Opinion ID: 411288
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Duty to Investigate

Text: 23 Although the fate of a criminal defendant is determined at trial, the course of that trial can be decisively affected by actions of defense counsel in preparing the case. See, e.g., Moore v. United States, 432 F.2d 730, 739 (3d Cir.1970) (en banc). The courts have therefore insisted that effective counsel conduct a reasonable amount of pretrial investigation. See, e.g., Washington v. Watkins, 655 F.2d 1346, 1355-56 (5th Cir.1981), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 102 S.Ct. 2021, 72 L.Ed.2d 474 (1982); Davis v. Alabama, 596 F.2d 1214, 1217 (5th Cir.1979), vacated as moot, 446 U.S. 903, 100 S.Ct. 1827, 64 L.Ed.2d 256 (1980); Rummel v. Estelle, 590 F.2d 103, 104 (5th Cir.1979); Gaines v. Hopper, 575 F.2d 1147, 1149-50 (5th Cir.1978). Ultimately, the courts are concerned that counsels' decisions reflect informed, professional deliberation rather than inexcusable ignorance or senseless disregard of their clients' rights. United States v. Bosch, 584 F.2d 1113, 1122 (1st Cir.1978). 24 The amount of pretrial investigation that is reasonable defies precise measurement. It will necessarily depend upon a variety of factors including the number of issues in the case, the relative complexity of those issues, the strength of the government's case, and the overall strategy of trial counsel. See, e.g., Washington v. Watkins, 655 F.2d at 1357; Wolfs v. Britton, 509 F.2d 304, 309 (8th Cir.1975). In making that determination, courts should not judge the reasonableness of counsel's efforts from the omniscient perspective of hindsight, but rather from the perspective of counsel, taking into account all of the circumstances of the case, but only as those circumstances were known to him at the time in question. Washington v. Watkins, 655 F.2d at 1356. 25 The role of strategy in the calculus of reasonableness is of particular importance to this case. Tunkey testified that he made a strategic choice to introduce limited character evidence during the plea colloquy and thereafter to rely upon expressions of frankness, sincerity, and remorse to persuade the judge to impose a sentence of life imprisonment. In light of that strategy, Tunkey would have viewed as unnecessary an extensive investigation into Washington's character. The district court did not evaluate the credibility of Tunkey's testimony or the reasonableness of his strategy in light of available alternatives. Rather, the court concluded that Tunkey was obliged to conduct an extensive investigation of Washington's character irrespective of whether his trial strategy would benefit from such investigation, and cited Beavers v. Balkcom, 636 F.2d at 116, in support of that conclusion. In his dissent from the panel opinion, Judge Roney relied, inter alia, upon Plant v. Wyrick, 636 F.2d 188, 189-90 (8th Cir.1980), for an apparently contrary proposition: 26 When a strategic choice of action makes unnecessary a certain line of investigation, it should not be necessary for effective counsel to pursue that investigation. 27 Washington v. Strickland, 673 F.2d 879, 908 (5th Cir.1982) (Roney, J., dissenting). 28 The conflicting language in cases such as Beavers and Plant reflects the different factual situations in those cases. Upon close examination, however, the rules of law contained in those cases are broadly consistent. In cases such as Plant, the trial counsel substantially investigated one plausible line of defense which he presented at trial, but did not investigate another line which he had chosen not to pursue at trial. 13 In this class of cases, counsel made strategic choices of the general type that courts have traditionally respected in order to avoid undue interference with the adversary process. See, e.g., United States v. Decoster, 624 F.2d at 208. In cases such as Beavers, however, the trial counsel failed to conduct a substantial investigation into any plausible line of defense. In this class of cases counsel did not choose, strategically or otherwise, to pursue one line of defense over another. Instead, counsel simply abdicated his responsibility to advocate his client's cause. See, e.g., Gomez v. Beto, 462 F.2d 596, 597 (5th Cir.1972). 29 In our canvass of the case law, we have identified five major lines of cases involving the duty to conduct adequate investigation before proceeding to trial. 14 For the benefit of district courts that will confront future claims of ineffective assistance of counsel, we will discuss separately each line of cases and identify the proper role that counsel's strategy plays in the evaluation of the reasonableness of pretrial investigation. 30 1. Counsel fails to conduct substantial investigation into the one plausible line of defense in the case. 31 In numerous cases effective counsel would discern only one plausible line of defense to serve his client's interests. Whether that one line of defense is insanity, alibi, or simply putting the government to its proof, effective counsel is obliged to conduct a reasonably substantial investigation into that line before proceeding to trial. The failure to perform such an investigation is a clear example of a breach of the duty to investigate. 