Opinion ID: 2826267
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Strickland Deficient Performance

Text: Cannon contends that counsel’s performance was deficient because they failed to inform him of his right to testify, prevented him from testifying when he attempted to do so, and wrongly told him that certain damaging evidence would be admitted for impeachment purposes if he were to testify. The district court found that Cannon failed to establish the factual predicate of his first two contentions, and that counsel’s advice concerning the impeachment evidence was legally correct. Our independent review of the record finds no reason to supplant either the district court’s factual or legal findings. -28-
At the evidentiary hearing, Cannon testified that trial counsel did not inform him of his right to testify and that they prevented him from testifying at trial when he attempted to do so. Although neither of Cannon’s counsel could explicitly remember telling Cannon about his right to testify, both testified that they did recall discussing the pros and cons of testifying with Cannon and both stated they always and without exception inform clients of the right to testify. Both also denied preventing Cannon from testifying. The district court found that Cannon’s testimony was not credible for a number of reasons. The court found that Cannon’s testimony contradicted other evidence and his own earlier statements, and that he was evasive on crossexamination and had an overly selective memory when it came to helpful and harmful facts. Given his extensive involvement in his defense, the court also found it unlikely that Cannon would have passively accepted any attempt to prevent him from testifying. “Credibility, of course, is a matter for the district court, not this court.” United States v. Draper, 24 F.3d 83, 85 (10th Cir. 1994). “[O]nly the trial judge can be aware of the variations in demeanor and tone of voice that bear so heavily on the listener’s understanding of and belief in what is said.” Anderson v. Bessemer City, 470 U.S. 564, 575 (1985). As a result, a trial judge’s “decision to credit the testimony of one of two or more witnesses, each of whom has told a coherent and facially plausible story that is not contradicted by -29- extrinsic evidence, . . . can virtually never be clear error.” Id. Having determined that Cannon was not credible, the district court considered the testimony of trial counsel and concluded Cannon had not met his burden of proving that counsel provided ineffective assistance concerning his right to testify. In resisting the district court’s conclusions, Cannon first argues that because neither of his lawyers could specifically remember informing him of his right to testify, the district court necessarily erred by refusing to accept his uncontroverted testimony to the contrary. We disagree. Both of Cannon’s lawyers testified that they always and without exception informed defendants of their right to testify and we find no error in the district court’s decision to credit trial counsel’s testimony on this point. In response, Cannon argues that counsel’s testimony concerning their standard practices should not have been assigned significant weight because, in normal circumstances, the testimony would not have been admissible under Federal Rule of Evidence 406. 8 Rule 406 allows the admission of evidence concerning habits or routine practices, provided that sufficient foundation has been laid to establish their consistent application. More specifically, Cannon objects that neither of his attorneys testified as to how many 8 Because he elicited the testimony, Cannon does not challenge its admission, only its weight. -30- trials she had participated in, thus depriving the court of the ability to determine whether the claimed habit should be given any weight. Again, we cannot find that the district court clearly erred in its decision to credit trial counsel’s testimony over Cannon’s. Both attorneys were experienced public defenders, one of whom is the head of capital litigation with the Tulsa County Public Defenders Office and has been with that office since 1987. Cannon’s other attorney worked with that same office for over ten years. Given (1) their backgrounds and experience, (2) the presumption that counsel rendered adequate assistance, Strickland, 466 U.S. at 690, and (3) the district court’s finding on credibility, Cannon has not established that counsel failed to inform him of his right to testify. We likewise reject Cannon’s challenge to the district court’s finding that he failed to prove trial counsel thwarted his attempts to testify. Both of Cannon’s trial counsel unequivocally denied telling him that he could not testify and denied preventing him from doing so. One even confirmed this point in a letter she sent to Cannon during the post-trial appeal in which she stated, “I cannot swear out an affidavit claiming I would not let you testify, because I never told you that you couldn’t testify and I don’t recall you informing me you wanted to testify.” R., Vol. I, Doc. 218, Ex. 4. The district court also reasonably found Cannon was engaged in his defense and would not have passively accepted a refusal to allow him to testify had it occurred. In short, we see no reason to overturn the district -31- court’s decision to credit counsel’s testimony that Cannon knowingly and voluntarily declined to testify, 9 and reject Cannon’s testimony to the contrary.
