Opinion ID: 2354297
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: EED as a mitigating circumstance.

Text: Encompassed within a defendant's constitutional right to effective assistance of counsel is the right to waive such assistance and proceed pro se. Faretta v. California, 422 U.S. 806, 807, 95 S.Ct. 2525, 2527, 45 L.Ed.2d 562 (1975); Wake v. Barker, Ky., 514 S.W.2d 692, 697 (1974). The foundation of this entitlement is the right of the defendant to control his defense and be the pilot of the ship. Jacobs, supra, at 417-18; see also Faretta, supra, at 819-20, 95 S.Ct. at 2533 (The right to defend is given directly to the accused; for it is he who suffers the consequences if the defense fails.). In Jacobs, supra , we held that the trial court violated the defendant's right to control his own defense by permitting defense counsel, over the defendant's objection, to present an insanity defense. Id. at 417-18. Neither counsel nor the court has the power to contravene a defendant's voluntary and intelligent decision to forego an insanity defense. Id. at 418. Appellant argues that he is entitled to a new trial because this same principle should have precluded defense counsel from inquiring of prospective jurors during voir dire as to whether they could consider EED as a mitigating circumstance and arguing EED as a mitigating circumstance during the penalty phase of his trial. We disagree. The premise of Jacobs, supra , is that a defendant's constitutional right to control his defense includes the right to waive the assertion of any defense inconsistent with his claim of innocence. Id. at 418. Jacobs did not address whether that holding extended to a waiver of mitigating evidence during the penalty phase of the trial. At that point, the issue of innocence has been resolved unfavorably to the defendant and the only remaining issue is the degree of punishment to be imposed. Appellant did not object to the instruction on EED as a mitigating circumstance but only to defense counsel's assertion of it during closing argument  positions that were inherently inconsistent. The United States Supreme Court has yet to address this particular issue; however, many jurisdictions have upheld a defendant's right to voluntarily and intelligently waive the presentation of mitigating evidence. E.g., United States v. Davis, 285 F.3d 378, 381 (5th Cir.2002), cert. denied, 537 U.S. 1066, 123 S.Ct. 618, 154 L.Ed.2d 555 (2002); Singleton v. Lockhart, 962 F.2d 1315, 1322 (8th Cir.1992); Silagy v. Peters, 905 F.2d 986, 1008 (7th Cir.1990); Nelson v. State, 681 So.2d 252, 255 (Ala.Crim.App.1995); People v. Bloom, 48 Cal.3d 1194, 259 Cal.Rptr. 669, 774 P.2d 698, 715 (1989); Hamblen v. State, 527 So.2d 800, 804 (Fla.1988); State v. Dunster, 262 Neb. 329, 631 N.W.2d 879, 906 (2001); Colwell v. State, 112 Nev. 807, 919 P.2d 403, 406 (1996); State v. Ashworth, 85 Ohio St.3d 56, 706 N.E.2d 1231, 1236-37 (1999); State v. Arguelles, 63 P.3d 731, 753 (Utah 2003) ([A] defendant's Sixth Amendment right to represent himself and control the course of the proceedings carries with it the right to choose how much  if any  mitigating evidence is offered.). The majority of these cases, however, were decided in the context of a convicted defendant's claim that he or she was improperly permitted to waive the right to have the jury consider mitigating circumstances. Singleton, supra, at 1321-22 (defense counsel had no obligation to override defendant's knowing and voluntary waiver of right to present mitigating evidence); Silagy, supra, at 1008 (not abuse of discretion to grant competent defendant's mid-trial motion for self-representation when purpose of motion was to forego presentation of mitigating evidence and seek the death penalty); Bloom, supra, at 713 (same); Grim v. State, 841 So.2d 455, 461 (Fla.2003) (trial court not required to appoint special counsel for purposes of presenting mitigating evidence if defendant knowingly and voluntarily waived the presentation of such evidence); Dunster, supra, at 906 (same); Colwell, supra, at 406 (same); Ashworth, supra, at 1237 ([Defendant] was competent to waive the presentation of mitigation and ... cannot now rescind that waiver and argue that he is entitled to a new penalty phase because he changed his mind.); Wallace v. State, 893 P.2d 504, 511-12 (Okla.Crim.App.1995) (affirming where defendant openly sought death penalty and chose to present no mitigating evidence). The issue has also been addressed in the context of a claim that the attorney's compliance with the defendant's knowing and voluntary decision not to present mitigating evidence amounted to ineffective assistance of counsel. Zagorski v. State, 983 S.W.2d 654, 657-59 (Tenn.1998). We find only one case holding that it was error for the trial court to permit the presentation of mitigating evidence over the defendant's objection. In United States v. Davis, supra , the defendant advised the trial court prior to the penalty phase of his trial that he wished to proceed pro se and to present no mitigating evidence, stating that he would maintain his innocence. When the trial court declined to permit that strategy, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a writ of mandamus recognizing the defendant's right to self-representation during the penalty phase. When the trial court then appointed independent counsel to present mitigating evidence on the defendant's behalf, the Court of Appeals issued a second writ prohibiting the appointment of counsel over the defendant's objection, holding that such violated the defendant's right to self-representation under Faretta . Id. at 381. Davis , is distinguishable from the case sub judice in that Appellant never asserted his right to self-representation or expressed a desire to proceed pro se. The denial of a defendant's right to self-representation is a structural error not subject to harmless error analysis. McKaskle v. Wiggins, 465 U.S. 168, 177 n. 8, 104 S.Ct. 944, 950 n. 8, 79 L.Ed.2d 122 (1984) (Since the right of self-representation is a right that when exercised usually increases the likelihood of a trial outcome unfavorable to the defendant, its denial is not amenable to `harmless error' analysis. The right is either respected or denied; its deprivation cannot be harmless.). However, the denial of the right to waive mitigating factors after a finding of guilt does not increase the likelihood of an outcome unfavorable to the defendant but rather increases the likelihood that a defendant will avoid the death penalty and receive a lesser sentence. Thus, such denial is not a structural defect affecting the framework within which the trial proceeds. Arizona v. Fulminante, 499 U.S. 279, 310, 111 S.Ct. 1246, 1265, 113 L.Ed.2d 302 (1991); see also Rose v. Clark, 478 U.S. 570, 577-78, 106 S.Ct. 3101, 3106, 92 L.Ed.2d 460 (1986) (structural defects are errors involving basic protections without which a criminal trial cannot reliably serve its function as a vehicle for determination of guilt or innocence  (emphasis added)). Further, the right to waive mitigating circumstances during the penalty phase of a trial is inherently different from the right to waive a defense inconsistent with a claim of innocence during the guilt phase. Although Appellant claims a reputational interest in maintaining his innocence, he fails to show how his ultimate sentence was prejudiced by counsel's argument urging the jury to impose a lesser penalty because of mitigating circumstances. Nor was Appellant's defense of innocence prejudiced by defense counsel's inquiry during voir dire as to whether prospective jurors could consider EED as a mitigating circumstance. The inquiry occurred during the death qualification of the prospective jurors, an aspect of voir dire that necessarily required the jury to hypothetically assume guilt, and was included within defense counsel's inquiry with respect to the attitudes of prospective jurors with respect to various mitigating circumstances. Defense counsel did not assert during voir dire that Appellant committed the offenses while acting under the influence of EED but only inquired whether the jurors could consider EED as a mitigating circumstance in the event of a finding of guilt.