication defense when, under the facts of this case and the law of Indiana, this defense was not likely to be effective[,]” 711 N.E.2d at 1250, was not at least minimally consistent with the facts and circumstances of this case, or was not at least one of several equally plausible legal conclusions.8 7 Here, we review the decision of the Indiana Supreme Court, as opposed to a ruling of the PCR court, because while Conner clearly raised this argument before the PCR court, we cannot find any ruling of the PCR court expressly addressing the issue. 8 It should also be noted that the trial court did, in fact, sua sponte instruct the jury as to intoxication. However, this is largely irrelevant to our analysis of whether counsel was deficient in foregoing argument and a more extensive presentation of evidence at trial as to intoxication based upon an assessment that such a defense would not likely be successful under Indiana law. Moreover, that the jury convicted Conner on all three murder counts notwithstanding the court’s intoxication instruction strongly indicates that even if it was error for counsel not to proffer an intoxication defense, Conner suffered no prejudice from this failing. (continued...) 34 No. 03-1951 With respect to a possible mental disease or defect defense, counsel determined, well within the scope of reasonable professional strategic judgments, that Dr. King’s evaluation on its face was not conclusively favorable to Conner and moreover, given the assessments of the three doctors who also evaluated Conner and found no mental health problems, a mental-health defense, if pursued, would open the door to potentially severely damaging rebuttal testimony from the state. Even the psychologist who testified on Conner’s behalf at the PCR hearing, Dr. Price, could not state that Dr. King’s evaluation was incorrect. Moreover, Dr. Price’s diagnosis was consistent with that of Dr. King’s, although it was more expansive. Given the quantum of evidence available to counsel at the time of trial, which included three reports indicating that Conner suffered from no mental disease or defect, and considering that Conner’s own expert at the PCR hearing could not point to any errors in the report submitted by Dr. King, counsel were justified in relying upon Dr. King’s report and in rejecting a mental disease or defect defense. Next we address counsels’ failure to advocate for the lesser-included offense of manslaughter with respect to the killings of Wentland and Moore.9 Under Indiana law, sudden heat requires “sufficient provocation to engender . . . passion.” Olive, 696 N.E.2d at 382. Sufficient provocation is demonstrated by “anger, rage, sudden resentment, or terror 8 (...continued) As to Conner’s assertion that the intoxication instruction as given by the trial court was legal error, we address (and dismiss) later in this opinion the many alleged problems with the jury instructions he provides as a basis for his ineffectiveness claim. 9 The lesser offense of manslaughter based upon sudden heat was a factual impossibility with respect to Voge’s killing, since he was shot by Conner while laying on a couch, and no prior argument had transpired. No. 03-1951 35 that is sufficient to obscure the reason of an ordinary person, prevent deliberation and premeditation, and render the defendant incapable of cool reflection.” Id. at 383. The record evidence does not even remotely indicate that Conner was acting with “sudden heat” when he killed Wentland. Evidence showed that it was Moore, and not Conner, who had been arguing with Wentland. Wentland attempted to flee the car and called for help, but he was pursued on foot by Conner who eventually grabbed him, beat, and stabbed him. These facts are not at all conducive to a “sudden heat” argument, see, e.g., Ellis v. State, 508 N.E.2d 790, 791 (Ind. 1987) (rejecting the contention that there was evidence of sudden heat where defendant not only fatally stabbed the victim, but continued to attack him as he lay on the ground). Consequently, the Indiana Supreme Court10 did not unreasonably determine that trial counsels’ decision to forego any request for a manslaughter instruction as to Wentland’s murder did not fall below prevailing professional standards. However, with respect to Moore’s killing, we do find that the Indiana Supreme Court unreasonably held that Conner failed to demonstrate that trial counsels’ decision to forego argument in support of manslaughter as a lesser-included offense was not deficient. The irrefutable facts presented at trial by the state of Indiana foreclosed any argument disputing that Conner killed Moore. And not surprisingly, at trial, Conner’s counsel did not attempt to cast doubt upon Conner’s responsibility for this crime. In essence, given that counsel—within the scope of their professional strategic judgment, see supra—opted to forego an intoxication or 10 Again, see supra note 7, we review the decision of the Indiana Supreme Court because, while Conner did indeed raise this argument before the PCR court, no ruling of the PCR court expressly addressed the issue. 