Opinion ID: 1571490
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Penalty-Phase Ineffectiveness

Text: To succeed in an ineffective assistance of penalty phase counsel claim, the claimant must demonstrate that counsel performed deficiently and that such deficiency prejudiced his defense. Hannon v. State, 941 So.2d 1109, 1124 (2006) (citing Strickland, 466 U.S. at 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052). Prejudice, in the context of penalty phase errors, is shown where, absent the errors, there is a reasonable probability that the balance of aggravating and mitigating circumstances would have been different or the deficiencies substantially impair confidence in the outcome of the proceedings. Gaskin v. State, 737 So.2d 509, 516 n. 14 (Fla.1999), receded from on other grounds by Nelson v. State, 875 So.2d 579, 582-83 (Fla.2004). As previously stated, ineffectiveness claims present mixed questions of law and fact. With regard to factual questions, we defer to the findings of the trial court so long as they are based upon competent, substantial evidence. In contrast, we review de novo related questions of law. See, e.g., Stephens v. State, 748 So.2d 1028, 1031-33 (Fla.1999). We presume that counsel acted effectively and we likewise endeavor to avoid the pitfalls of hindsight bias. Thus, the burden is on the defendant to affirmatively satisfy both prongs of the Strickland framework. See Darling v. State, 966 So.2d 366, 376-77 (Fla.2007); Maxwell, 490 So.2d at 932.
This claim primarily consists of a recrafted version of Lynch's first guilt-phase ineffectiveness subclaim combined with allegations related to mental-health mitigation, through which Lynch contends that he would not have waived a penalty-phase jury had counsel adequately informed him of the elements of and defenses to the charged offenses along with his diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment. However, as previously stated, trial counsel did discuss the elements of and legal defenses to first-degree murder, armed burglary, and kidnapping with Lynch. Competent, substantial evidence supports the conclusion that no valid defenses existed in this case. See analysis in Part II.A.i, supra. Additionally, as explained in later portions of our analysis, Lynch's mild cognitive impairment has not affected his ability to lead an otherwise normal life, he is of average overall intelligence, and he has never connected this impairment to his actions on March 5, 1999, or his decisions with regard to how to best proceed in this case. See analysis in Parts II.B.ii and II.E.ii, infra. Therefore, Lynch's asserted ignorance of hypothetical, unsupported defenses and a comparatively minor mentalhealth diagnosis could not have affected his decision to waive a penalty-phase jury. Moreover, Mr. Figgatt testified that he discussed potential aggravators with Lynch before Lynch pled guilty and waived a penalty-phase jury. Second-chair trial counsel, Mr. Caudill, corroborated this statement. As explained above, trial counsel's less than complete guilt-phase factual proffer did not prejudice Lynch because both he and trial counsel were well aware of the fact that the State possessed the necessary evidence to prove his guilt for each charged offense. See analysis in Part II.A.i, supra. Counsel were justifiably concerned that this case involved a thoroughly planned and executed murder of a former lover and the accompanying murder of her minor daughter. Trial counsel's recommendation was a strategic decision to conduct the penalty phase with the court sitting as the factfinder. In the words of trial counsel, they were presenting this to a judge who wasn't going to be emotional about the fact that there was a death of a child, and the jury was going to be.  (Emphasis supplied.) Lynch has not demonstrated prejudice, and it is unclear how further discussion of hypothetical defenses, which did not exist in this case, and a comparatively minor mental-health diagnosis would have altered his decision to forgo a penalty-phase jury in favor of a potentially less emotional, highly experienced jurist. Accordingly, we deny relief on this subclaim.
