Opinion ID: 147525
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Counsel's mitigation efforts and the evidence presented to the jury

Text: Phillips's counsel did perform some investigation into potential mitigating factors. Kerry O'Brien and Michael Edminister represented Phillips at trial, with Edminister handling most of the responsibilities related to the mitigation phase. The trial court appointed a psychologist, Dr. James Brown, to evaluate Phillips, and the court allowed Phillips's counsel to hire a mitigation specialist. Counsel retained the services of a former Akron police officer who, according to counsel, was the only available option with the resources available. In his efforts to acquire mitigating evidence, Edminister talked with Phillips's mother and father, at least one of his siblings and one of his half-siblings, his grandparents, neighbors, and former teachers. Edminister obtained Phillips's school records and reviewed some CSB records relating to the Phillips family. At the CSB office, Edminister met with the prosecutor and a CSB attorney and was given access to only five files, none of which he was permitted to copy. Edminister took handwritten notes about the contents of those files, stating that one of them was a very important file for mitigation purposes. Edminister's notes from what appears to be an interview with the Phillips family also indicate that CSB came out inquiring about possible sexual abuse of William, Sr. on daughter Tanya, but Edminister failed to confirm this in CSB's records. He never viewed CSB's other files on the Phillips family and never made any other effort to obtain access to those files or copy any of the materials. In Edminister's and O'Brien's conversations with Phillips and his family members, none revealed a history of abuse in the Phillips household. Dr. Brown, whom counsel provided with a summary of the case and Phillips's written confession, interviewed Phillips on four occasions and performed at least two psychological tests on him. He also interviewed Phillips's parents. He prepared a five-page report summarizing his findings. It noted that four of Phillips's siblings exhibit rather marginal adjustments to society and that, like Phillips's parents, three of Phillips's siblings had felony convictions. The report stated that Phillips showed signs of character deficiencies, such as emotional immaturity, underlying hostility and [an] inflexible approach to conflict, remarkably poor tolerance for stress and pressure, self-doubt, inferiority and feelings of incompetence, psychological inadequacy, and an extremely simplistic and immature view of the world. However, Dr. Brown concluded that Phillips was not mentally ill and did not suffer from a personality disorder. At Phillips's mitigation hearing before the jury, counsel called several witnesses to testify. A neighbor, Lonnie Bell, testified that Phillips was always respectful and would help him with household chores. Hazel Phillips, Phillips's grandmother, testified that Phillips was a normal boy who was generally obedient and helped her with chores around the house. William Phillips, Jr., Phillips's brother, testified that he and Phillips played together as children and engaged in normal activities, such as fishing, swimming, and camping. He also explained that Phillips was generally a good student without disciplinary problems and was good with younger children. Phillips's father, William, Sr., testified that Phillips was a good child with many friends. He testified that Phillips was always respectful to his elders and that prior to his arrest for the present offenses, Phillips planned to join the Army to become a diesel mechanic. William, Sr. acknowledged physically punishing his children when they were disobedient. On cross-examination, he admitted that he had been convicted for obstruction of justice and receipt of stolen property. Donna Phillips, Phillips's mother, testified that Phillips was a normal child who was helpful around the house and assisted elderly neighbors with chores. She stated that Phillips never drank, smoked, or used drugs. While he had no behavior or disciplinary problems at school, Phillips was intellectually slower than the other students. On cross-examination, Donna admitted that Phillips had been suspended from school several times for disciplinary reasons, including gross insubordination to a teacher and physically harming another student. She also admitted that she knew of at least one occasion when the defendant had struck Fae Evans. Donna acknowledged that she had a felony conviction for aggravated drug trafficking. Dr. Brown testified that Phillips came across as a rather simple, emotionally immature, psychologically inadequate person who harbored a lot of anger[,] felt frustrated very easily[,] lived with feelings of insecurity, inadequacy, and inferiority, and did not feel particularly connected with any people[.] Brown told the jury that Phillips experienced repeated frustrations in his life, which caused his anger [to] build[] up so that it comes out and it seems way out of proportion to what may trigger it. According to Brown, Phillips's IQ score was 87, which placed him in the low-average range, but he did not suffer from a mental disease, mental illness, retardation, or antisocial disorder. Brown stated that Phillips came off much more like a 12-year old. Brown testified that it was a little surprising that Phillips had committed this crime, since he had managed to avoid any previous criminal record even though he had grown up in an antisocial environment. Brown found no evidence that Phillips had been beaten or sexually abused as a child, but he found that Phillips manifested a poor tolerance for stressful situations. He explained that Phillips needed a structured environment with rigid controls, where authority and the consequences of not obeying authority were clearly delineated. Brown opined that Phillips could adjust well to prison. Phillips made an unsworn oral statement on his own behalf. Despite growing up in a crime-infested neighborhood, he avoided drinking and using drugs. He tried to be helpful to his family and neighbors. He denied that he suffered abuse during his childhood. He also indicated that he had never been arrested prior to the current offense and had only one previous minor brush with the police. Once he started dating Evans, he helped care for her two young daughters, and he gave them a dog as a pet. After his son was born, Phillips cared for him as well.