36 No. 03-1951 mental health defense, no discernible theory of defense as to Moore’s killing was presented at trial. Hence, it was deficient for defense counsel not to advocate for manslaughter based upon “sudden heat,” if such an argument was at all plausible. Moore was killed, according to Conner, during the course of a heated argument between Conner and Moore regarding the appropriate course of action for the two to take following Wentland’s murder. Moore wielded a knife at some point during the confrontation. And indisputably, Conner had been drinking heavily prior to the killings. Clearly, had defense counsel requested a “sudden heat” manslaughter instruction, the trial court would have been legally obligated to so instruct the jury. See, e.g., Griffin v. State, 644 N.E.2d 561, 562 (Ind. 1994) (stating that the evidentiary standard used to determine whether a defendant charged with murder is entitled to an instruction on voluntary manslaughter is “not a high one: the instruction is justified if there is any appreciable evidence of sudden heat”) (quotation omitted). Therefore, counsels’ failure to do so was deficient, Conner met his burden with respect to Strickland ’s first requirement, and the Indiana Supreme Court’s contrary determination is objectively unreasonable. Notwithstanding this determination, we also find that the Indiana Supreme Court reasonably concluded that Conner did not meet his burden as to Strickland’s second requirement—that he was prejudiced by counsels’ aforementioned unprofessional error. In short, Conner failed to demonstrate that the jury would not have convicted him of murder even if counsel had proffered a “sudden heat” manslaughter instruction and if the trial court had given the instruction in its charge to the jury. The prosecution put forth overwhelming evidence showing that Moore’s rationality and self-preservation impulse were not overcome by emotion on the day of the killings. For instance, when Conner told his employer that he “had to off [Moore]” immediately following No. 03-1951 37 the shooting, his demeanor was not that of someone overcome by rage, anger, or any other emotions. In addition, Conner took numerous steps to cover up his crimes, including enlisting friends to help dispose of Moore’s body and then fleeing the state. Even if we disagreed with the state Supreme Court’s determination that Conner failed to meet his burden to show a probability undermining confidence in the outcome, certainly the evidence presented at trial was such that we cannot now say that this ruling was outside the boundaries of permissible differences of legal opinion. In summary, aside from our discussion of counsels’ failure to advocate for the lesser-included offense of manslaughter with respect to Moore’s killing, the PCR court’s and Supreme Court’s conclusions that counsels’ trial strategy was not deficient is at least minimally consistent with the facts and circumstances of this case, and hence, is not unreasonable. And regarding counsels’ deficiency with respect to Moore’s killing, we find that the Indiana Supreme Court did not unreasonably hold that Conner failed to demonstrate he was prejudiced by counsels’ failing. (B) Penalty phase Turning next to the penalty phase, as explained in detail above, counsels’ strategy was to “humanize” the defendant. This was a legitimate strategy in a difficult case. For the same reasons we noted above, counsel did not fall below minimum prevailing professional standards when counsel determined not to pursue mental disease or defect as a mitigating factor. And regarding intoxication and Conner’s family life, the record shows that counsel in fact offered extensive evidence of his alcohol dependency, his consumption of alcohol on the day of the murders, and detailed descriptions of his background from numerous witnesses. Conner’s argument as to these two aspects of counsels’ penalty-phase presentation amounts to an assertion that 38 No. 03-1951 counsel did not present enough mitigating evidence. But we must be particularly wary of such arguments, which essentially come down to a matter of degrees, and are not well-suited to judicial second-guessing. See Dowthitt v. Johnson, 230 F.3d 733, 743 (5th Cir. 2000), cert. denied, 532 U.S. 915 (2001). In short, we find the PCR court reasonably determined that Conner’s counsel were not deficient in pursuing a “humanizing” or mitigation strategy during the penalty phase, which included evidence of intoxication and his family background, but omitted mental health evidence.
Conner asserts in summary fashion all sorts of errors by counsel as to motions practice, the failure to object to certain testimony and portions of the state’s guilt and penaltyphase closing arguments, as well as the failure to object to or proffer alternative jury instructions at both phases of trial. To put it simply, with respect to the complaints regarding motions practice and alleged failures to object to certain evidence and opposing counsel’s arguments, it is impossible for us to say that the PCR court unreasonably held that Conner failed to meet his burden to show either counsels’ deficiency or, even assuming error, any discernable prejudice. See, e.g., United States v. Mutuc, 349 F.3d 930, 935 (7th Cir. 2003) (“[c]onsidering that a motion in limine is sought to aid counsel in formulating his trial strategy, the decision regarding whether to file such a motion is clearly part of the process of establishing trial strategy,” and because strategy decisions are presumed sound, simply the failure to make a motion or the affirmative filing of a motion, without more, is insufficient to demonstrate deficiency); United States v. Hernandez-Rivas, 348 F.3d 595, 601 (7th Cir. 2003) (stating “where an attorney’s mistake resulted in the admission of evidence that would have otherwise been suppressed, the outcome of the trial does not become any less reliable”) (citing cases). No. 03-1951 39 However, we will address at greater length the extensive number of alleged errors by counsel vis à