Lynch also presents a penalty-phase subclaim that counsel failed to conduct a reasonably competent mitigation investigation and present evidence of cognitive impairment. We deny relief on this subclaim because Lynch cannot demonstrate that he has suffered any prejudice. With one major exception (Lynch's mild cognitive impairment) and several minor exceptions, the mitigation evidence and testimony that he presented during the postconviction proceedings may generally be described as only a more detailed presentation of the mitigation that was actually presented during the penalty phase. Darling v. State, 966 So.2d 366, 377 (Fla. 2007). During the postconviction proceedings, Lynch presented the lay testimony of Eugene Cody (his barber in Sanford, Florida), Edward Corso (Lynch's cousin by marriage), Danelle Pepe (Lynch's cousin), Vesna Lovsin (a former coworker who did not remember Lynch, but whom Lynch claimed was a former lover), Joseph Joyce (Lynch's landlord when he resided in New York), and George Kabbaz, Jr. (an acquaintance from New York whose father also knew Lynch). The testimony with regard to Lynch's personal history and background merely corroborated or slightly expanded upon penalty-phase testimony, and this Court has held that even if alternate witnesses could provide more detailed testimony, trial counsel is not ineffective for failing to present cumulative evidence. Darling, 966 So.2d at 377 (citing Gudinas v. State, 816 So.2d 1095, 1106 (Fla.2002); Sweet v. State, 810 So.2d 854, 863-64 (Fla. 2002)). For the most part, the postconviction lay witnesses simply provided slightly more detail concerning the fact that Lynch was (1) a geeky, weird kid, a Little Lord Fauntleroy, [12] which referred to Lynch's perpetually fastidious mode of dress; (2) Lynch did not have many friends; (3) Lynch did not have any girlfriends until he met his wife, Virginia Lynch; (4) Lynch was a peculiar, weird, quirky, strange adult; (5) Lynch's father was a strict disciplinarian; (5) Lynch was extremely close to his mother and spent much of his time with her; and (6) Lynch lived with his mother until his thirties and slept in a bedroom with his parentsand later his widowed motherinto early adulthood (Lynch had his own bed, and for most of this time, he and his parents resided in a one-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn, New York). During the penalty-phase proceedings, Dr. Jacquelyn Olandera forensic neuropsychologist and Lynch's mental-health expertprovided comparable testimony that (1) Lynch's father was a security guard who was laid off due to a disability and became a stay-at-home father, (2) Lynch's father was a very strict disciplinarian and required Lynch to report to him every thirty minutes, (3) if Lynch was outside playing, his father required him to check in at excessively frequent intervals, (4) if Lynch's father was not home, he required Lynch to sign a sheet evidencing his check-ins, (5) neighborhood children teased Lynch concerning his check-ins with his father, (6) Lynch's father inflicted significant abuse, (7) Lynch's aunt, cousins, and next-door neighbor reported a lack of positive interaction between Lynch and his father, (8) the family described Lynch as a caring individual but weird, strange, and rigid (9) Lynch's cousin, Danelle Pepe, described one instance in which Lynch was reading a magazine upside-down, (10) Lynch washed his hands and automobile excessively, (11) Lynch had a very close relationship with his mother, (12) when Lynch's mother attempted to run interference between Lynch and his father, the father would physically abuse the mother in Lynch's presence, and (13) Lynch lived with his mother into his thirties, and even for a short time after his marriage to Virginia Lynch. Dr. Olander's psychological report and penalty-phase testimony demonstrated a thorough understanding of Lynch's history and idiosyncrasies. Mr. Caudill testified that he and Mr. Figgatt made a strategic decision to present all mitigation through a mental-health expert because an expert possesses the ability to synthesize all of this information and to present it as one coherent whole, in a manner that is specifically tied to the events that led to the charged offenses. In contrast, trial counsel explained that presenting mitigation through lay witnesses has the potential to create a disconnect between a defendant's background or history and the events at issue (i.e., the charged offense(s)). Mr. Figgatt also testified that presenting mitigation evidence through Dr. Olander was beneficial to Lynch because the court likes to get to the point. As we have previously held, [c]ounsel's strategic decisions will not be second-guessed on collateral attack. Johnson, 769 So.2d at 1001 (citing Remeta, 622 So.2d 452). Further, even assuming that counsel