Opinion ID: 819899
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The relevance of the proffered evidence

Text: depends on the existence of the preliminary fact; (2) The preliminary fact is the personal knowledge of a witness concerning the subject matter of his testimony; (3) T he preliminary fact is the authenticity of a writing; or (4) The proffered evidence is of a statement or other conduct of a particular person and the preliminary fact is whether that person made the statement or so conducted himself. CANNEDY V . ADAMS 31 to lay a foundation, trial counsel would have had to produce additional evidence “sufficient to permit the jury to find [that A.G. wrote the away message] by a preponderance of the evidence.” People v. Hinton, 126 P.3d 981, 1020 (Cal. 2006); see also People v. Marshall, 919 P.2d 1280, 1297 (Cal. 1996) (“[T]he trial court must determine whether the evidence is sufficient to permit the jury to find the preliminary fact true by a preponderance of the evidence, even if the court personally would disagree.” (emphasis added) (citations omitted)). There is a reasonable probability that a competent lawyer would have been able to produce evidence sufficient to permit a jury to find, by a preponderance of the evidence, that A.G. wrote the away message. J.C.’s declaration establishes from personal knowledge that the away message appeared on A.G.’s America Online Instant Messenger account. Competent counsel could have interviewed J.C. to find out (b) Subject to Section 702, the court may admit conditionally the proffered evidence under this section, subject to evidence of the preliminary fact being supplied later in the course of the trial. (c) If the court admits the proffered evidence under this section, the court: (1) M ay, and on request shall, instruct the jury to determine whether the preliminary fact exists and to disregard the proffered evidence unless the jury finds that the preliminary fact does exist. (2) Shall instruct the jury to disregard the proffered evidence if the court subsequently determines that a jury could not reasonably find that the preliminary fact exists. 32 CANNEDY V . ADAMS what she knew about A.G.’s use of instant messaging (including whether the style, grammar, and spelling of the away message were similar to those in A.G.’s other away messages); questioned Pia, Petitioner, and A.G. about A.G.’s use of instant messaging and whether her account was password protected; and determined whether A.G. had been staying “at [L.’s house]” when the away message was posted. The conclusion that such foundational evidence was available is bolstered by the fact that, at trial, Pia alluded to A.G.’s extensive use of an instant messaging account. Thus, there is a reasonable probability that a competent lawyer would have introduced evidence of the away message in an admissible form. Once introduced, the evidence of the away message would have been the cornerstone of Petitioner’s case. The message was powerful evidence that A.G. had fabricated her allegations of abuse. She stated that she “just made [the allegations of abuse] up, so [she] could get away from it all.” It is difficult to imagine any evidence that could have been more exculpatory for Petitioner than the alleged victim’s broad recantation of her accusations. Furthermore, at trial, the government introduced no physical evidence linking Petitioner to the abuse of A.G., and there were significant inconsistencies in the government witnesses’ testimony. Meanwhile, Defendant served as the lone defense witness. The away message thus would have provided critical corroboration for Defendant’s testimony and would have severely undermined the prosecution’s case on the molestation charges. Counsel’s failure to introduce evidence of the away message also was prejudicial with respect to Petitioner’s conviction for attempting to dissuade A.G. from testifying, CANNEDY V . ADAMS 33 because it went to the heart of A.G.’s credibility. A.G. provided the only testimony from personal knowledge that Petitioner had attempted, in January 2004, to dissuade her from reporting the molestation to police. Pia’s account of that conversation, at which she was present, differed from A.G.’s in that Pia testified that Petitioner never told A.G. not to tell the police about the molestation. Petitioner also testified that he did not warn A.G. not to tell police or admonish her that she and her sisters could be sent to a foster home. Finally, the government’s case on this count already suffered from inconsistencies between A.G’s testimony and that of her boyfriend regarding the time frame for the alleged dissuasion. A.G.’s boyfriend testified that A.G. had told him, in December 2003, that Petitioner attempted to dissuade her from telling anyone about the molestation. But, by A.G.’s account at