Opinion ID: 782701
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Failure to present mental health evidence during the guilt phase

Text: 31 In his brief before the panel, 9 Bryan contended that Freeman should have presented evidence of his mental illness during the trial's guilt stage in support of either an insanity defense or in support of a second-degree murder instruction. In particular, Bryan relies on a report prepared by Dr. Murphy for the defense in May of 1994 which indicates that Mr. Bryan suffers from a serious mental disorder which places into serious question ... his legal culpability in the crimes for which he is charged. Bryan asserts that this evidence, when coupled with the interview performed by Dr. Smith, evidence derived from CAT and SPECT scans of Bryan's brain, and the Eastern State Hospital records, casts doubt on his ability to form an intent to kill. 32 Bryan's arguments regarding the viability of a guilt-phase insanity defense are completely at odds with the testimony adduced at the evidentiary hearing conducted by the district court. To assert an insanity defense, Oklahoma ... requir[es] the defendant to show that at the time of the crime he suffered from a mental disease or defect rendering him unable to differentiate between right and wrong, or unable to understand the nature and consequences of his actions. James v. Gibson, 211 F.3d 543, 553 (10th Cir.2000) (quotation omitted). Despite the statements in Dr. Murphy's May 1994 report relied upon so heavily by Bryan, Freeman testified unequivocally that both Drs. Murphy and Smith told him that Bryan was not legally insane and that he relied on the doctors' opinions in formulating his trial strategy. 10 Freeman's testimony in this regard was fully corroborated by testimony provided by Hess at the federal evidentiary hearing. Hess specifically testified there was no medical evidence indicating that Bryan did not understand the consequences of his actions and no medical evidence that would provide a defense during the guilt phase of the trial. Instead of presenting a viable defense based on medical evidence during the guilt phase of the trial, Hess' strategy was to utilize the guilt phase to lay the foundation for a mitigation case at the penalty phase. 11 Accordingly, Freeman lacked the medical evidence necessary to present an insanity defense at the guilt stage of Bryan's trial. 12 33 Significantly, Bryan did not want his attorney to present evidence suggesting he was mentally ill 13 ; he was also apparently unwilling to accept a guilty plea to avoid a possible death sentence. 14 This court must presume that Bryan was competent to rationally assist defense counsel at trial, as he was adjudicated competent at the retrospective competency hearing. See Bryan III, 276 F.3d at 1169-72. The reasonableness of counsel's actions may be determined or substantially influenced by the defendant's own statements or actions. Counsel's actions are usually based, quite properly, on informed strategic choices made by the defendant and on information supplied by the defendant. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 691, 104 S.Ct. 2052; see also Romano, 239 F.3d at 1181 (collecting cases for this proposition). Although trial counsel has an independent duty to investigate and make a case in [defense], counsel also has to be responsive to the wishes of his client. Romano, 239 F.3d at 1181; see also Wallace v. Ward, 191 F.3d 1235, 1247-48 (10th Cir.1999) (concluding counsel's decision to acquiesce to petitioner's wishes that attorney not present any mitigating evidence during penalty phase was not deficient performance). Additionally, the prosecution's case, although strong, was almost entirely circumstantial. See Smith v. Gibson, 197 F.3d 454, 461-62 (10th Cir.1999) (holding defense counsel's innocence-based defense was reasonable strategy in light of circumstantial nature of prosecution's case). There was evidence admitted at trial indicating that Bryan's physical condition had so deteriorated at the time of the murder, due to his diabetes, that he was physically incapable of carrying out this crime. 34 Accordingly, based on the record before this court, it appears that Freeman had two options during the guilt phase of the trial. He could put the prosecution to its burden of proof, as he was specifically instructed to do by Bryan. Or, alternatively, he could present a non-viable insanity defense, as foundation for a mitigation case during the penalty phase, the very strategy that led to Bryan's termination of Munkres 15 and Hess. Freeman's decision to follow the former course—after meeting with the medical experts, reviewing all of the additional medical evidence, consulting with Bryan on numerous occasions, and noting the circumstantial nature of the prosecution's case and the evidence of Bryan's deteriorated health—is not objectively unreasonable. See Strickland, 466 U.S. at 690, 104 S.Ct. 2052 ([S]trategic choices made after thorough investigation of law and facts relevant to plausible options are virtually unchallengeable.). 35