Opinion ID: 2272524
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 10

Heading: Trial Counsel Was Ineffective for Failing to Investigate and Present All Available Mitigating Evidence During the Penalty Hearing

Text: Appellant contends that trial counsel was ineffective because he failed to investigate and present readily available evidence of Appellant's child abuse, family dysfunction, mental health deficits, brain impairment, problems while in school, and complex and tragic relationship with the victim. [16] Appellant's Brief, 65, 77. Appellant also asserts that trial counsel should have introduced evidence showing that Appellant had a brain lesion removed in 1984, attended drug treatment programs, had a history of drug abuse, and the victim obtained an order of Attachment of Income against Appellant just prior to the slaying. Appellant's Brief, 77. Appellant also faults trial counsel for not interviewing and/or calling as witnesses during the penalty hearing his mother Agnes Miller, his sisters, Glenna Saganich, Linda Drew, and Brenda Sue Pennington, his brother Kenneth Miller, his daughter Barbara Miller, and the victim's sister Helen Pennington. Through these witnesses, Appellant claims, trial counsel could have convinced the trial court, sitting as factfinder, to enter a sentence of life imprisonment. During the penalty hearing, after the Commonwealth presented evidence that Appellant had been convicted of rape and victim-impact testimony from Appellant's daughter, Barbara Miller, Appellant presented the testimony of four witnesses, Dr. Gerald Cooke, Kenneth Miller, Deborah Miller, and Agnes Miller. Dr. Cooke, a clinical and forensic psychologist, testified that he examined and interviewed Appellant on August 14, 1997, taking from him a personal history and administering a battery of tests. During the interview, Appellant related that he was the youngest of eight children and that his father was an alcoholic who was abusive to his mother. Appellant often attempted to protect his mother from his father, which, according to the doctor, caused Appellant to have problems in school and with anger management. N.T. 10/2/97, 297. Regarding school, Appellant told the doctor that he dropped out in eighth grade because of trouble with his behavior. Appellant also indicated that he had a good work history having worked mainly as a heavy machine operator and a truck driver. Appellant admitted that he had a substance abuse problem that involved both drugs and alcohol that began in his teens. Id. at 298-99. Although Appellant stated that he underwent both drug and alcohol rehabilitation, Appellant told the doctor that he again took up both habits some months after undergoing treatment. Appellant admitted to Dr. Cooke that at the time of the incident he was injecting heroin daily and using methamphetamine occasionally. Id. at 299. Appellant denied having any significant medical history. Id. at 300. Appellant also related to the doctor that he had been arrested for assault on two occasions because of incidents involving his wife. One of the incidents, which resulted in Appellant's incarceration, arose when Appellant became angry because the victim reneged on a promise to seek help for her own drug and emotional problems. Id. Based on the testing he performed, Dr. Cooke estimated that Appellant's intelligence quotient ranged between 81 and 89. Id. at 303. Testing also revealed that Appellant had low self-esteem and a need to be accepted which led him to seek constant attention. Id. at 304. Dr. Cooke diagnosed Appellant as having a paranoid personality disorder with antisocial and explosive features. Id. at 305. He also added second and third diagnoses of drug dependence and alcohol abuse. Id. With regard to mitigating circumstances, Dr. Cooke opined that Appellant was incapable of conforming his behavior to the requirements of the law and that his use of drugs and alcohol [17] on the day of the incident played a role in the murder. Id. at 306-07. He also stated that Appellant could make an adequate adjustment in prison. Id. at 303. Finally, Dr. Cooke testified that he found no evidence that Appellant suffered from a thinking disorder or psychosis or any kind of major affective disorders such as major depression or manic disorder. Id. at 296. Kenneth Miller, Appellant's brother, testified that he often observed Appellant and the victim together and they seemed to be happy. Appellant also appeared to have a good relationship with his children. Id. at 319-20. Kenneth Miller stated that if Appellant were sentenced to death, it would greatly affect him and his family. Deborah Miller, Appellant's sister, testified that it appeared to her that Appellant and the victim appeared to be happy and that their relationship was good. Id. at 321. She also stated that when Appellant was released from prison, he appeared to be happy and relieved that he could reunite with his family. Id. at 322. Agnes Miller, Appellant's mother, told the trial court that Appellant was hard working and a loving father. Id. at 323. She stated that Appellant's children were having problems because of the incident and that if Appellant were sentenced to death, it would exacerbate those problems. Id. at 324. In