Opinion ID: 2278900
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Merits-Based IAAC Claims Should Be Raised in the Trial Court Pursuant to RCr 11.42.

Text: Having determined that Kentucky courts are to recognize IAAC claims in cases where the direct appeal has been decided on the merits, we must now consider how such claims are to be raised. As we have noted several times over the years, our rules governing review of a trial court's final judgment in a criminal case are meant to be organized and complete. The rules related to direct appeals, RCr 11.42, and Kentucky Rule of Civil Procedure (CR) 60.02 collectively create a structure that provides for wide-ranging opportunities for a defendant to challenge in all respects the legality and fairness of his conviction and sentence. Foley v. Commonwealth, 306 S.W.3d 28, 31 (Ky.2010). At each stage in this structure the defendant is required to raise all issues then amenable to review, and generally issues that either were or could have been raised at one stage will not be entertained at any later stage. Gross v. Commonwealth, 648 S.W.2d 853 (Ky.1983). This structure, wide-ranging but also finite and complete, is an attempt to balance society's and the defendant's interest in just and accurate criminal convictions with society's and the court's interest in the ultimate finality of judgments. Because the completeness of the current structure is one of its principal attributes, we look first to see if IAAC claims fit naturally at some point within it. Obviously, IAAC claims cannot be raised in the direct appeal, since it is precisely counsel's assistance with that now-concluded appeal that is at issue. Hollon brought his IAAC claim as part of his post-conviction motion pursuant to RCr 11.42. That rule permits [a] prisoner in custody under sentence or a defendant on probation, parole or conditional discharge, to move the court that imposed the sentence to vacate, set aside or correct it, on the ground that the sentence is subject to collateral attack. The rule does not expressly provide for IAAC claims, and generally it is used to attack alleged infirmities that arose during trial. Nevertheless, courts with rules very similar to ours have construed collateral attack broadly to include IAAC claims the gist of which is that a serious infirmity during trial should have received, but owing to appellate counsel's ineffectiveness did not receive, appellate review. See, e.g., Page v. United States, 884 F.2d 300 (7th Cir.1989); State v. Herrera, 183 Ariz. 642, 905 P.2d 1377 (Ariz.App. 1995); Commonwealth v. Sullivan, 472 Pa. 129, 371 A.2d 468 (1977). If, under the approach these courts adopt, the trial court finds ineffective assistance of appellate counsel, it may vacate the judgment of conviction and reenter it, thereby allowing the defendant an appeal in which to raise the neglected issue. Page, supra . These courts answer concerns that such an approach allows the trial court in effect to order the appellate court to grant a new appeal by noting that all RCr 11.42 rulings create the basis for a new appeal, that rulings granting RCr 11.42 relief reopen judgments that may have been affirmed on appeal, and that IAAC claims do not challenge or require the trial court to pass on the appellate court's decision, but rather on the conduct of appellate counsel. Id. The appellate court, moreover, is not bound by the trial court's decision, which, like other RCr 11.42 rulings, is subject to appeal by either party. Sullivan, supra . They conclude that there is no incongruity in having the trial court address IAAC claims, and there is the benefit that factual issues, such as possible questions concerning counsel's appellate strategy, may be addressed in the court best able to review them, i.e., the trial court where evidentiary hearings are a normal part of the daily docket. Other courts, however, have construed rules like our RCr 11.42 as addressed exclusively to errors occurring in the course of trial. An order vacating and reinstating the judgment to permit the appeal of a neglected issue has the effect, these courts conclude, not of setting aside or correcting the judgment as contemplated by the rule, but of setting aside the appellate decision. They hold, accordingly, that a motion in the trial court for postconviction relief is not a proper vehicle for IAAC claims, and require instead an original proceeding in the appellate court where counsel's alleged ineffectiveness occurred. That appellate court is in the best position to judge appellate counsel's performance, these courts maintain, and fact-finding may be assigned to a referee or to the trial court. See, e.g., Feldman v. Henman, 815 F.2d 1318 (9th Cir.1987) (holding that IAAC claims must be brought by motion to recall mandate in the appellate court); State v. Knight, 168 Wis.2d 509, 484 N.W.2d 540 (1992) (holding that IAAC claims must be brought as habeas actions in the appellate court); People v. Bachert, 69 N.Y.2d 593, 516 N.Y.S.2d 623, 509 N.E.2d 318 (1987) (holding that IAAC claims must be brought as coram nobis proceedings in the appellate court.). This Court expressed similar concerns in Com. v. Wine, 694 S.W.2d 689 (Ky.1985) where we held that a defendant could not invoke RCr 11.42 on the ground he received ineffective counsel because his right to appeal had been allowed to expire or his appeal had been dismissed. The exclusive remedy in those cases, we said, was to move the appellate court for a belated