Opinion ID: 2598537
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Counsel's Admission of Guilt

Text: [ś 70] During voir dire of the jury panel, defense counsel told the entire venire of prospective jurors: Ladies and gentlemen, before we start I'm going to tell you, I'm going to admit to you, that the issue in this case will not involve who did the shootings. That won't be the issue. We admit, ladies and gentlemen, that Martin Olsen shot all three of the individuals concerned in this case; Emma McCoid, Kyle Baumstarck, Art Taylor. That he did that on the evening of January the 20th, we admit that, that he shot them. They were facedown and he shot them in the back of the head. That he took money from that establishment and he left. He was ultimately captured near Buffalo. We admit all those facts, ladies and gentlemen, they are facts. They are there. He's confessed to it, many of you pointed that out in the questionnaires, that he's confessed to it. He's not only confessed to police officers he's confessed to his mother. So before we start, I wanted to get that on the table. That won't be an issue. Okay. Do all of you understand then what I just told you? Do all of you understand that? What will be an issue in this particular case, ladies and gentlemen, is the degree of guilt. That's why we're here. Later, counsel explained that he would use an intoxication defense to establish that Olsen could not have formed the requisite intent for first degree murder and was admitting to second degree murder. Olsen's specific contention on appeal is that counsel conceded his guilt without pursuing the affirmative defense allowed under Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 7-11-305(a) (Michie 1997), a plea of not guilty by reason of mental illness or deficiency. Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 7-11-304(a) (Michie 1997) defines this defense as: A person is not responsible for criminal conduct if at the time of the criminal conduct, as a result of mental illness or deficiency, he lacked substantial capacity either to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of law. As used in this section, the terms mental illness or deficiency mean only those severely abnormal mental conditions that grossly and demonstrably impair a person's perception or understanding of reality and that are not attributable primarily to self-induced intoxication as defined by W.S. 6-1-202(b). Olsen contends that Dr. Gummow's testimony during the sentencing phase that Olsen could not conform his conduct to the law permitted this affirmative defense to the crime charged and should have been presented during the guilt phase of the trial. A hearing was held on the State's motion for demand for notice of defense of mental illness or deficiency, and defense counsel informed the court that, based on two examinations, the defense did not anticipate changing the plea from not guilty to not guilty by reason of mental deficiency. The State contends that the hearing and a third examination show Olsen's defense counsel actively explored this potential defense by three expert examinations and reasonably concluded that the statutory definition of this affirmative defense was not established for presentation during the guilt phase. Quoting from the testimony of the three experts, the State asserts that we can determine that the evidence did not meet the statutory definition of this affirmative defense and defense counsel's tactical decision was reasonable. [ś 71] Because neither the record nor this appeal suggest otherwise, we assume that Olsen consented to a trial strategy of admitting during voir dire to shooting the victims either to avoid the death penalty through convictions for second degree murder or to reduce culpability in the sentencing phase. Before trial, defense counsel arranged three psychiatric examinations for Olsen by a neuropsychologist, a neurologist, and a psychiatrist. None of the three testified during the guilt phase, but all three did testify during the sentencing phase on various issues concerning mitigating circumstances, including whether Olsen could have conformed his conduct to the requirements of the law. The testimony was sufficient to allow the jury to decide whether Olsen's mental state on the night of the robbery and murders should mitigate against the death penalty. [ś 72] In the guilt phase, the defense admitted Olsen shot the victims but contended that Olsen's intoxication prevented him from forming specific intent to commit first degree murder, and argued the jury should convict for second degree murder. Olsen now contends that Dr. Gummow's testimony provided for this additional, compatible defense and contends that it was compatible with all other defenses. Before the defense rested, however, the record shows that Olsen agreed with defense counsel's decision not to have Dr. Gummow testify during the guilt phase. A criminal defendant's right to the assistance of counsel is guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, made applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment, and is guaranteed by the Wyoming Constitution in Article 1, Section 10. Dickeson v. State, 843 P.2d 606, 608-09 (Wyo.1992). We have adopted the standard for determining whether a defendant received effective assistance of counsel from Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 2064, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984): First, the defendant must show that counsel's performance was deficient. This requires showing that counsel made errors so serious that counsel was not functioning as the counsel guaranteed the defendant by the Sixth Amendment. Second, the defendant must show that the deficient performance prejudiced the defense. This requires showing that counsel's errors were so serious as to deprive the defendant of a fair trial, a trial whose result is reliable. Unless a defendant makes both showings, it cannot be said that the conviction or death sentence resulted from a breakdown in the adversary process that renders the result unreliable. Dickeson, 843 P.2d at 609 (quoting Strickland, 466 U.S. at 687, 104 S.Ct. at 2064). Miller v. State, 942 P.2d 1108, 1109 (Wyo.1997). [ś 73] Olsen does not refer us to any decision from any jurisdiction holding that an attorney must submit multiple, compatible defenses or risk error for ineffective assistance. It has been held, however, that in a capital case the decision to present