performed deficiently by not personally contacting some of the witnesses suggested by Lynch, he was not prejudiced because Dr. Olander contacted and spoke with Lynch's immediate family before testifying during the penalty-phase proceedings, and Lynch's postconviction lay witnesses merely corroborated much of Dr. Olander's prior testimony. The remainder of the lay-witness testimony was irrelevant, cumulative, disputed, or contradicted. For example, (1) Danelle Pepe testified that Lynch and his mother bit their nails and that when Lynch's mother passed away, and hospital staff removed an IV from her hand, Lynch took a tissue, dabbed the blood from his mother's hand, and held the blood-soaked tissue next to his face like a snuggly (irrelevant and remote in time to the events of March 5, 1999); (2) Gene Cody testified that Lynch dyed his hair and was very sick when he visited Cody's barbershop during early March 1999 (Lynch offered this testimony as evidence of decompensation (i.e., stress-induced psychological deterioration); however, Dr. Olander testified during the penalty phase that Lynch was decompensating at the time of these offenses (cumulative)); (3) Edward Corso testified that Lynch's father was a racial bigot and that Lynch grew up in a safe Brooklyn neighborhood (irrelevant; cumulative); (4) Vesna Lovsin testified that although she worked at the same New York bank where Lynch was previously employed, she did not know or remember Lynch, and that she never had sex with or lived with Lynch (Lynch offered this testimony to support his claim that he suffers from delusions; however, Lynch never mentioned Lovsin to anyone, including the mental-health experts involved in this case, until 2005 (i.e., after this Court affirmed his convictions and sentences on direct appeal), and Dr. Olander testified during the penalty phase that Lynch suffers from delusional thinking (disputed; irrelevant; cumulative)). With regard to the non-mental-health documentary evidence that Lynch submitted during the postconviction proceedings, much of it was irrelevant or merely corroborated the personal, biological, and employment histories that Lynch self-reported during the penalty-phase proceedings. For example, (1) the trial court was already aware of Lynch's credit-card debt at the time of the offenses and how that debt related to the offenses (Lynch wanted to force Roseanna Morgan to repay the debt); therefore, the documentary evidence concerning credit-card receipts and statements was unnecessary; (2) Lynch's citizen's-arrest commendations were remote in time to the offenses involved in this case (early 1980s versus 1999); (3) the trial court was already aware of Lynch's employment history; therefore, his employment records were cumulative; and (4) the trial court was aware that Lynch was formerly a devout Catholic; therefore, his Catholic Church confirmation photograph was at least partially cumulative. The mental-health mitigation Lynch presented during the postconviction hearing is the only truly new mitigation evidence that he has provided. However, the mental-health experts agree that Lynch's frontal-lobe and right-hemispheric developmental cognitive impairment is mild, and that his condition is constant and static (i.e., he has likely suffered from this impairment throughout his life and he is not becoming progressively worse). Moreover, Lynch has not connected any cognitive impairment to the events of March 5, 1999, which, in contrast, reveal a carefully crafted murder plot. Lynch and the State disagree concerning whether this case is more similar to Orme v. State, 896 So.2d 725 (Fla.2005), or Darling v. State, 966 So.2d 366 (Fla.2007). In Orme, we stated that counsel has a duty to make reasonable investigations or to make a reasonable decision that makes particular investigations unnecessary, that the obligation to investigate and prepare for the penalty portion of a capital case cannot be overstated, and that the failure of counsel to investigate and present available mitigating evidence is a relevant concern along with the reasons for not doing so. 896 So.2d at 731(brackets omitted) (quoting Strickland, 466 U.S. at 691, 104 S.Ct. 2052; State v. Lewis, 838 So.2d 1102, 1113 (Fla.2002); Asay v. State, 769 So.2d 974, 985 (Fla.2000)). However, in Darling the Court stated: [D]efense counsel is entitled to rely on the evaluations conducted by qualified mental health experts, even if, in retrospect, those evaluations may not have been as complete as others may desire. Even if the evaluation by [a retained mental-health expert], which found no indication of brain damage to warrant a neuropsychological workup, was somehow incomplete or deficient in the opinion of others, trial counsel would not be rendered ineffective for relying on [the expert's] qualified ... evaluation. Darling, 966 So.2d at 377 (citation omitted) (citing State v. Sireci, 502 So.2d 1221, 1223 (Fla.1987)). In the instant case, Lynch's trial counsel originally retained Dr. David Cox, a neuropsychologist. Dr. Cox concluded that Lynch suffered from cognitive disorder NOS (not otherwise specified) and a possible paranoid personality disorder. Dr. Cox recommended further neuropsychological testing to determine the degree of Lynch's impairment. Trial counsel were not pleased with the style of this expert's report, which they felt (1) was amateurish and (2) did not properly connect the diagnosis to the events of March 5, 1999. Trial counsel later dismissed Dr. Cox in favor of another neuropsychologist, Dr. Jacquelyn Olander. Trial counsel did not inform Dr. Olander that Dr. Cox had previously diagnosed some level of cognitive impairment. However, trial counsel did inform Dr. Olander that they had previously retained Dr. Cox. Dr. Olander respected Dr. Cox, and she assumed that if Lynch suffered from a cognitive impairment, it would have already been discovered and reported by the previous expert. Dr. Olander also assumed that trial counsel would have informed her if Lynch had received an impairment diagnosis. Based on these assumptions, Dr. Olander did not conduct neuropsychological testing with Lynch, but rather conducted only psychological testing. Dr. Olander diagnosed Lynch with schizoaffective disorder, which is a combination of schizophrenic symptoms and a mood disorder. She specifically testified at trial that Lynch did not have any brain impairment. Consequently, in sentencing Lynch, the trial court was unaware of the fact that Lynch suffered from some level of cognitive impairment. During the postconviction hearing, Mr. Figgatt and Mr. Caudill conceded that they were aware that Dr. Cox had diagnosed Lynch with a cognitive impairment. Further, they admitted that they did not follow up on this diagnosis, did not inform Dr. Olander, and did not obtain Lynch's school records or other background information to corroborate that Lynch suffered from some level of cognitive impairment. Lynch's school records might have been helpful in this regard because they reflect a disparity between his verbal and mathematic abilities (verbal exercises are predominately left-brain tasks, whereas math exercises are predominately right-brain tasks). Thus, Lynch's relatively good grades in English and religion, as compared to his low grades in mathematics courses and mechanical drawing, could have assisted his mental-health experts in diagnosing and attempting to corroborate a developmental cognitive impairment. Relatedly, Lynch's standardized test scores also reflect a disparity. Orme is somewhat similar to this case in that Orme's trial counsel was aware that he had previously been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. 896 So.2d at 733. Despite this knowledge, trial counsel did not present any penalty-phase evidence concerning Orme's bipolar diagnosis. See id. at 733-35. Counsel also did not conduct follow-up interviews with Orme's family and friends to determine if Orme had exhibited behavior in accord with a bipolar diagnosis. Id. at 733. Finally, counsel did not inform his trial experts that Orme had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and... did not provide the experts with the prison medical records that would have shown the medications prescribed to Orme indicating such a diagnosis. Id. Orme's experts never knew that such a diagnosis had been made. Id. In Orme, we reversed the defendant's death sentence and remanded for a new penalty-phase proceeding. Id. at 736. The facts of this case are similar to Orme in some respects. With regard to mental-health mitigation, this case is not similar to Darling because, here, counsel were aware that a nontestifying neuropsychologist had diagnosed Lynch with a cognitive impairment, and they did not transmit this information to their testifying mental-health expert; whereas, in Darling, counsel chose between the competing opinions of two properly informed mental-health experts. See 966 So.2d at 377. Based on the fact that trial counsel knew Lynch suffered from some type of cognitive impairment and never fully investigated this condition, counsel were deficient during the penalty phase in failing to address and utilize evidence related to Lynch's frontal-lobe and right-hemispheric cognitive impairment. However, this determination does not end our ineffectiveness inquiry because counsel's error must have prejudiced Lynch. See, e.g., Orme, 896 So.2d at 735 (citing Stewart v. State, 801 So.2d 59, 65 (Fla.2001)). During the postconviction hearing, seven mental-health experts testified and agreed that Lynch suffers from a mild cognitive impairment. This included both the State and Lynch's