addition, Agnes Miller's trial testimony was incorporated into the record for purposes of the penalty hearing. Id. at 286-87. At trial, she testified that Appellant's marriage to the victim was good at its inception but that it deteriorated because of drug and alcohol use. N.T. 9/29/97, 30. Agnes Miller denied having any knowledge that Appellant and the victim were violent toward one another. Id. at 33. At the evidentiary hearing, Appellant presented the testimony of several family members as well as that of various experts. Agnes Miller testified about the violence inflicted on her by her husband and Appellant's attempts to intervene. She also testified that there were problems in Appellant's marriage to the victim. She stated that Appellant's trial attorney did not ask her about her relationship with her husband or about the state of Appellant's marriage and that if counsel had done so, she would have agreed to speak to him. N.T. 10/28/03, 355-69. Agnes Miller conceded that the only time she saw Appellant act abnormally was usually when he was using drugs. Id. at 373. Barbara Miller, Appellant's daughter, testified about her parents and their relationship. She stated that they often fought because her mother complained about not having enough money to support the family because Appellant spent it on drugs. Although she was angry with her father, Barbara indicated that she would have testified for him at the penalty hearing had she been asked to do so. Id. at 376-93; N.T. 10/29/03, 397-414. Kenneth Miller testified that Appellant grew up in a household headed by a violent alcoholic father who took little interest in Appellant. The family was poor which further stigmatized them in the eyes of their schoolmates. According to Kenneth, Appellant began drinking at age nine and quickly graduated to using drugs. Kenneth also testified about Appellant's marriage. He stated that Appellant and the victim had a history of breaking up and reconciling, that they both used drugs, and that they grew apart from the Miller family as their marriage progressed. N.T. 10/29/03, 482-501. Kenneth stated that Appellant was able to hold a job and never exhibited any behavior indicating that he had mental limitations. Id. at 503-05. Appellant's sisters, Glenna Saganich, Brenda Sue Pennington, and Linda Drew each reiterated much of what Kenneth testified to concerning Appellant's home life. They all testified that they were never interviewed about Appellant's background and that had they been asked to testify about it, they would have been available to do so. Helen Pennington, the victim's sister, testified about the state of Appellant's marriage and stated that Appellant worked double shifts so that the victim could stay home, that Appellant and the victim sold drugs, that the victim had relationships with other men, and had an abortion after she was impregnated by another man. All of these witnesses testified that they were not interviewed and that they would have testified for Appellant if asked to do so. Appellant called two experts to the stand during the evidentiary hearing for purposes of establishing that trial counsel was ineffective in preparing for the penalty hearing. Dr. Carol Armstrong, a neuropsychologist, testified that she conducted neuropsychological testing of Appellant and found evidence that he suffered from brain impairment in the areas of motor control, verbal ability, and reasoning skills, among others. N.T. 10/27/03, 121-22. These deficits, according to the doctor, had an impact on his reasoning and judgment skills and affected cognition and behavior. Id. at 124. The doctor opined, to a reasonable degree of psychological certainty, that Appellant's brain deficits constituted an extreme mental or emotional disturbance and substantially impaired his ability to conform his conduct to the law. Id. at 129. Dr. Armstrong further testified that because Appellant was the product of a violent home, an abuser of drugs and alcohol, had a low I.Q. score, had trouble in school, had a motorcycle accident in his teens, and had a scalp lesion removed in 1984, trial counsel should have had Appellant undergo neuropsychological testing. Id. at 115-17. Dr. Julie Kessel, a board certified psychiatrist, substantiated what Dr. Armstrong stated, namely that Appellant suffered from a substantially impaired capacity to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law and that he was under the influence of extreme mental or emotional distress. N.T. 10/29/03, 548. She based her finding on Appellant's upbringing, substance abuse problem, brain impairment, and relationship with the victim, which according to the doctor, affected his impulse control on the night of the slaying. Id. at 535-37, 548. Trial counsel also testified at the evidentiary hearing. He indicated that he had no strategic reason for not seeking Appellant's school or drug treatment records. N.T. 10/27/03, 23, 25. He stated that he did not speak to Barbara Miller (Appellant's daughter) prior to trial because she was a young child and because he ascertained from other family members that she did not possess any useful information. Id. at 25. Regarding Appellant's medical records, trial counsel testified that after speaking to