vis both the guilt and penalty-phase jury instructions (i.e., complaints that counsel failed to tender instructions to the court and that counsel failed to object to allegedly improper instructions used to charge the jury). Critically, the propriety of the jury instructions was directly raised, considered, and subsequently rejected in Conner’s post-conviction attack. The state Supreme Court11 specifically found that (1) because Conner could have challenged the jury instructions in his direct appeal, but did not, these claims were forfeited, except to the extent that a fundamental error occurred; and (2) the instructions as given did not, in toto, amount to fundamental error. Conner II, 711 N.E.2d at 1246-47. In his habeas petition, Conner again challenged various portions of the guilt and penalty-phase jury instructions, including every error now alleged before this court. Conner III, 259 F. Supp. 2d at 760-61. The district court rejected all these claims, holding: (1) the claims were procedurally defaulted for habeas purposes because Conner failed to raise them in his direct appeal, Id. at 760 (citing Conner II, 711 N.E.2d at 1246); (2) neither exception to procedural default applied; and (3) therefore, the court need not consider whether, on the merits, Conner was entitled to a writ based on the jury instructions. Id. at 761. In the instant appeal, perhaps understanding the reality of procedural default, Conner does not challenge the portion of the district court’s holding which addressed his direct challenges to the jury instructions. Instead, Conner has shoe-horned these challenges into his ineffective assistance of counsel claims, and apparently hopes to have us consider his various protestations as to the propriety of the jury instructions on the merits, despite procedural default. We decline to do so. 11 For the same reasons we laid out in note 7, supra, here again we focus our analysis on the Indiana Supreme Court’s rulings. 40 No. 03-1951 Furthermore, because the Strickland standard and the one exception to procedural default potentially applicable to Conner’s habeas petition both necessitate a finding of prejudice, even if the merits of Conner’s ineffective assistance of counsel claim are addressed, there is no reason to depart from the district court’s (unappealed) determination below that Conner suffered no prejudice from any alleged errors in the guilt or penalty-phase jury instructions. As we explained many pages ago, when a claim is procedurally defaulted, a federal court can nonetheless consider the claim on its merits if a habeas petitioner demonstrates either (1) cause and actual prejudice; or (2) a colorable claim of actual innocence (a basis not readily at issue here, see Conner III, 259 F. Supp. 2d at 761). See, e.g., Coleman, 501 U.S. at 750. In Conner III, the district court bypassed an analysis of the “cause” requirement, expressly held that “[t]he instructions to which Conner objected in Conner II, when viewed in conjunction with other pertinent instructions, did not misinform the jury of its duty nor misstate the law[,]” and concluded—echoing the state Supreme Court’s similar conclusion—that Conner therefore had not shown prejudice stemming from the guilt or penalty-phase jury instructions. 259 F. Supp. 2d at 761. Jury instructions are properly considered in their entirety whether alleged as the basis for overcoming procedural default, or as the basis for an ineffective assistance of counsel claim. See Cupp v. Naughten, 414 U.S. 141, 146-47 (1973), cited in Perry v. McCaughtry, 308 F.3d 682, 689 (7th Cir. 2002), and Conner III, 259 F. Supp. 2d at 761. Therefore, the prejudice analysis laid out by the district court with respect to procedural default is herein dispositive as to Conner’s (in)ability to make the requisite showing of prejudice under Strickland, absent some salient argument by Conner to the contrary. Conner proffers no such argument, instead simply lists the guilt and penalty-phase jury instructions he takes issue with, and then conclusively No. 03-1951 41 asserts that the instructions are both unconstitutional and prejudicial. We are unpersuaded by this, and find no reason to upset the district court’s conclusion that, when viewing the instructions as a whole, Conner failed to demonstrate that he suffered any prejudice from the alleged errors in the instructions (irrespective of whether we would attribute such errors to counsel). In conclusion, we do not agree with Conner that counsels’ performance was deficient in any of the respects addressed above—motions practice, the failure to object to evidence or opposing counsel’s arguments, or the failure to object to or proffer alternative jury instructions. Furthermore, even if we did conclude that counsel was deficient in any of the aforementioned ways, we still could not deem the PCR court’s and the Indiana Supreme Court’s conclusions—that Conner did not demonstrate that all these errors created a reasonable probability undermining confidence in the outcome of the trial or penalty phases—unreasonable. We therefore agree with the district court’s denial of habeas relief with respect to Conner’s ineffective assistance of trial counsel claim, finding that counsel was not deficient in either their investigation or choice of strategy, holding that counsel’s alleged failures to object to evidence and argument were not unprofessional errors or the cause of prejudice to Conner, and further concluding that Conner suffered no prejudice from any alleged errors in either the guilt or penalty-phase jury instructions.