Opinion ID: 704006
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Alternate Cuyler Holding

Text: 127 Finally, even if this en banc court has erred in suggesting that attorney conflicts of interest, apart from the multiple representation context, should be governed by the Strickland standard, we conclude that Beets's claim also fails to garner relief under Cuyler. Because there was no objection at trial to either of the alleged conflicts, Beets had to establish the existence of an actual conflict that adversely affected her lawyer's performance. Cuyler, 446 U.S. at 348, 100 S.Ct. at 1718. 128 The panel opinion first concluded there was no actual conflict of a witness/advocate nature because, as was shown in the preceding section, Andrews's testimony was cumulative of other defense evidence and not materially more helpful to Beets. The panel also concluded that Beets alleged, at most, a merely hypothetical or speculative witness/advocate conflict, which did not materialize into an actual conflict that forced Andrews to choose between his self-interest and his duty to Beets. See Stevenson v. Newsome, 774 F.2d 1558, 1561-62 (11th Cir.1985), cert. denied, 475 U.S. 1089, 106 S.Ct. 1476, 89 L.Ed.2d 731 (1986) (To establish an actual conflict [i]t must be demonstrated that the attorney 'made a choice between possible alternative courses of action, ... If he did not make such a choice, the conflict remained hypothetical.' ) (citations omitted); United States v. Litchfield, 959 F.2d 1514, 1518 (10th Cir.1992); United States v. Acevedo, 891 F.2d 607, 610 (7th Cir.1989); United States v. Horton, 845 F.2d 1414, 1419 (7th Cir.1988). The panel observed that Beets never proved that the potential conflict of interest developed into an actual conflict of interest. 129 The dissent has agreed that a witness/advocate conflict alone is not the sort that even under their approach should be governed by a Cuyler inquiry. Because the entire court subscribes to the application of Strickland to this type of conflict, we are in agreement that Beets has not established a constitutional violation. 130 As to the media rights contract, there was no actual conflict under Cuyler because, as the record abundantly shows and as two judges on the panel held, the potential conflict speculated by Beets never materialized into an actual conflict in Andrews's representation. The record does not demonstrate that the contract induced Andrews to compromise his zealous representation of Beets in favor of his own pecuniary interest. Absent a showing that Andrews nefariously chose to compromise his efforts in such a way, this court cannot conjecture otherwise. See, e.g., Stevenson, 774 F.2d at 1561-62; see also cases cited n. 20, supra. 131 The dissent also charges that the existence of an actual conflict inducing constitutionally ineffective assistance of counsel is a question of fact judged from an objective standpoint. However, the Supreme Court rejected this proposition in both Strickland and Cuyler. For instance, in Strickland, the Court explicitly recognized that 132 in a federal habeas challenge to a state criminal judgment, a state court conclusion that counsel rendered effective assistance is not a finding of fact binding on the federal court to the extent stated by 28 U.S.C. Sec. 2254(d). Ineffectiveness is not a question of 'basic, primary, or historical fact.' Rather, like the question whether multiple representation in a particular case gave rise to a conflict of interest, it is a mixed question of law and fact. 133 Strickland, 466 U.S. at 698, 104 S.Ct. at 2070 (quoting Townsend v. Sain, 372 U.S. 293, 309 n. 6, 83 S.Ct. 745, 755 n. 6, 9 L.Ed.2d 770 (1963)) (citing Cuyler, 446 U.S. at 342, 100 S.Ct. at 1714). Consequently, as with the related question of constitutional ineffectiveness of counsel, the federal district court's finding of an actual conflict inherent in the media rights contract is not shielded from appellate scrutiny by the clearly erroneous rule. 134 Finally, even if the media rights/witness conflict was an actual one, it did not adversely effect Andrews's representation of his client. 26 The dissent seeks to apply a three part test used by the Second Circuit in Winkler v. Keane, 7 F.3d 304 (2d Cir.1993), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 114 S.Ct. 1407, 128 L.Ed.2d 79 (1994), as the basis of its Cuyler analysis. The dissent thus argues that (1) there was an actual conflict for Cuyler purposes simply because of the existence of the media rights contract; (2) there was an adverse effect on Andrews's representation because he could have withdrawn and testified for Beets; and (3) the remaining question, which must be remanded, is whether the media rights contract caused Andrews to withdraw. Our disagreements whether there was an actual or potential conflict and whether the conflict should be judged from an objective or subjective standpoint are of academic interest at this point, however. Even if we agreed with the dissent's position on the first two Winkler issues, this en banc majority finds no basis for a remand for additional fact finding. The state courts did their job. Confronted with Beets's allegation that Andrews ineffectively represented her because of the media rights contract, Andrews filed an affidavit specifically denying the charge. The state trial courts specifically found that the contract did not affect his zealous representation. 135 This federal court must accord a presumption of correctness to that finding. Sumner v. Mata, 449 U.S. 539, 547, 101 S.Ct. 764, 769, 66 L.Ed.2d 722 (1981) 27 . Further, although the federal district judge declined to plumb counsel's subconscious motivation, he found no conscious effect of the media contract on Andrews's decision not to testify. As the court put it, Where there is no effect, there can be no adverse effect. There is no point in remanding to give Beets a chance to prove what she has not yet proved in state or federal district court. The media rights contract did not adversely affect Andrews's performance because it had no impact on his failure to testify. See Winkler, 7 F.3d at 310 (the court adheres to state court findings that contingent fee did not cause counsel's strategy decisions). 136 Accordingly, Beets has not established that she was deprived of constitutionally effective counsel under Cuyler because of the media rights contract or Andrews's dual status as witness/advocate.