evidence of mental illness is within the sound strategic judgment of counsel. People v. Rodriguez, 914 P.2d 230, 297 (Colo.1996); see also People v. Welch, 20 Cal.4th 701, 85 Cal.Rptr.2d 203, 976 P.2d 754, 787 (1999). Olsen also does not refer us to any authority holding that the failure to advance an additional, plausible defense at the guilt phase of a capital murder trial is professionally incompetent, establishing ineffective assistance of counsel. We do not evaluate the efforts of counsel from a perspective of hindsight but, rather, we endeavor to reconstruct the circumstances surrounding counsel's challenged conduct and evaluate the professional efforts from the perspective of counsel at the time. We invoke a strong presumption that counsel rendered adequate and reasonable assistance making all decisions within the bounds of reasonable professional judgment. Gist [ v. State ], 737 P.2d [336,] at 342 [ (Wyo.1987) ] (citations omitted). The burden is upon the defendant to overcome this presumption that, in light of the circumstances, the challenged action or failure of the attorney might be considered sound trial strategy. Dudley v. State, 951 P.2d 1176, 1181 (Wyo.1998). [ś 74] Olsen has failed to meet his burden of demonstrating that his trial counsel was deficient when he considered having Dr. Gummow testify at the guilt phase, but deliberately chose to present her testimony at sentencing, and counsel secured Olsen's approval of this strategy; therefore, we cannot conclude that there was ineffective assistance of counsel. [ś 75] Our independent review requires that we examine whether trial counsel's admission of guilt to the shootings violates the rule that the admission by counsel of his client's guilt to the jury[] represents a paradigmatic example of the sort of breakdown in the adversarial process that triggers a presumption of prejudice. United States v. Williamson, 53 F.3d 1500, 1511 (10th Cir.1995). Wyoming recognizes that there are cases of deficient performances where prejudice is presumed. Herdt v. State, 816 P.2d 1299, 1301-02 (Wyo.1991). Williamson's holding is based on the following rationale: The Sixth Amendment provides [i]n all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall... have the assistance of counsel for his defence. U.S. Const. amend. VI. While a defendant must ordinarily prove deficient performance by counsel coupled with a showing of prejudice in order to prevail on an ineffective assistance of counsel claim, Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 2064, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984), there is a narrow class of cases where the particular circumstances are so likely to prejudice the accused that the cost of litigating their effect in a particular case is unjustified. United States v. Cronic, 466 U.S. 648, 658, 104 S.Ct. 2039, 2046, 80 L.Ed.2d 657 (1984) (footnote omitted). If a defendant can prove such circumstances actually existed, prejudice will be presumed. Id. at 659-62, 104 S.Ct. at 2047-49. There is no question but that the sort of conduct alleged here, i.e., the admission by counsel of his client's guilt to the jury, represents a paradigmatic example of the sort of breakdown in the adversarial process that triggers a presumption of prejudice. See, e.g., United States v. Swanson, 943 F.2d 1070, 1074 (9th Cir.1991); Jones v. State, 110 Nev. 730, 877 P.2d 1052, 1056-57 (1994) (quoting Brown v. Rice, 693 F.Supp. 381, 396 (W.D.N.C.1988), cert. denied, 495 U.S. 953, 110 S.Ct. 2220, 109 L.Ed.2d 545 (1990)). Whether such an admission actually occurred is necessarily fact-intensive. The focus must be on whether, in light of the entire record, the attorney remained a legal advocate of the defendant who acted with `undivided allegiance and faithful, devoted service' to the defendant. See Osborn v. Shillinger, 861 F.2d 612, 624 (10th Cir.1988)(quoting Von Moltke v. Gillies, 332 U.S. 708, 725, 68 S.Ct. 316, 324, 92 L.Ed. 309 (1948)). Williamson, 53 F.3d at 1510-11. Usually, concession of guilt issues involves a failure of defense counsel to secure the client's consent to employ this particular strategy because: When counsel concedes a client's guilt during the guilt-innocence phase of trial in spite of the client's earlier plea of not guilty and without the defendant's consent, counsel provides ineffective assistance of counsel regardless of the weight of evidence against the defendant or the wisdom of counsel's honest approach strategy. Francis v. Spraggins, 720 F.2d 1190 (11th Cir.1983); Wiley v. Sowders, 647 F.2d 642 (6th Cir.1981); State v. Harbison, 315 N.C. 175, 337 S.E.2d 504 (N.C.1985). The gravity of the consequences of a decision to plead guilty or to admit one's guilt demands that the decision remain in the defendant's hand. An attorney cannot deprive his or her client of the right to have the issue of guilt or innocence presented to the jury as an adversarial issue on which the state bears the burden of proof without committing ineffective assistance of counsel. The adversarial process protected by the Sixth Amendment requires that the accused have `counsel acting in the role of an advocate'. The right to the effective assistance of counsel is thus the right of the accused to require the prosecution's case to survive the crucible of meaningful adversarial testing. U.S. v. Cronic, 466 U.S. 648, 656, 104 S.Ct. 2039, 2045, 80 L.Ed.2d 657 (1984). A lawyer may make a tactical determination of how to run a trial, but the due process clause does not permit the attorney to enter a guilty plea or admit facts that amount to a guilty plea without the client's consent. Jones v. State, 110 Nev. 730, 877 P.2d 1052, 1056 (1994) (quoting Brown v. Rice, 693 F.Supp. 381, 396 (W.D.N.C.1988), rev'd on other grounds, Brown v. Dixon, 891 F.2d 490 (4th Cir.1989)) (some citations omitted). See Grainey v. State, 997 P.2d 1035, 1040 (Wyo.2000). [ś 76] The Eighth Circuit has considered similar facts and concluded that admitting the act but denying the requisite mental state by an intoxication defense to first degree murder charges is not the functional equivalent of a guilty plea. Nielsen v. Hopkins, 58 F.3d 1331, 1335 (8th Cir.1995); Parker v. Lockhart, 907 F.2d 859, 861 (8th Cir.1990). We agree with that analysis and find that the concession here was, tactically, a reasonable attempt to avoid a first degree murder conviction in light of Olsen's several confessions that he had shot the victims. We find no error.