Opinion ID: 2826267
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Advice of Counsel

Text: Cannon’s second example of deficient performance is his claim that counsel incorrectly told him that if he testified he would be impeached with evidence showing a prior conviction for assault and with details of his recent escape from lawful custody. More specifically, Cannon had been convicted of assault and battery with intent to kill in 1991; a conviction which earned him a fifteen-year prison sentence. While serving that sentence, and shortly before his arrest in this case, Cannon escaped from Oklahoma Department of Corrections custody while participating in a work program. Cannon claims counsel incorrectly told him these facts would be admissible if he testified. In addition, Cannon claims counsel entered an agreement with the prosecutor in which the state agreed it would not introduce evidence of the prior conviction or escape unless Cannon testified. He contends he was never informed of this agreement and that this prevented him from knowingly and voluntarily waiving his right to testify. 9 Cannon also tangentially argues a waiver of the right to testify is ineffective unless made on the record. Nothing in this circuit, or any other, however, requires defendants to waive their right to testify on the record and we decline to adopt such a rule now. To the contrary, requiring judges to question each non-testifying defendant about his decision not to testify may result in defendants feeling pressured to give up their right not to testify. See United States v. Pennycooke, 65 F.3d 9, 13 (3d Cir. 1995). -32- The district court found that counsel provided effective assistance when they told Cannon that his prior conviction would be admissible. Under Oklahoma law, a prior felony conviction is admissible for its impeachment value if its “probative value of the evidence outweighs its prejudicial effect.” Cline v. State, 782 P.2d 399, 400 (Okla. Crim. App. 1989). In making this evaluation, the court considers: “1. The impeachment value of the prior crime; 2. The point in time of the conviction and the witness’ [sic] subsequent history; 3. The similarity between the past crime and the charged crime; 4. The importance of the defendant’s testimony; and 5. The centrality of the credibility issue.” Id. The district court concluded the prior conviction would have been admissible for impeachment. We agree. Factors two and five point in favor of admissibility. The prior crime was, at the time of the trial, relatively recent and Cannon’s credibility was crucial for the jury to assess whether or not it believed his self-defense argument. Factors one and four cut both ways. Although the relationship between a crime of violence and truthfulness is somewhat attenuated, the OCCA has repeatedly upheld the introduction of assault and battery convictions for their impeachment value. See, e.g., Shipman v. State, 639 P.2d 1248 (Okla. Crim. App. 1982) (defendant charged with first-degree manslaughter); Campbell v. State, 636 P.2d 352 (Okla. Crim. App. 1981) (defendant charged with first-degree murder). As for factor four, although Cannon’s testimony was naturally important, he was able -33- to introduce his version of events through other witnesses without testifying. Factor three cautions against admissibility. At bottom, competent counsel could conclude the evidence would likely be admitted on cross-examination if Cannon testified. Moreover, the damage the evidence would cause militated toward the strategy chosen—Cannon would not testify and his theory of self-defense would come in through the testimony of a police detective who spoke to Cannon before his arrest. Counsel’s advice on Cannon’s escape presents an easier question. Cannon’s own recorded statement indicated that he was afraid that the victim planned to turn him in to police once he left her apartment. The escape would have been admissible as evidence of Cannon’s motive to kill Ms. Clark. Of course, motive evidence could have been introduced even without Cannon testifying in his defense. But his counsel were able to enter into an agreement with the prosecution by which the state would not attempt to enter evidence of the escape or the prior conviction unless Cannon testified. Cannon asserts that he was never informed of this agreement and argues that counsel’s failure to tell him about it prevented him from making a knowing and voluntary waiver of his right to testify. But Cannon was correctly informed that if—and only if—he chose to testify, the state would seek to admit evidence of his prior felony and escape, and would likely be successful in doing so. Even if he were not informed of the details of any agreement, his counsel provided -34- constitutionally sufficient advice for him to knowingly evaluate his right to testify. In sum, we cannot conclude that counsel’s performance was constitutionally deficient or that Cannon’s waiver was involuntary. He was adequately informed of the consequences that would result from testifying.