Opinion ID: 178586
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Investigation of Social Background

Text: Crittenden also contends that trial counsel did not adequately investigate his history of childhood abuse and behavioral difficulties. Dr. Woods related that Crittenden had told him that his mother often used broomsticks, electrical cords, or branches from trees to beat him and kept very tight controls on him. An investigator retained for state post-conviction proceedings reported that Crittenden's younger brother had told her that he and Crittenden were physically beaten by their mother for the smallest infractions and constantly berated while growing up. Trial counsel's mitigation evidence presented during the penalty phase belies Crittenden's allegation of insufficient investigation and instead confirms the thoroughness of trial counsel's investigative efforts. Over 20 character witnesses coaches, teachers, employers, ministers, friends, parents of friends and Crittenden's entire immediate familyultimately spoke on his behalf. They uniformly said that Crittenden was polite, helpful, honest, hardworking, cooperative, courteous, kind, respectful and close with his family. [14] Trial counsel's duty to investigate . . . `does not necessarily require that every conceivable witness be interviewed.' Douglas, 316 F.3d at 1088 (quoting Hendricks, 70 F.3d at 1040); see also Van Hook, 130 S.Ct. at 19 ([D]efense counsel's `decision not to seek more' mitigating evidence from the defendant's background `than was already in hand' fell `well within the range of professionally reasonable judgments.' (quoting Strickland, 466 U.S. at 699, 104 S.Ct. 2052)). Unlike in Stankewitz, for instance, where we determined that counsel's investigation was inadequate, trial counsel here dispatched investigators to interview many people who spent significant time with [Crittenden] during his childhood and youth. 365 F.3d at 719; see also Wiggins, 539 U.S. at 524, 123 S.Ct. 2527 (holding that counsel were deficient for abandon[ing] their investigation of petitioner's background after having acquired only rudimentary knowledge of his history from a narrow set of sources). That investigation did not produce any tantalizing indications that would `lead a reasonable attorney to investigate further.' Stankewitz, 365 F.3d at 720 (quoting Wiggins, 539 U.S. at 527, 123 S.Ct. 2527). Hoptowit said he was not aware of any allegations that in fact Mr. Crittenden had been emotionally and physically abused by his mother. Strickland does not require counsel to continue [q]uestioning a few more family members . . . when a lawyer truly has reason to doubt that additional mitigating information will be found. Rompilla, 545 U.S. at 389, 125 S.Ct. 2456. Here, trial counsel's investigators spoke with family members and friends who had information about Crittenden's childhood and relationship with his family, but none of them reported anything that would have placed counsel on notice to investigate further. See Babbitt v. Calderon, 151 F.3d 1170, 1174 (9th Cir.1998) (`[C]ounsel is not deficient for failing to find mitigating evidence if, after a reasonable investigation, nothing has put the counsel on notice of the existence of that evidence.' (quoting Matthews v. Evatt, 105 F.3d 907, 920 (4th Cir.1997))); accord Douglas, 316 F.3d at 1088.