Opinion ID: 166204
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Calling Ralph Robertson as a Witness

Text: 23 Mr. Boltz's first specific claim of ineffective assistance is that Mr. Miller should not have called Ralph Robertson to testify. Mr. Robertson was a friend of Mr. Boltz's and claimed to be a criminal investigator. As the defense's first witness, he testified that he went to Mr. Boltz's trailer the day after the killing to investigate the scene on behalf of his friend and found a book with a bullet hole through it in the trailer. He also found a bullet slug near the book which was admitted into evidence. The implication of Mr. Robertson's testimony was that Mr. Kirby had fired a gun at Mr. Boltz, which tended to bolster Mr. Boltz's claim that he was acting in self-defense. 24 On cross-examination, however, Mr. Robertson testified that he was not a ballistics expert and had not compared the slug he claimed to have found with the bullets from the gun in Mr. Kirby's car. Moreover, the state later called the lead investigator in the case to the stand. He testified that he had test-fired the gun found in Mr. Kirby's car and examined the slug Mr. Robertson allegedly found; he stated that the bullets were clearly not the same. In his § 2254 petition, Mr. Boltz claims that Mr. Miller's decision to call Mr. Robertson as a witness constituted deficient performance and that this error effectively destroyed the credibility of the defense from the outset of the trial. The District Court did not decide whether Mr. Miller's conduct constituted deficient performance. Instead, it held that Mr. Boltz had failed to demonstrate prejudice from any error. We agree. 25 We first note that Mr. Boltz insisted that Mr. Robertson testify. Moreover, when we consider the overwhelming evidence against Mr. Boltz — including Mr. Boltz's confrontation with his wife and Mr. Morrison earlier on the day of the killing, Mr. Boltz's statement to Mr. Morrison that he had cut off heads in the war and had not been afraid to do so, his finding the note from Ms. Kirby saying the marriage was over, his subsequent threat to Ms. Kirby that evening that he was going to cut off her son's head, the recorded phone call played to the jury in which Ms. Kirby told the police about that threat, and the fact that Mr. Boltz admitted to stabbing Mr. Kirby a short time later — we cannot say that there is a reasonable probability that had Mr. Robertson not testified, the jury would have found Mr. Boltz not guilty of first-degree murder. 26 4. Failure to Demonstrate that Mr. Boltz Did Not Plant the Gun Found in Mr. Kirby's Car 27 At trial, the State contended that Mr. Boltz planted the .22 caliber pistol found in Mr. Kirby's car in order to claim self-defense. Eyewitness Vita Witt, who was in a home nearby looking out the window during the killing, corroborated the State's theory by testifying at trial that she saw Mr. Boltz put the gun in Mr. Kirby's car. In his § 2254 petition, Mr. Boltz argues that Mr. Miller should have ordered the transcript of the preliminary hearing because had he done so, he would have realized that Ms. Witt testified in that hearing that Mr. Boltz did not put the gun in the car and could have impeached her testimony at trial. The District Court determined that Mr. Miller was deficient in not ordering the transcript but held there was no prejudice. We agree. 28 Mr. Boltz's only argument that he was prejudiced by Mr. Miller's failure to order the transcript is that had Mr. Miller ordered the transcript, he would have elicited testimony from Ms. Witt that Mr. Boltz did not plant the gun. This contention, however, fails to address the prejudice component as defined by Strickland — namely, that but for counsel's error, there is a reasonable probability that the jury would have returned a different verdict. We seriously question whether impeaching Ms. Witt on this point would have led the jury to conclude that Mr. Boltz did not plant the gun because the State introduced photographs showing that the gun had no blood on it even though it was resting on the car seat atop of a pool of blood — evidence that strongly supports the State's theory that someone put the weapon in the car after the killing. Moreover, impeaching Ms. Witt's testimony that she saw Mr. Boltz plant the gun could not have