Opinion ID: 2612406
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Massiah/Henry issue; credibility of informant Acker.

Text: (38) Defendant criticizes counsel's failure to pursue a Massiah/Henry claim that informant Acker's testimony should be excluded because Acker was a government agent through whom the police deliberately elicited incriminating admissions in violation of defendant's right to counsel. (See Maine v. Moulton (1985) 474 U.S. 159 [88 L.Ed.2d 481, 106 S.Ct. 477]; United States v. Henry (1980) 447 U.S. 264 [65 L.Ed.2d 115, 100 S.Ct. 2183]; Massiah v. United States (1964) 377 U.S. 201 [12 L.Ed.2d 246, 84 S.Ct. 1199]; People v. Whitt (1984) 36 Cal.3d 724, 740-743 [205 Cal. Rptr. 810, 685 P.2d 1161].) Alternatively, defendant suggests that counsel's lapses prevented a successful motion to exclude Acker's testimony as unreliable, or at least undermined impeachment of his credibility, at both the guilt and penalty phases. Defendant also accuses the prosecution of violating its duty to disclose material evidence about Acker's agency and veracity. (See People v. Morris (1988) 46 Cal.3d 1, 30 [249 Cal. Rptr. 119, 756 P.2d 843]; People v. Ruthford (1975) 14 Cal.3d 399, 405-408 [121 Cal. Rptr. 261, 534 P.2d 1341].) We amended the original show-cause order to eliminate these issues. We thus implicitly determined that the petitions failed to state a prima facie case with respect to Acker. ( People v. Bloyd (1987) 43 Cal.3d 333, 363 [233 Cal. Rptr. 368, 729 P.2d 802]; see In re Hochberg (1970) 2 Cal.3d 870, 873-874, fn. 2, 875-876, fn. 4 [87 Cal. Rptr. 681, 471 P.2d 1].) As in Bloyd, supra, we briefly explain that conclusion here. The critical issue for Massiah/Henry purposes is the government's knowing exploitation of an opportunity to coax information from a formally charged suspect in the absence of his lawyer. ( Maine v. Moulton, supra, 474 U.S. at p. 176 [88 L.Ed.2d at p. 496]; see Whitt, supra, 36 Cal.3d at p. 742 [whether the state has created a situation likely to provide it with incriminating statements].) The accused's rights are not infringed by the government's mere acceptance of information gathered by an inmate on his own initiative, even if the authorities have a general policy of encouraging inmates to listen and report. ( People v. Williams, supra, 44 Cal.3d 1127, 1140-1141; Whitt, supra ; see also Kuhlmann v. Wilson (1986) 477 U.S. 436, 459 [91 L.Ed.2d 364, 364-365, 106 S.Ct. 2616] [police action must go beyond merely listening]; Moulton, supra, at p. 176 [no violation if government obtains information by mere luck or happenstance].) Acker insisted on the stand that he elicited information from defendant entirely on his own initiative, and without official knowledge, promises, or encouragement. Neither the trial record nor the results of appellate counsel's exhaustive habeas corpus investigation undermines this claim. There are, to be sure, ample indications that in the months and years after Acker's July 1979 conversations with defendant, Acker frequently informed and testified for the authorities, and that he received substantial benefits for his cooperation. However, neither the record at trial nor counsel's investigation discloses evidence that Acker's history of cooperation began before July 1979. [37] Absent evidence of direct motivation by the police in this case, or of a prior working relationship between Acker and the authorities from which such encouragement might be inferred, there is no basis to hold the police accountable for Acker's decision to question defendant. (See Whitt, supra, 36 Cal.3d at p. 744.) Thus, defendant has failed to state a prima facie case that evidence of a potentially meritorious Massiah/Henry claim was overlooked or withheld. (See Fosselman, supra, 33 Cal.3d at pp. 583-584.) [38] (39) Nor are we persuaded by defendant's claims that incompetence and prosecutorial misconduct materially impeded the defense effort to impeach Acker's credibility. At both trials, Acker disclosed he was under sentence for one murder, was implicated in other serious crimes, and expected protective custody in return for his cooperation. At the penalty retrial, Acker further conceded that by that time, he had informed and testified in several cases in return for protective benefits. Defense counsel's cross-examination on both occasions exposed evasiveness and inconsistencies in Acker's claims about the exact nature of his relationship with the authorities. The habeas corpus petitions disclose some information about Acker's criminal history that might have been but was not presented at defendant's trials. However, these additional details do not paint a significantly different picture of Acker's character and motives than appears on the record. (Cf. Delaware v. Van Arsdall (1986) 475 U.S. 673, 680 [89 L.Ed.2d 674, 683-684, 106 S.Ct. 1431].) Even if this information was overlooked by trial counsel or should have been proffered by the prosecution, its omission was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt and does not undermine confidence in the guilt or penalty verdicts. ( United States v. Bagley (1985) 473 U.S. 667, 674-678 [87 L.Ed.2d 481, 488-492, 105 S.Ct. 3375]; Strickland v. Washington, supra, 466 U.S. 668, 694 [80 L.Ed.2d 674, 697-698]; Chapman v. California (1967) 386 U.S. 18, 24 [17 L.Ed.2d 705, 710-711, 87 S.Ct. 824, 24 A.L.R.3d 1065]; Ruthford, supra, 14 Cal.3d at pp. 408-409.) The petitions also present information that, long after defendant's trials, Acker testified against his wife in return for reduced charges on Hawaii crimes in which the two were allegedly involved. Of course, neither defense counsel nor the prosecutor can be faulted for failing to foresee this development. Nor, again, was the jury substantially misled in the absence of such information. [39] (40) Finally, to the extent defendant claims Acker perjured himself with the prosecution's knowledge and approval, his allegations are also deficient. The petitions point to a number of contradictions in Acker's statements on the stand in this and other cases. However, one cannot state a prima facie case of perjury or concealment simply by showing inconsistencies in the witness's testimony. ( In re Waltreus (1965) 62 Cal.2d 218, 221 [42 Cal. Rptr. 9, 397 P.2d 1001].) Defendant's challenges to Acker's testimony thus assert no grounds for reversal or collateral relief.