trial, Petitioner did not attempt to dissuade her until January 2004. The away message thus would have corroborated the defense’s theory that A.G. was not a credible witness and that her account of Petitioner’s actions and statements could not be trusted. Accordingly, a reasonable probability exists that, had the away message been admitted, at least one juror would have found Petitioner not guilty of the dissuasion charge.9 9 Furthermore, to obtain a conviction under California Penal Code section 136.1(b)(1), the government must demonstrate that the person whom the defendant attempted to dissuade was the victim of a crime. See People v. Upsher, 66 Cal. Rptr. 3d 481, 488 (Ct. App. 2007) (“To prove a violation of section 136.1, subdivision (b)(1), the prosecution must show (1) the defendant has attempted to prevent or dissuade a person (2) who is a victim or witness to a crime (3) from making any report of their victimization to any peace officer or other designated officials.”); Cal. Crim. Jury Instruction 2622 (providing model jury instructions that include as an element of the offense that the person the defendant allegedly sought to influence was a crime victim). T he statute defines a 34 CANNEDY V . ADAMS The dissent identifies two “problems” that Petitioner has in demonstrating prejudice: that a jury might not believe J.C. about what she saw on the Internet and that they might not believe A.G.’s recantation. Thus, the dissent argues that a fair-minded jurist could have concluded that putting J.C. on the stand probably would not have made a difference. But that argument sidesteps the critical question in determining prejudice: whether a fair-minded jurist could fail to acknowledge at least a reasonable probability of a different outcome. “Strickland asks whether it is reasonably likely the result would have been different. This does not require a showing that counsel’s actions more likely than not altered the outcome . . . .” Richter, 131 S. Ct. at 792 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). In a “he said, she said” case, such as this, it would have been objectively unreasonable not to acknowledge that both outcomes had a reasonable probability of occurring. In sum, the state court’s conclusion that Petitioner received constitutionally sufficient assistance of counsel constituted an “objectively unreasonable” application of the Strickland standard. Williams, 529 U.S. at 409. The state court’s determination that counsel’s performance was not deficient rested on unreasonable grounds, and no reasonable argument supports the state court’s determination that Petitioner suffered no prejudice. “victim” as “any natural person with respect to whom there is reason to believe that any crime . . . is being or has been perpetrated or attempted to be perpetrated.” Cal. Penal Code § 136(2). Accordingly, to convict Petitioner under section 136.1(b)(1), the government had to demonstrate that A.G. was a victim. As discussed above, there is a reasonable probability that the evidence of the away message would have created at least a reasonable doubt as to whether A.G. had indeed been victimized by Petitioner. CANNEDY V . ADAMS 35 Having concluded that the state court’s decision was unreasonable, we “review the substantive constitutionality of the state custody de novo” to determine whether Petitioner suffered a constitutional violation entitling him to relief under § 2254(a). Frantz, 533 F.3d at 736–37. Largely for the reasons discussed above, we conclude that Petitioner received ineffective assistance of counsel. First, trial counsel performed deficiently. The defense theory of the case was that A.G. had fabricated her allegations. Defense counsel knew that J.C. could provide A.G.’s motive for doing so. Competent counsel would not have failed to interview such a potentially important witness or to introduce the significant exculpatory evidence that she could have provided. Second, counsel’s deficient performance prejudiced Petitioner. It was reasonably likely that a competent lawyer could have introduced evidence of the away message in an admissible form. The prosecution’s case rested on the jury’s believing A.G.’s allegations, and its case was already weakened by inconsistencies in the government witnesses’ testimony. Thus, had evidence of the away message been admitted, it was reasonably likely that at least one juror would have credited that evidence and concluded that a reasonable doubt existed as to whether A.G. fabricated her allegations. Accordingly, there is a reasonable probability that, but for trial counsel’s deficient performance, the outcome of the trial would have been different. Petitioner’s claim therefore meets the Strickland standard for ineffective assistance of counsel, and his petition for relief must be granted. AFFIRMED. 36 CANNEDY V . ADAMS