Appellant and other members of his family, he believed that he had been fully apprised of Appellant's history and thus had all of the information he needed. Id. at 30. When asked why he did not have Appellant tested by a neuropsychologist for brain damage when he was aware that Appellant was a drug user, trial counsel replied that he saw no evidence that would cause him to suspect that Appellant suffered from brain damage or mental infirmity. Id. at 40, 61. He based his decision on his interaction with Appellant, who was able to converse intelligently with him, on speaking with members of Appellant's family, and the contents of the report prepared by Dr. Cooke, who found Appellant did not suffer from any thinking disorder, psychosis, or any major affective disorders. Id. at 43, 56, 62-63. He also stated that he decided not to present a diminished capacity or intoxication defense based on his conversations with Appellant who provided details of the crime and his reasons for committing it. Id. at 45-47. Trial counsel stated that he had no reason for not seeking out and interviewing other members of Appellant's and the victim's family other than that he believed he had received sufficient information from Appellant and the family members to whom he spoke. Id. at 30. Finally, he testified that he decided that it would not be in Appellant's best interests to argue that Appellant killed his wife because Appellant grew up in a dysfunctional home and his father had abused his mother. Id. at 67-69. After considering the testimony presented by Appellant and his arguments in favor of the grant of a new penalty hearing, the PCRA court denied Appellant relief on his claim that trial counsel had been ineffective with respect to the penalty phase of the proceedings. The PCRA court determined that there was nothing of record, either from Appellant or from his family, that established that trial counsel knew or should have known about the [Appellant's] possible brain damage. PCRA Court Opinion, 6/30/07, 13. The PCRA court also concluded that Appellant had not been prejudiced by trial counsel's failure to investigate and present evidence that Appellant suffered from brain damage because the record is devoid of any evidence demonstrating that a mental impairment affected his judgment at the time of the incident. Id. at 13-14. Regarding the allegation that trial counsel had been ineffective for not interviewing members of Appellant's family and the victim's sister, the PCRA court declared that trial counsel had not been ineffective because the anticipated testimony of these witnesses would have been cumulative of testimony presented by Dr. Cooke. Id. at 30. The PCRA court further stated that trial counsel had acted reasonably in not premising Appellant's defense on the evidence relating to Appellant's abusive childhood and family history. The PCRA court noted that trial counsel did present such evidence and that counsel correctly surmised that such evidence would not have swayed the court to find that Appellant killed his wife because he grew up in a dysfunctional household and had been abused as a child. Id. at 30-31. With respect to the allegation that trial counsel should have interviewed Appellant's daughter and called her as a witness, the PCRA court ruled that trial counsel had not been ineffective for not interviewing and calling her to testify. The court held that she would not have been a helpful witness for the defense because she was very angry about her mother's death, appeared during the penalty hearing to disagree with trial counsel's argument that Appellant should not receive the death penalty, and testified for the Commonwealth during the penalty hearing. Id. at 32-33. The PCRA court further stated that trial counsel was not ineffective for failing to obtain and introduce Appellant's school, medical, and drug treatment records or the record of the support order. Counsel was not ineffective, according to the court, because Dr. Cooke testified to Appellant's low I.Q. and trial counsel knew about and introduced evidence of Appellant's drug problems. Id. at 31. It was not derelict of trial counsel not to obtain Appellant's medical records, according to the PCRA court, because there was no indication that Appellant suffered from a mental illness. Id. Finally, the PCRA court proclaimed that the failure to introduce evidence pertaining to the support order did not constitute ineffectiveness because there was no evidence of record establishing that Appellant knew of the issuance of the order. Id. The standards applicable to claims alleging that counsel was ineffective for failing to investigate and present mitigating evidence was recently set forth in Commonwealth v. Natividad, 595 Pa. 188, 938 A.2d 310, 331 (2007), as follows: As this Court has observed, the United States Supreme Court has held that the Sixth Amendment requires capital counsel to pursue all reasonably available avenues of developing mitigation evidence. Commonwealth v. Gorby, 589 Pa. 364, 909 A.2d 775, 790 (2006) ( citing Wiggins v. Smith, 539 U.S. 510, 521, 123 S.Ct. 2527, 156 L.Ed.2d 471 (2003)). Counsel must exercise reasonable professional judgment, and in examining counsel's conduct, we focus on whether the investigation supporting counsel's decision not to introduce mitigating evidence... was itself reasonable. Commonwealth v. Malloy, 579 Pa. 425, 856 A.2d 767, 784 (2004) ( quoting Wiggins, 539 U.S. at 523, 123 S.Ct. 2527, 156 L.Ed.2d 471). 