experts ( Lynch: Dr. David Cox (neuropsychologist), Dr. Jacquelyn Olander (neuropsychologist), Dr. David McCraney (neurologist), Dr. Joseph Sesta (neuropsychologist), and Dr. Joseph Chong-Sang Wu (psychiatrist); State: Dr. William Riebsame (psychologist), and Dr. Jeffrey A. Danziger (psychiatrist)). However, the experts differed as to whether Lynch's frontal-lobe and right-hemispheric impairment, in combination with his alleged mental illness (schizoaffective disorder), qualified him for the mental-health mitigators codified in section 921.141(6)(b), (f), Florida Statutes (2001) ((b) The capital felony was committed while the defendant was under the influence of extreme mental or emotional disturbance. ... (f) The capacity of the defendant to appreciate the criminality of his or her conduct or to conform his or her conduct to the requirements of law was substantially impaired.  (emphasis supplied)). Drs. Cox, Olander, McCraney, and Sesta (Dr. Wu was not offered for this purpose) believed that Lynch qualified for the statutory mitigators, and Dr. Sesta stated that Lynch's frontal-lobe impairment is such that some neuropsychologists might have opined that Lynch was legally insane at the time of the crime, although he would not do so. Dr. Wu testified that Lynch's PET-scan results were consistent with frontal-lobe and right-hemispheric impairment because these areas of Lynch's brain exhibited reduced metabolic activity. Conversely, Drs. Riebsame and Danziger expressed the opinion that Lynch does not qualify for the statutory mental-health mitigators. Of these two State experts, Dr. Danziger's opinion is of much greater value because Dr. Riebsame eventually conceded that some of his psychological testing of Lynch was invalid due to the nonstandardized fashion in which the tests were administered. Dr. Danziger's explanation of Lynch's mindset on the date of the murders is the most persuasive of those offered during the postconviction proceedings: [Lynch] is someone who did not act in an impulsive fashion.... What we have here is two days before [the offenses,] the letter shows a murder/suicide plot. Earlier that day, according to his wife, he acted perfectly normal, he took care of his children, he dropped his son off. Nothing in his behavior suggested disorganization, psychotic thinking, agitation, a perfectly unremarkable morning in the life of Mr. Lynch taking care of his children and waiting for his wife to come home.... He then takes three guns in a bag, all of them loaded, drives over to the apartment complex, puts his car somewhere [Roseanna Morgan] can't see it as she's coming in[to] her apartment. What does this suggest? Planning, forethought, organization, not impulsive action, not a, I caught you in bed with somebody so I strangled you in the heat of the moment or without thinking. This is something planned and organized. He then waits, sees [Leah Caday], essentially follows her up the stairs and somehow either forces or cajoles his way in, holds her hostage, waiting however long, thirty, forty minutes, all of which at any time he could have changed his mind. This was not something that happened instantly but went on over this extended period of time. Of course then Roseanna appears at the door, shots are fired, he drags her in, administers the coup de grace, and then Leah gets hit. He then changes his mind on the suicide plan and then decides that he wishes to live. As I put all of this together, we have a man with no significant prior psychiatric history, no evidence of psychosis, no evidence of dementia, functioning perfectly unremarkably in his life. Thus, Lynch displayed organized, methodical planning in his perpetration of these offenses. Further, he displayed critical impulse control in electing not to inflict self-harm. During and after the offenses, Lynch explained his actions in a detailed, specific fashion. In this regard, this case is totally distinguishable from Orme. Orme had an extensive history of abusing alcohol and illegal drugs (cocaine and barbiturates), and he was under the influence of these substances at the time he strangled his victim. See 896 So.2d at 729-30. Further, these drugs interacted with his bipolar disorder. Id. at 733-36. In Orme, we concluded that [a]dditional testimony in support of the intoxication and its causes and effects may have warranted greater weight, and the resulting weighing of mitigation and aggravation would have been different. Thus, the fact that the jury did not hear the evidence of Orme's bipolar disorder combined with the jury's penalty phase vote of seven to five undermines our confidence in the result of the penalty phase. Therefore, we remand this case for a new penalty phase proceeding. 