32 In Gomez v. Beto, 462 F.2d at 596, the defendant was prosecuted for a burglary that took place in Houston. The defendant contended that he was in San Antonio on the day of the crime and gave his attorneys the names of alibi witnesses. The attorneys failed to contact the witnesses and defendant was convicted. The court granted his motion for habeas corpus relief, stating: 33 These counsel knew that Gomez had only one possible defense to the charge: that he was in another city when the crime was committed. 34 .... 35 When a defense counsel fails to investigate his client's only possible defense, although requested by him to do so ... it can hardly be said that the defendant has had the effective assistance of counsel. Id. at 597. 15 36 It is obvious that an attorney can no more make a strategic decision that renders unnecessary an investigation of a defendant's one plausible line of defense than he can make a strategic decision to plead guilty against his client's wishes. See, e.g., Wiley v. Sowders, 647 F.2d 642, 649 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, 454 U.S. 1091, 102 S.Ct. 656, 70 L.Ed.2d 630 (1981); Mullins v. Evans, 473 F.Supp. 1321, 1325 (D.Colo.1979), aff'd, 622 F.2d 504 (10th Cir.1980). Cf. Wright v. Estelle, 572 F.2d 1071, 1082 (5th Cir.) (en banc) (Godbold, J., dissenting) (strategic choice by counsel that deprives defendant of his constitutional right to testify, absent knowing waiver by defendant, is not effective assistance of counsel), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 1004, 99 S.Ct. 617, 58 L.Ed.2d 680 (1978). Therefore, permissible trial strategy can never include the failure to conduct a reasonably substantial investigation into a defendant's one plausible line of defense. See Ewing v. Williams, 596 F.2d 391, 398-99 (9th Cir.1979) (Ely, J., dissenting) (a complete lack of preparation and investigation [cannot] be deemed to be a 'tactical decision' made by the attorney); Wood v. Zahradnick, 430 F.Supp. 107, 112 (E.D.Va.1977) (where defenses based upon mental condition were the only plausible line of defense, the [c]ourt can envision no tactical reason why these defenses were not explored), aff'd in relevant part, 578 F.2d 980 (4th Cir.1978). 37 2. Counsel conducts a reasonably substantial investigation into the one line of defense that is presented at trial. 38 In this class of decisions we again deal with cases in which effective counsel would discern only one plausible line of defense or in which he chooses to rely upon only one major line of defense. An attorney who conducts a reasonably substantial investigation into that line of defense before it is presented at trial is often criticized by his client after the defense proves unsuccessful for not having conducted a more extensive investigation. Courts have emphasized that counsel for a criminal defendant is not required to pursue every path until it bears fruit or until all conceivable hope withers. Lovett v. Florida, 627 F.2d 706, 708 (5th Cir.1980). See also Baty v. Balkcom, 661 F.2d 391, 395 n. 8 (5th Cir.1981); Williams v. Maggio, 679 F.2d 381, 393 (5th Cir.1982) (Unit A en banc); Cox v. Wyrick, 642 F.2d 222, 226-27 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 451 U.S. 1021, 101 S.Ct. 3013, 69 L.Ed.2d 394 (1981); United States v. Decoster, 624 F.2d at 210-11. Rather, attorneys must conduct a substantial investigation which includes an independent examination of the facts, circumstances, pleadings and laws involved. Rummel v. Estelle, 590 F.2d at 104; United States v. Moore, 554 F.2d 1086, 1092-93 (D.C.Cir.1976). 39 The question whether counsel conducted a reasonable amount of investigation prior to presenting the one line of defense at trial does not typically involve strategic choices. Once the choice has been made to rely upon one defense at trial, counsel is of course obliged to make a reasonable, though not necessarily exhaustive, investigation before trial. 16 40 3. Counsel conducts a reasonably substantial investigation into all plausible lines of defense and chooses to rely upon fewer than all of them at trial. 41 In this class of cases effective counsel would discern more than one plausible line of defense to serve his client's interests. Certain of the lines might be presented at trial in tandem. For instance, an attorney might challenge the racial composition of the grand jury venire and raise an alibi defense where both appear to be plausible. Other lines of defense may be contradictory and thus incapable of being presented persuasively in tandem. For instance, an attorney might not present an alibi defense in conjunction with a justifiable homicide defense. 