938 A.2d at 331. In addition, this Court has stated: Strategic choices made following less than complete investigation are reasonable precisely to the extent that reasonable professional judgment supports the limitation of the investigation. In undertaking the necessary assessment, reviewing courts are to take all reasonable efforts to avoid the distorting effects of hindsight. See Commonwealth v. Basemore, 560 Pa. 258, 289, 744 A.2d 717, 735 (2000). Nevertheless, courts must also avoid  post hoc rationalization of counsel's conduct. Wiggins, 539 U.S. at 526-27, 123 S.Ct. at 2538. Sattazahn, 952 A.2d at 655-56 (citation omitted). Finally, the reasonableness of a particular investigation depends upon evidence known to counsel, as well as evidence that would cause a reasonable attorney to conduct a further investigation. Steele, supra ; see also Commonwealth v. Malloy, 579 Pa. 425, 856 A.2d 767 (2004) (holding that while counsel has a duty to conduct a reasonable investigation, reasonableness of investigation may be dependent on information supplied by the defendant). Appellant has not shown that trial counsel acted unreasonably by not interviewing and presenting the testimony of the witnesses identified above. Trial counsel did investigate evidence of Appellants childhood circumstances, marital relationship, and drug abuse, and introduced evidence pertaining thereto during the penalty hearing. In addition, trial counsel introduced through Dr. Cooke the witnesses who testified during the penalty hearing, and Appellants written background history and statement concerning Appellants life history, the abuse Appellant observed and was subject to while growing up, as well as evidence of his drug use. This Court has consistently held that trial counsel cannot be deemed ineffective for failing to present mitigating evidence that merely would have been cumulative of evidence that was presented during a penalty hearing. Commonwealth v. Whitney, 550 Pa. 618, 708 A.2d 471, 477 (1998); see also Commonwealth v. Abdul-Salaam, 570 Pa. 79, 808 A.2d 558, 562 n. 5 (2001). Consequently, Appellant cannot meet the arguable merit requirement of the ineffectiveness test. [18] In addition, Appellant has failed to establish that had trial counsel interviewed these witnesses and presented their testimony, a different outcome likely would have resulted. Appellant presented nothing that established that the trial court would have imposed a life sentence if only it had heard additional evidence of appellants childhood, drug dependence, and dysfunctional marital relationship. Appellant also cannot establish that trial counsels failure to obtain and review the various records identified above constituted ineffective assistance of counsel or that the PCRA court committed an error of law in ruling that trial counsel was not ineffective for failing to obtain that material. According to Appellant, trial counsel should have obtained Appellants school records because it showed that Appellant had an I.Q. in the high seventies to low eighties and thus was borderline mentally retarded. Appellants Brief, 81. Appellant ignores Dr. Cooke's testimony that he measured Appellants I.Q. in a range from 81 to 89, thereby demonstrating that Appellant, though of limited mental ability, was clearly not mentally retarded. Moreover, the fact that Appellant was able to hold jobs that required at least a modicum of skills demonstrated that Appellants school records would not have resulted in a different outcome had counsel obtained them and introduced them during the penalty hearing. [19] In view of the foregoing, Appellant has failed to establish that trial counsel acted unreasonably by not obtaining these records. Next, trial counsel cannot be faulted for failing to obtain Appellants medical records. Trial counsel testified that he received no information from Appellant or members of his family alerting him to the fact that Appellant had suffered any injury or had medical problems affecting cognition. In addition, Appellant denied having any significant medical history when examined by Dr. Cooke. N.T. 9/30/97, 300. It is therefore clear that trial counsel cannot be faulted for failing to obtain evidence of which he had no reason to be aware. See Commonwealth v. Bond, 572 Pa. 588, 819 A.2d 33, 45-46 (2002) (holding that counsel cannot be deemed ineffective for failing to obtain records uniquely in possession of defendant and his family); see also Commonwealth v. Johnson, 572 Pa. 283, 815 A.2d 563, 581 (2002) (plurality) (this Court refuse[s] to deem trial counsel ineffective for failing to present mitigation evidence that he did not know existed); Commonwealth v. Basemore, 560 Pa. 258, 744 A.2d 717, 735 (2000) (same); Commonwealth v. Peterkin, 511 Pa. 299, 513 A.2d 373, 383 (1986) (same). With respect to Appellants drug records, trial counsel was not ineffective for failing to obtain them because Appellant has failed to establish that had counsel obtained them, the outcome of the penalty