Cannon’s second example of deficient performance is his claim that counsel incorrectly told him that if he testified he would be impeached with evidence showing a prior conviction for assault and with details of his recent escape from lawful custody. More specifically, Cannon had been convicted of assault and battery with intent to kill in 1991; a conviction which earned him a fifteen-year prison sentence. While serving that sentence, and shortly before his arrest in this case, Cannon escaped from Oklahoma Department of Corrections custody while participating in a work program. Cannon claims counsel incorrectly told him these facts would be admissible if he testified. In addition, Cannon claims counsel entered an agreement with the prosecutor in which the state agreed it would not introduce evidence of the prior conviction or escape unless Cannon testified. He contends he was never informed of this agreement and that this prevented him from knowingly and voluntarily waiving his right to testify. 9 Cannon also tangentially argues a waiver of the right to testify is ineffective unless made on the record. Nothing in this circuit, or any other, however, requires defendants to waive their right to testify on the record and we decline to adopt such a rule now. To the contrary, requiring judges to question each non-testifying defendant about his decision not to testify may result in defendants feeling pressured to give up their right not to testify. See United States v. Pennycooke, 65 F.3d 9, 13 (3d Cir. 1995). -32- The district court found that counsel provided effective assistance when they told Cannon that his prior conviction would be admissible. Under Oklahoma law, a prior felony conviction is admissible for its impeachment value if its “probative value of the evidence outweighs its prejudicial effect.” Cline v. State, 782 P.2d 399, 400 (Okla. Crim. App. 1989). In making this evaluation, the court considers: “1. The impeachment value of the prior crime; 2. The point in time of the conviction and the witness’ [sic] subsequent history; 3. The similarity between the past crime and the charged crime; 4. The importance of the defendant’s testimony; and 5. The centrality of the credibility issue.” Id. The district court concluded the prior conviction would have been admissible for impeachment. We agree. Factors two and five point in favor of admissibility. The prior crime was, at the time of the trial, relatively recent and Cannon’s credibility was crucial for the jury to assess whether or not it believed his self-defense argument. Factors one and four cut both ways. Although the relationship between a crime of violence and truthfulness is somewhat attenuated, the OCCA has repeatedly upheld the introduction of assault and battery convictions for their impeachment value. See, e.g., Shipman v. State, 639 P.2d 1248 (Okla. Crim. App. 1982) (defendant charged with first-degree manslaughter); Campbell v. State, 636 P.2d 352 (Okla. Crim. App. 1981) (defendant charged with first-degree murder). As for factor four, although Cannon’s testimony was naturally important, he was able -33- to introduce his version of events through other witnesses without testifying. Factor three cautions against admissibility. At bottom, competent counsel could conclude the evidence would likely be admitted on cross-examination if Cannon testified. Moreover, the damage the evidence would cause militated toward the strategy chosen—Cannon would not testify and his theory of self-defense would come in through the testimony of a police detective who spoke to Cannon before his arrest. Counsel’s advice on Cannon’s escape presents an easier question. Cannon’s own recorded statement indicated that he was afraid that the victim planned to turn him in to police once he left her apartment. The escape would have been admissible as evidence of Cannon’s motive to kill Ms. Clark. Of course, motive evidence could have been introduced even without Cannon testifying in his defense. But his counsel were able to enter into an agreement with the prosecution by which the state would not attempt to enter evidence of the escape or the prior conviction unless Cannon testified. Cannon asserts that he was never informed of this agreement and argues that counsel’s failure to tell him about it prevented him from making a knowing and voluntary waiver of his right to testify. But Cannon was correctly informed that if—and only if—he chose to testify, the state would seek to admit evidence of his prior felony and escape, and would likely be successful in doing so. Even if he were not informed of the details of any agreement, his counsel provided -34- constitutionally sufficient advice for him to knowingly evaluate his right to testify. In sum, we cannot conclude that counsel’s performance was constitutionally deficient or that Cannon’s waiver was involuntary. He was adequately informed of the consequences that would result from testifying.