appeal or to reinstate the dismissed appeal; the appellate court's decision was not to be litigated anew in the trial court pursuant to RCr 11.42. Wine, 694 S.W.2d at 694. We explained that RCr 11.42 is designed to permit a trial court an opportunity after entry of judgment to review its judgment and sentence for constitutional invalidity of the proceedings prior to judgment or in the sentence and judgment itself. It is not an appropriate remedy for a frustrated appeal. Id. We certainly would reiterate that any issue, including the ineffectiveness of counsel, actually decided by the appellate court, whether on motion for reinstatement of a dismissed appeal or on direct appeal, may not be reopened pursuant to RCr 11.42. The trial court does not have jurisdiction to review appellate decisions. Nor do we see any reason to depart from Wine's requirement that one seeking relief from an expired or a dismissed appeal do so by motion in the court with jurisdiction over the appeal. The botched appeal scenario is one instance in which it does not seem unreasonable to expect counsel to admit, if appropriate, a procedural mistake that had the effect of aborting the client's appeal and, in those cases, the appellate court is in the best position to assess whether relief is warranted. The Wine Court did not have before it the Hicks -type of IAAC claim, a claim based on counsel's alleged failure to include in an appeal, the merits of which have already been decided, a glaringly important issue. That sort of claim, we are persuaded, may appropriately be addressed to the trial court pursuant to RCr 11.42, and hence we depart from and overrule Wine and its progeny to the extent that they suggest otherwise. The rule encompasses such claims, we believe, because although appellate counsel's performance is being attacked, the basis of the attack is an alleged flaw in the trial proceedings for which appellate counsel neglected to seek relief. The claim then is at root and in essence a collateral attack on the judgment, and RCr 11.42 is, in our comprehensive scheme of post-conviction review, the stage at which such an attack is to be raised. The trial court is no less competent to assess in the first instance the seriousness of the alleged flaw and appellate counsel's reasons, if any, for bypassing a particular issue, than it is to assess trial counsel's alleged miscues and strategic choices, the mainstay of RCr 11.42 litigation. We agree with those courts discussed above which find no incongruity in the trial court's assessing counsel's appellate performance, since, as those courts note, no appellate decision is being disturbed. Page v. United States, supra . By vacating the judgment, the trial court is not reopening the appeal for reconsideration of any issue already decided. It is rather reopening the judgment, as it is authorized under the rule to do, so that a serious but theretofore unaddressed question about its validity may receive appellate review. We also agree with those courts that the trial court is the best place for consideration of the Hicks-type of IAAC claim to start. Not only is the trial court better able than the appellate court to address questions of fact, but there are obvious efficiencies to be gained by having both appellate and trial ineffective assistance claims addressed in a single proceeding. From a practical standpoint, the consolidation will prevent the delays and confusion that would result from separate courts, trial and appellate, needing the same case record simultaneously. It will also spare defendants and post-conviction counsel possibly difficult choices about which ineffectiveness claim, trial or appellate, to pursue first and the impact of that choice on the timeliness with which the other claim is pursued. We hold, therefore, that Hicks-type IAAC claims may henceforth be pursued by motion in the trial court of conviction under RCr 11.42. Our ruling is to have prospective effect only. It applies to this case, to cases pending on appeal in which the issue has been raised and preserved, and to cases currently in or hereafter brought in the trial court in which the issue is raised. Prospective application is appropriate because, although our courts have not until now provided a forum for IAAC claims based on an allegedly inadequate appellate brief, the federal courts have provided a forum through habeas review. See Boykin v. Webb, supra. Kentucky defendants have not, therefore, been denied an opportunity to vindicate their right to effective appellate counsel, and there is thus no need for our decision today to reach back and operate retroactively. For clarity, we note some general principles regarding the courts' roles in review of IAAC claims. The trial court will address the IAAC issue under the aforementioned standards entering findings and an appropriate order pursuant to RCr 11.42(6). Once the trial court rules on a defendant's IAAC claim, that court's order will be reviewable in the same manner as orders addressing RCr 11.42 motions are currently reviewed. See RCr 11.42(7) (either movant or Commonwealth may appeal from court's final order on RCr 11.42 motion). If the trial court finds that the defendant received ineffective appellate assistance and is entitled to relief under the Strickland v. Washington standard, as noted above, the trial court should enter appropriate findings and an order vacating the original judgment. We depart from the approach, adopted by some courts, which also