17 42 Before making a strategic choice as to which lines of defense to employ at trial, counsel should ideally conduct a substantial investigation into each potential line. In this way he would be able to assess with a considerable degree of professional accuracy which lines are most likely to succeed at trial. He would be able to discuss thoroughly the options with his client. For these reasons, the American Bar Association has suggested that criminal defense counsel conduct appropriate investigations, both factual and legal, to determine what matters of defense can be developed. American Bar Association, Project on Standards for Criminal Justice, Standards Relating to the Defense Function (App.Draft 1971) [hereinafter referred to as American Bar Association Standards]; see Coles v. Peyton, 389 F.2d 224, 226 (4th Cir.) (applying identical standard), cert. denied, 393 U.S. 849, 89 S.Ct. 80, 21 L.Ed.2d 120 (1968). 43 When an attorney makes a strategic choice after satisfying this rigorous and extensive duty to investigate, courts will seldom if ever find that the choice was the result of ineffective assistance of counsel. Our adversary system of justice requires that attorneys be permitted to exercise informed discretion in the conduct of the client's defense. United States v. Decoster, 624 F.2d at 208. See also United States v. Guerra, 628 F.2d 410, 413 (5th Cir.1980), cert. denied, 450 U.S. 934, 101 S.Ct. 1398, 67 L.Ed.2d 369 (1981); Marino v. United States, 600 F.2d at 463; Williams v. Maggio, 679 F.2d at 393. 18 If an attorney makes a strategic choice to rely upon one line of defense rather than another, and that choice is based upon the exercise of professional judgment after a reasonably substantial investigation into all plausible lines of defense, the courts will find ineffective assistance of counsel only if the choice was so patently unreasonable that no competent attorney would have made it. Cf. United States ex rel. Robinson v. Pate, 312 F.2d 161, 162 (7th Cir.1963) (counsel not ineffective because strategic choice was one about which competent attorneys might honestly disagree). 44 4. Counsel fails to conduct a substantial investigation into one plausible line of defense because of his reasonable strategic choice to rely upon another plausible line of defense at trial. 45 As observed above, when effective counsel would discern several plausible lines of defense he should ideally perform a substantial investigation into each line before making a strategic decision as to which lines he will employ at trial. This ideal, as expressed in the American Bar Association Standards, is an aspiration to which all defense counsel should strive. It does not, however, represent the constitutional minimum for reasonably effective assistance of counsel. See United States v. Decoster, 624 F.2d at 205, 210-11. See also Cooper v. Fitzharris, 586 F.2d 1325, 1330 (9th Cir.1978) (en banc), cert. denied, 440 U.S. 974, 99 S.Ct. 1542, 59 L.Ed.2d 793 (1979); United States v. Moore, 554 F.2d at 1093 (Robb, J., concurring) (both opinions criticize checklist approach to evaluating performance of counsel). Realistically, given the finite resources of time and money that are available to defense counsel, fewer than all plausible lines of defense will be the subject of substantial investigation. Often, counsel will make a choice of trial strategy relatively early in the representation process after conferring with his client, reviewing the state's evidence, and bringing to bear his experience and professional judgment. 19 Thereafter he will concentrate his finite resources on investigating those lines of defense upon which he has chosen to rely. 46 The choice by counsel to rely upon certain lines of defense to the exclusion of others before investigating all such lines is a strategic choice. See, e.g., Gray v. Lucas, 677 F.2d 1086, 1093 (5th Cir.1982). The basis for judicial deference to such a choice, however, is eroded measurably. See Note, Effective Assistance of Counsel for the Indigent Defendant, 78 Harv.L.Rev. 1434, 1439 (1965). Whereas a strategy chosen after full investigation is entitled to almost automatic approval by the courts, a strategy chosen after partial investigation must be scrutinized more closely in order to safeguard the rights of criminal defendants. 47 A strategy chosen without the benefit of a reasonably substantial investigation into all plausible lines of defense is generally based upon counsel's professional assumptions regarding the prospects for success offered by the various lines. The cases generally conform to a workable and sensible rule: when counsel's assumptions are reasonable given the totality of the circumstances and when counsel's strategy represents a reasonable choice based upon those assumptions, counsel need not investigate lines of defense that he has chosen not to employ at trial. 20 48 In Washington v. Watkins the attorney for a defendant charged with capital murder relied primarily upon an alibi defense. When that defense proved unsuccessful and defendant was sentenced to death, the defendant sought habeas corpus relief because, inter alia, his attorney failed to investigate the apparent under-representation of blacks on the relevant jury panels .... 655 F.2d at 1364. At the evidentiary hearing in district court, the attorney was asked why he failed to conduct this investigation. He responded that based upon his prior experience with juries in Columbus, Mississippi and based upon his observation of the tactics of other attorneys, he assumed that a challenge based upon the racial composition of the jury panels would be without merit. Id. at n. 36. The court found that in light of these circumstances, counsel's strategic decision to devote his efforts to the alibi defense was not so ill-chosen that it made [his] overall representation constitutionally ineffective. 