hearing would have been different. This is the case because Appellant has failed to show that these records contained any substantial information different from that already presented to the trial court. Moreover, trial counsel was aware of Appellants substance abuse problem and introduced evidence about it to the trial court. As noted above, counsel cannot be found ineffective for failing to introduce evidence that is merely cumulative of evidence already introduced into the record. Finally, Appellant failed to establish that he had knowledge that a support order had been issued against him. Without such proof, Appellant cannot demonstrate that the issuance of the support order influenced his behavior on the night of the incident. Thus, Appellant cannot establish that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to obtain the order or introduce proof of its issuance during the penalty phase. See Commonwealth v. Bryant, 579 Pa. 119, 855 A.2d 726 (2004) (holding that claims of ineffectiveness cannot be sustained in a vacuum). Appellants claim that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to have him tested by a neuropsychologist also lacks merit. The record herein indicates that trial counsel had Appellant examined by a psychologist (Dr. Cooke) whose examination of Appellant failed to uncover any mental disabilities. As noted above, Dr. Cooke testified that he found no evidence that Appellant suffered from a thinking disorder or psychosis or any kind of major affective disorders such as major depression or manic disorder. N.T. 10/2/97, 296. In addition, neither Appellant nor any member of his family advised trial counsel that Appellant suffered from neurological or mental deficits. Given these circumstances, trial counsel cannot be faulted for not securing additional testing of Appellant. In Commonwealth v. Stevens, 559 Pa. 171, 739 A.2d 507 (1999), trial counsel was accused of having been ineffective because he failed to provide all available records to his expert witness. According to the defendant, had trial counsel provided the additional records to his expert witness, it may have resulted in a more thoroughly developed mental health mitigation case. 739 A.2d at 519. This court rejected the defendant's assertion that trial counsel had been ineffective and stated: We agree with the trial court that Appellant has failed to prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the preparation and presentation by trial counsel of the mental health expert testimony was constitutionally ineffective. Appellant relies on the benefit of hindsight and downplays the diagnoses available to his counsel at the time his case was tried. Counsel testified that he provided Dr. Altman, who was his primary mental health expert, with as much information as he had, including substantial information concerning Appellant's social history and prior mental health problems. He relied on Dr. Altman to present the most favorable mental health mitigation case available, and he attempted to present this and the other expert testimony in a manner that would be understandable to, and believed by, the jury. Indeed, Appellant's counsel succeeded insofar as the jury found the Section 9711(e)(2) mitigator. This is not an instance where counsel failed to present a mental health mitigation case despite the presence of evidence to support such a case. Compare Commonwealth v. Smith, 544 Pa. 219, 675 A.2d 1221 (1996), cert. denied, 519 U.S. 1153, 117 S.Ct. 1090, 137 L.Ed.2d 223 (1997). Rather, this is a case where a more competent evaluation by the professionals retained by Appellant may have resulted in a more thoroughly developed mental health mitigation case. However, our review of the PCRA hearing indicates that such failures, if any occurred, do not rest at the feet of Appellant's counsel, and that the court properly denied Appellant's claim of trial counsel's ineffectiveness. Id. Instantly, as in Stevens, Appellant is arguing that trial counsel should have done more even though he had no tangible reason for doing so. Trial counsel testified that in his dealings with Appellant and Appellants family, he failed to discern anything that would have caused him to believe that Appellant had brain deficits. This belief was confirmed by Dr. Cookes examination of Appellant. [20] Given these circumstances, trial counsel cannot be faulted for not having Appellant examined by additional experts because the investigation he conducted was reasonable and failed to reveal any evidence showing that Appellant suffered from a mental disease or defect requiring further investigation. See Commonwealth v. John Wesley Brown, 582 Pa. 461, 872 A.2d 1139, 1150 (2005) (holding that where record at time of trial indicates that accused was not suffering from mental illness, counsel has no duty to investigate issue further); Uderra, 706 A.2d at 339-40 (holding that trial counsel was not ineffective for not introducing in mitigation evidence regarding defendants psychological problems because defendant failed to disclose them prior to trial). Accordingly, we conclude that the PCRA Court did not err in finding no merit to Appellants claim that trial counsel was ineffective during the penalty phase of the proceedings.