reasonably undermined the evidence of premeditation — namely, Mr. Boltz's statement to Ms. Kirby that he was going to cut off Mr. Kirby's head just minutes before he nearly did so — that was obviously crucial to the jury's verdict of first-degree murder. Finally, given that Ms. Witt also testified she saw Mr. Boltz astride Mr. Kirby — whom she described as looking as motionless as a rag doll — stabbing him repeatedly while calling him a son of a bitch and smiling when he finished, we conclude that Mr. Boltz was not prejudiced by Mr. Miller's error in not ordering the transcript from the preliminary hearing so that he could have impeached Ms. Witt's statement that she saw Mr. Boltz plant the .22 pistol in Mr. Kirby's car. 29 5. Failure to Introduce Evidence of Bruises on Mr. Boltz's Arm 30 During his opening statement, Mr. Miller promised the jury that the defense would present evidence that Mr. Kirby, while initiating a life-threatening attack, grabbed Mr. Boltz by the arm and bruised him. Mr. Miller did not put on any such evidence, forgetting to ask Mr. Boltz and witnesses Mr. Robertson and Mr. Thompson about it. The District Court concluded that this constituted deficient representation. Nonetheless, it held that Mr. Boltz was not prejudiced. 31 Again, we agree that Mr. Boltz has failed to demonstrate that there is a reasonable probability that the jury would have returned any other verdict if Mr. Miller had put on evidence of the bruises. With respect to the second prong of the Strickland test, Mr. Boltz argues only that Mr. Miller made promises to the jury and then failed to deliver and that this allowed the State to further impugn the integrity of the defense through yet more rebuttal witnesses. While we agree that the omitted evidence could tend to corroborate Mr. Boltz's version of events, given the overwhelming evidence of premeditation, Mr. Boltz has not demonstrated a reasonable probability that, but for Mr. Miller's failure to introduce such evidence, the result of the proceeding would have been different. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 694, 104 S.Ct. 2052. 32 6. Failure to Present Evidence of Mr. Kirby's Glasses 33 Mr. Kirby's glasses were found in the front passenger seat of his car, and Mr. Boltz argues that Mr. Miller should have pointed this out to the jury. He maintains that there was testimony at trial that Mr. Kirby drove his car to a screeching halt in front of Mr. Boltz's trailer, and that evidence of Mr. Kirby leaving his prescription glasses in the passenger seat further demonstrates that he got out of the car intending to confront Mr. Boltz physically. The District Court concluded that Mr. Miller's failure to introduce this evidence did not meet either prong of the Strickland test. We agree that trial counsel was not deficient in this regard. 34 Evidence at trial established that Mr. Kirby often did not wear his glasses. Indeed, Mr. Kirby's ex-wife testified that he did not wear them every day. Mr. Kirby's brother also testified that Mr. Kirby did not wear his glasses often and that they may simply have been reading glasses. Moreover, as Mr. Miller put it, [t]he fact that the glasses were out in the car didn't prove ... whether that made him the aggressor or not. Indeed, as the State contends, the jury could just as easily have inferred that the glasses, which were not folded closed and were splattered with blood, fell off Mr. Kirby's head during the attack by Mr. Boltz. Given these circumstances, failing to raise the issue of the glasses falls within the realm of strategic choice. See Strickland, 466 U.S. at 689, 104 S.Ct. 2052. 35 7. Failure to Present Evidence that Mr. Kirby Knew Mr. Boltz Had Accused Ms. Kirby of Adultery 36 Ms. Kirby testified at trial that her son knew nothing about her marital problems with Mr. Boltz. In support of his petition for habeas relief, Mr. Boltz argues that Mr. Miller should have impeached Ms. Kirby's trial testimony with her preliminary hearing testimony. According to Mr. Boltz, Mr. Miller's failure to demonstrate that Mr. Kirby knew that Mr. Boltz had accused his wife of having an affair left the jury without a reason why Mr. Kirby would want to kill Mr. Boltz. 