655 F.2d at 1364. In numerous other cases, courts have similarly found that a reasonable strategic choice based upon reasonable assumptions makes it unnecessary to investigate other plausible lines of defense that counsel does not rely upon at trial. 21 49 On the other hand, courts have not hesitated to find counsel ineffective when his failure to investigate is not based upon a reasonable set of assumptions or when the strategic choices made by counsel on the basis of those assumptions are not reasonable. The California case of In re Saunders, 2 Cal.3d 1033, 88 Cal.Rptr. 633, 472 P.2d 921 (1970), furnishes an excellent illustration. In Saunders the defendant participated in an armed robbery which resulted in the murder of a store clerk. He was tried for capital murder and counsel was appointed to defend him. Two months before trial the defendant and his mother informed counsel that the defendant had previously suffered head injuries that resulted in organic brain damage. Although the attorney was aware that this information was relevant to the diminished capacity defense under California law, he never investigated the matter. Instead, he relied exclusively upon an argument that defendant did not actually commit the shooting. 50 The attorney later testified that he failed to investigate the diminished capacity line of defense before trial because he had made a strategic choice to preserve that argument for the clemency hearing. The California Supreme Court overturned the conviction. It found that a reasonable attorney would have recognized that diminished capacity was a very promising line of investigation in light of the information furnished to counsel by defendant and his mother. It also found that a reasonable attorney would not have made the strategic choice to rely upon the weak defense used to the exclusion of the diminished capacity defense. 22 51 In sum, an attorney who makes a strategic choice to channel his investigation into fewer than all plausible lines of defense is effective so long as the assumptions upon which he bases his strategy are reasonable and his choices on the basis of those assumptions are reasonable. 23 52 5. Counsel fails to conduct a substantial investigation into plausible lines of defense for reasons other than strategic choice. 53 When an attorney fails to conduct a substantial investigation into any of his client's plausible lines of defense, the attorney has failed to render effective assistance of counsel. The attorney equally fails to render effective assistance when he chooses among several plausible lines of defense, thereby excluding certain of them, for no strategic reason. 54 The clearest example of this breach of the duty to investigate appears in Gaines v. Hopper, 575 F.2d at 1147. In that case the attorney's policy against interviewing any witnesses before trial left him in no better position than his jailed client to evaluate the legal and factual realities of the case .... Id. at 1149. The attorney did not channel his investigation on the basis of a professional assessment of the prospects for success. Rather, he abandoned his obligation to develop a case for his client. See also Powell v. Alabama, 287 U.S. 45, 58, 53 S.Ct. 55, 60, 77 L.Ed. 158 (1932); United States v. Hinton, 631 F.2d 769, 780 (D.C.Cir.1980); United States v. Porterfield, 624 F.2d 122, 125 (10th Cir.1980); United States v. Bosch, 584 F.2d at 1122. 24 55 In many cases it will not be clear whether the failure to investigate a line of defense is based upon trial strategy or upon neglect of counsel's professional obligations. Courts presume, in accordance with the general presumption of attorney competence, that counsel's actions are strategic. See, e.g., Michel v. Louisiana, 350 U.S. 91, 101, 76 S.Ct. 158, 164, 100 L.Ed. 83 (1955); Marino v. United States, 600 F.2d at 463; Tuttle v. Decker, 386 F.2d 814, 816 n. 1 (5th Cir.1967); Cowens v. Wainwright, 373 F.2d 34, 34 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 387 U.S. 913, 87 S.Ct. 1701, 18 L.Ed.2d 635 (1967); United States v. Aulet, 618 F.2d 182, 189 (2d Cir.1980). Cf. The Supreme Court, 1976 Term, 91 Harv.L.Rev. 70, 219 (1977) (noting the presumption of strategic choice in sixth amendment cases and suggesting another rule in cases involving the determination of deliberate bypass). This presumption can be rebutted, however, when trial counsel testifies credibly at an evidentiary hearing that his choice was not strategic, see, e.g., Beckham v. Wainwright, 639 F.2d 262, 265-66 (5th Cir.1981); Marzullo v. Maryland, 561 F.2d 540, 547 (4th Cir.1977), cert. denied, 435 U.S. 1011, 98 S.Ct. 1885, 56 L.Ed.2d 394 (1978), or when certain of counsel's actions do not conform to a general pattern of a rational trial strategy. See, e.g., Baty v. Balkcom, 661 F.2d at 395; Nero v. Blackburn, 597 F.2d 991, 994 (5th Cir.1979); United States v. Bosch, 584 F.2d at 1121-22.