requires the trial court to reenter the original judgment so that an appeal of the omitted issue may proceed. Kentucky trial courts should not reenter the original judgment. The matter-of-right appeal guaranteed by § 115 of the Kentucky Constitution has concluded and it is not necessary to reenter the judgment in order for the omitted issue(s) to receive appellate review; any omitted issue or issues will be reviewed as part-and-parcel of the appeal of the trial court's order on the RCr 11.42 motion. On the appeal of the trial court's order on the RCr 11.42 motion, it is incumbent on the Court of Appeals [4] to review in the first instance the trial court's ruling regarding IAAC. If the Court of Appeals concludes that there was ineffective appellate assistance, then it should proceed to address the omitted issue or issues on which the IAAC claim is based. [5] Should the Court of Appeals conclude that there was no IAAC meriting relief then, of course, it would be unnecessary for that Court to address the issue or issues omitted from the matter-of-right appeal. Any final opinion of the Court of Appeals would, as always, be subject to discretionary review by the Supreme Court pursuant to CR 76.20. When appellate review of the matter is concluded, either by a final opinion of the Court of Appeals or by a final opinion of this Court after having granted discretionary review, and the defendant does not prevail, any prior vacation of the original judgment will be reversed leaving that judgment intact as originally entered. However, if the defendant prevails on the IAAC claim and an omitted issue justifies relief, the final opinion from this Court or the Court of Appeals will direct the trial court accordingly by either granting a new trial, ordering the correction of the judgment or ordering such other relief as may be appropriate. Through this process, the order on a defendant's post-conviction motion alleging IAAC receives full consideration and any omitted issue which could merit relief is addressed, when appropriate, in the appellate review of the RCr 11.42 ruling. As a final note, we recognize that if a trial court concludes that a defendant received ineffective assistance of appellate counsel and vacates the judgment, the aforementioned procedure provides for effective final resolution in all but potentially one instance. If the Commonwealth, for whatever reason, failed to appeal timely the trial court's order granting RCr 11.42 relief, the matter would be in a legal limbo of sorts, with a vacated judgment but no appellate ruling on either the IAAC claim or the omitted issue(s) necessary to the determination of whether the defendant is entitled to some form of relief. [6] Accordingly, pursuant to our rulemaking authority, the Court amends RCr 11.42(7) as follows: (7) Either the movant or the Commonwealth may appeal from the final order or judgment of the trial court in a proceeding on a motion brought under this rule. If the trial court finds the movant received ineffective assistance of appellate counsel and the Commonwealth fails to pursue a timely appeal, the movant may appeal the trial court's order by filing a notice of appeal within sixty (60) days after the date of notation of service of the judgment or order under Criminal Rule 12.06(2). If neither party has filed a notice of appeal within this sixty (60) day period, the trial court shall issue to the movant an order to show cause within (10) days why the judgment vacated on his behalf should not be reinstated. If the movant fails to respond within ten (10) days or fails to show cause, the trial court shall reinstate the vacated judgment. If upon the movant's showing the trial court is satisfied that the movant's failure to appeal should not be deemed a waiver of his right to do so, it shall grant the movant an additional thirty (30) days in which to file notice of his appeal. The foregoing amendment should assure that the matter is pursued for the necessary final appellate resolution. Returning to the case before us, as a somewhat odd wrinkle, the trial court, notwithstanding Hicks, addressed Hollon's IAAC claim and denied relief because it concluded appellate counsel had performed adequately. The Court of Appeals invoked Hicks and, correctly under then-existing precedent, declined any further merits review. It would therefore appear to be unnecessary to remand this case to the trial court as we would ordinarily because that court has already addressed the IAAC claims. However, the Commonwealth notes that the trial court did not have before it the appellate brief filed by Hollon's counsel, relying instead on Hollon's present counsel's representations regarding the issues raised in Hollon's appeal. This illustrates the importance of a defendant appending to the RCr 11.42 motion copies of the briefs filed in his or her matter-of-right appeal in order for the trial court to ascertain whether the allegedly omitted meritorious appellate issue was, indeed, not raised. Nevertheless, it appears there was never any dispute about the fact that the specific issues upon which Hollon now premises his IAAC claim were not included in his matter-of-right appeal. Under these circumstances, we find no reason to remand this case to the trial court to secure and examine the direct appeal briefs. Our remand, therefore, is not to the trial court, as might have been expected, but to the Court of Appeals so that it may now take up the merits of Hollon's RCr 11.42 appeal.