Opinion ID: 1380225
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Failure to Investigate Social History.

Text: Mr. Worthington also argues that his counsels' alleged failure to adequately investigate his social history made their penalty phase defense ineffective. He alleges that a more thorough investigation would have provided counsel with facts with which they could have countered inaccuracies in the testimony offered by the State's expert, Dr. Max Givon, in support of the latter's diagnosis of anti-social personality disorder. In particular, he alleges that Dr. Givon testified that he exhibited severe conduct disorder before he was age 15 based on the belief that he had intentionally burned his friend, Butch Mackey, over 90 percent of his body. At his post-conviction hearing, Mr. Worthington presented the testimony of Butch's father and stepmother, Mr. and Mrs. Mackey, who testified that it was Butch's brother, Richey, who was burned, not by defendant but by two other boys. They said that they would have so testified at trial, but no one had contacted them. Even assuming the Mackeys' testimony was accurate  they made it clear that their knowledge of the incident was based on hearsay and counsel was unable to bring Butch or Richey to testify because they had their own problems with the law  the failure to investigate this collateral issue did not constitute ineffective assistance. Correcting the record as to who caused the burns was relevant only to the extent that the incident affected Dr. Givon's diagnosis of anti-social personality disorder and, in turn, to the extent that diagnosis affected the trial court's decision to impose the death penalty. Because extrinsic evidence cannot normally be used to impeach a non-party witness on a collateral issue, counsels' failure to undertake further investigation that might have revealed such extrinsic evidence was not prejudicial. State v. Dunson, 979 S.W.2d 237, 242 (Mo. App. W.D.1998); Brewer v. Raynor Mfg. Co., 23 S.W.3d 915, 919 (Mo.App. S.D.2000). Even assuming that extrinsic evidence impeaching Dr. Givon's diagnosis would have been admissible had the burning incident been central to that diagnosis, there was no showing that this was the case. Defendant failed to call Dr. Givon at the post-conviction hearing or otherwise present evidence at that hearing that Dr. Givon relied on the burning incident in reaching his diagnosis. Dr. Givon's testimony at the trial indicates that the incident was not important to that diagnosis. Dr. Givon testified that he principally based his diagnosis of anti-social personality disorder on Mr. Worthington's pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others occurring since age 15 years  (emphasis added). He said this pattern included unlawfulness, deceit, impulsivity, irritability and aggression as indicated by fights and assaults, reckless disregard for safety, failure to sustain consistent work behavior, and lack of remorse. Dr. Givon said that anti-social personality disorder also manifests itself as conduct disorder before age 15 and that Mr. Worthington showed such conduct disorder. But, he did not state that the burning incident was necessary to this conclusion. To the contrary, he stated that conduct disorder manifests itself as aggression, fighting, crimes against property, stealing, behavior in school, fire setting, vandalism, things of that nature. He then listed dozens of examples of conduct disorder that Mr. Worthington told him about. They began at age six or seven and continued into his teen years, of which the incident in which Mr. Worthington's friend was burned was only one, albeit remarkable, part: He stated that he was suspended from school hundreds of times because of getting in trouble, being uncontrollable, too hyper.... He was involved in fights because people were messing with him. He had admitted setting his own home on fire twice as well as a garbage truck and he also said that he was always doing something destructive and made the remarkable statement that we burned our friend, Butch Mackey, over ninety percent of his body. I was eleven then. We were throwing gas on each other. He admitted to stealing and shoplifting when younger, beginning at age six or seven ... .... ... they were unable to control him in school. Therefore, he went to special behavior disorder school in Peoria. He said at age seven, eight, and nine he and his cousin broke into people's houses, stole alcohol and tomatoes. Age seven, eight, he burned a couple of houses ... shot out windows with BB guns, ... he was doing burglaries with his father, that's what he stated. He said he was very first arrested at age six or seven for shoplifting.... As is evident, Dr. Givon was simply repeating what Mr. Worthington had told him, not vouching for its accuracy. Moreover, he did not state he particularly relied on the burning incident, nor that he believed that it showed intent to injure his friend. He simply reported that Mr. Worthington had told him that we burned our friend when we were throwing gas on each other. This description is more consistent with a reckless game than intentionally injuring another. Nothing suggests that, had the facts as to that incident been further explored, Dr. Givon's diagnosis would have changed. The failure to further investigate the burning incident was not ineffective.