896 So.2d at 736 (emphasis supplied). The Orme decision hinged on the facts related to the defendant's bipolar disorder, which supported his claim that he was less culpable for the murder. The interaction of a bipolar disorder with the defendant's intoxication at the moment he killed the victim was the dominant and significant factor leading to our decision in Orme. In contrast, here, Lynch was completely sober when he killed the victims, and a mass of evidence demonstrates that he methodically planned the murder-suicide plot. Finally, with regard to a related demonic-presence argument, which Lynch raised as a basis for demonstrating emotional disturbance and hallucination, Dr. Danziger testified that Lynch stated: [H]e felt the presence of something evil or devilish. When [Dr. Danziger] asked him about it he said he really did not see anything, didn't hear anything, just had a feeling as if the hairs on the back of his neck were standing up.... That's not an unusual reaction with two deceased people in the room that you've just shot.... [B]ased upon what he told me, as well as all of the data I reviewed, I did not see anything suggestive of a psychotic process or any sort of psychotic diagnosis. (Emphasis supplied.) Lynch's reaction to the murders is thus wholly consistent with a realization that he had committed terrible acts. Lynch has simply failed to present any evidence connecting any cognitive condition to his behavior. Even if we fully accepted the testimony of his postconviction mental-health experts, there has been little to no testimony establishing that any impairment or schizoaffective symptoms contributed to his actions on March 5, 1999. Lynch had no prior history of criminal activity but by all defense accounts has always had this condition. Furthermore, he thoroughly planned and carried out his memorialized intent to murder Roseanna Morgan and then demonstrated critical impulse control by refusing to commit suicide. Cf., e.g., Hoskins v. State, 965 So.2d 1, 17-18 (Fla.2007) (affirming death sentence and stating, the facts show an element of planning [and] are inconsistent with a claim that [the defendant] was under the influence of an extreme mental or emotional disturbance. ... [Further,] there was no evidence that because of the frontal lobe impairment [the defendant] could not appreciate the criminality of his conduct at the time of the murder.); Robinson v. State, 761 So.2d 269, 277-79 (Fla. 1999) (affirming death sentence despite evidence of mild brain damage where no evidence existed that the defendant committed the murder as a result of his condition). Consequently, we deny relief with regard to this subclaim because Lynch has not demonstrated that the mitigation investigation and penalty-phase presentation of trial counsel prejudiced him. These factors do not satisfy the legal requirements necessary to produce the requested relief. The death sentences imposed by the trial court remain legally sound even after careful consideration of the mitigation evidence presented during both the penalty-phase and postconviction proceedings.
This claim also fails when couched in terms of penalty-phase ineffectiveness because Lynch cannot establish the prejudice required by law. We have concluded that the postconviction court's reading of the murder-suicide letter is supported by competent, substantial evidence and is more persuasive than that of postconviction counsel. See analysis in Part II.A.ii, supra. Lynch has not, and cannot, establish prejudice because a proper interpretation of the murder-suicide letter reveals that Lynch never intended for the transmitted communication to be confidential. To establish prejudice, the defendant must demonstrate that there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel's unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different. A reasonable probability is a probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 694, 104 S.Ct. 2052 (emphasis supplied). Even assuming that counsel had sought to suppress the murder-suicide letter, there is no reasonable probability that the result would have differed because, under an appropriate reading, the letter is nonprivileged and admissible. With regard to Lynch's phone calls to his wife during his commission of the charged offenses, the first phone call was not privileged because Caday was present during the conversation, the third phone call was similarly not privileged because Lynch's sister-in-law was present during, and participated in, the conversation, and the second and third phone calls were cumulative to other evidence and testimony. See analysis in Part II.A.ii, supra. Therefore, Lynch was not prejudiced in this regard, and we deny relief for this subclaim.
Our analysis in Part II.A.iv, supra, explains that the facts of this case are wholly inconsistent with accidental discharge and, therefore, we deny relief on this claim.