37 We agree with the District Court that Mr. Miller's failure to impeach Ms. Kirby on this point did not prejudice him. Even if the jury believed that Mr. Kirby was angry with Mr. Boltz for accusing his mother of adultery and drove to Mr. Boltz's home to confront him about it, the fact remains that after Mr. Boltz informed Mr. Kirby of the alleged affair, Mr. Boltz phoned Ms. Kirby and told her he was going to cut off Mr. Kirby's head. That is to say, this impeachment simply does not speak to the issue of premeditation, on which the State presented overwhelming evidence. Hence, there is no reasonable probability that the jury would have returned a different verdict had Mr. Miller impeached Ms. Kirby on this issue. 38 8. Failure to Investigate Mr. Kirby's Violent Nature 39 Mr. Boltz next argues that Mr. Miller failed to investigate Mr. Kirby's propensity for violence but nonetheless attempted to show that Mr. Kirby was a violent person at trial; this, Mr. Boltz contends, only opened the door for the State to present evidence of Mr. Kirby's peacefulness. Further, Mr. Boltz argues, because Mr. Miller had not investigated Mr. Kirby's propensity for violence, Mr. Miller had no evidence to rebut the State's evidence of Mr. Kirby's peaceful nature. 40 Mr. Boltz fails to satisfy the second prong of the Strickland test. First, as the District Court exhaustively details, the potential testimony from witnesses who would have testified that Mr. Kirby had a violent nature is far from ideal. Moreover, we simply cannot conclude that had Mr. Miller investigated Mr. Kirby's propensity for violence and presented such evidence to the jury, the jury would have returned a different verdict given the overwhelming evidence of premeditation in this case. 41 9. Failure to Present Evidence that Mr. Kirby Attacked Mr. Boltz Inside the Trailer 42 The State's theory of the case was that Mr. Boltz phoned Mr. Kirby and asked him to drive out to his trailer. When Mr. Kirby pulled up, the State contended, Mr. Boltz met him on his front porch and stabbed him with premeditation repeatedly as Mr. Kirby retreated toward his car. In accordance with this theory, the State told the jury that Mr. Kirby never stepped inside the trailer — and therefore was not the initial aggressor — and that the police found no blood stains inside the trailer. In his § 2254 petition, Mr. Boltz argues that Mr. Miller should have called three witnesses who would have rebutted the State's assertion that he essentially ambushed Mr. Kirby on the porch by testifying about blood spatter they saw inside the living room. 43 We agree with the OCCA, Boltz, 806 P.2d at 1126, and the District Court that Mr. Miller's actions were not deficient. First, as the District Court thoroughly illustrated, Mr. Boltz's proposed witnesses' testimony is not compelling. Second, photographs taken by investigators revealed no blood in the trailer. Third, Mr. Miller himself surveyed the scene the day after the killing and found no evidence of a struggle inside. Fourth, Ms. Witt, the eyewitness to the killing, testified that she saw Mr. Boltz standing over Mr. Kirby just outside his car — not on the porch — when Mr. Boltz was stabbing Mr. Kirby and cutting his throat. Finally, as Mr. Miller elaborated during his testimony at the habeas evidentiary hearing, given these circumstances whether Mr. Kirby entered the house or not was simply not relevant to Mr. Boltz's self-defense theory. As such, we conclude that failure to present evidence of an indoor attack was a legitimate strategic choice. See Strickland, 466 U.S. at 689, 104 S.Ct. 2052. 10. Failure to Call Mr. Morrison to Testify 44 Mr. Boltz next argues that Mr. Miller should have called Mr. Morrison to testify about the circumstances that would have led a reasonable person in Mr. Boltz's position to believe Ms. Kirby was having an affair. He also argues that Mr. Morrison's testimony would have demonstrated that he did not feel threatened by Mr. Boltz's statement about cutting off heads in the war. 45 To begin, whether Mr. Boltz reasonably believed his wife was having an affair is not relevant to this case. 2 Therefore, Mr. Boltz has failed to show that Miller's decision not to call Mr. Morrison to the stand fell below an objective standard of reasonableness under the first prong of Strickland. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 688, 104 S.Ct. 2052. As to his second argument, Mr. Boltz was not prejudiced by Mr. Miller's failure to call Mr. Morrison to the stand in order to testify that he did not perceive Mr. Boltz's statements as threats. The overwhelming evidence of premeditated murder in this case does not cause us to question the jury's verdict based on the absence of Mr. Morrison's testimony on this point. 46 11. Deborah Gregg's Testimony Regarding Motive 47 At trial, Deborah Gregg, an office deputy with the Pottawatomie County Sheriff's Office, testified that while she was booking Mr. Boltz into jail, she allowed him to make a telephone call and overheard him say to the recipient, You damn right I killed him. I'd do it again if I had to. He took my life, he took my wife, my family, and he took my church. Although there is some dispute between Mr. Boltz and the State as to whom Mr. Boltz called that night, the District Court determined on the basis of phone records that the call was placed to Earline Thompson, Mr. Boltz's ex-wife. After a review of the record, we accept this factual determination because it is not clearly erroneous. See Bryan, 335 F.3d at 1216. 48 In support of his petition for habeas relief, Mr. Boltz argues that Mr. Miller should have impeached Officer Gregg's testimony by calling Ms. Thompson to testify about the statement; 3 she apparently would have testified that Mr. Boltz never made the statement. 4 Assuming Ms. Thompson would have testified to this effect, Mr. Boltz has not shown how this testimony would have changed the outcome of the trial. Evidence that Mr. Boltz had seen Ms. Kirby and Mr. Morrison together the day of the killing and that Ms. Kirby wrote him a note telling him their marriage was over supplied the motive for murder to the same extent as Officer Gregg's unrebutted testimony; therefore, even if Ms. Thompson had testified that Mr. Boltz never made the statement attributed to him by Officer Gregg, we are confident the jury would have still returned a guilty verdict of first-degree murder. 49 12. Failure to Pursue an Intoxication Defense 50 Voluntary intoxication can reduce homicide from murder in the first degree to manslaughter in the first degree, provided it rendered the defendant incapable of entertaining a necessary specific intent to effect death. Brogie v. State, 695 P.2d 538, 546 (Okla.Crim.App.1985). Mr. Boltz claims to have ingested prescription medication with a large amount of alcohol the day of the killing and that Mr. Miller should have investigated this and brought it to the jury's attention. Mr. Boltz argues he was prejudiced by this alleged error because evidence of intoxication makes a much more compelling case for either a defense to the crime or a lesser included offense. 51 Contrary to Mr. Boltz's assertion, he was not prejudiced by Mr. Miller's failure to develop an intoxication defense because the jury would have returned the same verdict even had such evidence been before it. When voluntary intoxication is relied upon as an affirmative defense, the defendant must introduce sufficient evidence to raise a reasonable doubt as to his ability to form the requisite criminal intent. Brogie, 695 P.2d at 546. As the District Court reasoned, however, Mr. Boltz cannot escape the fact the jury was informed he had stated to Pat Kirby shortly before the murder that he was going to cut off her son's head. Shortly thereafter, in addition to other multiple stab wounds, [Mr. Boltz] nearly decapitated the victim with his knife. In other words, the evidence clearly shows Mr. Boltz had formed the specific intent to kill Mr. Kirby; indeed, he informed his wife of that intention. Because testimony that Mr. Boltz had been drinking heavily while on prescription drugs earlier in the day would in no way call that evidence into question, habeas relief on this ground is denied. 13. Failure to Rebut the Burglary Allegation 52 During the penalty phase of the trial, the State offered evidence that Mr. Boltz broke into Mr. Kirby's home looking for Ms. Kirby after killing her son but before going to the American Legion, in order to establish the aggravating circumstance that there was a probability Mr. Boltz would commit criminal acts of violence constituting a continuing threat to society. See Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 21, § 701.12(7). Specifically, the State put on testimony that the morning after Mr. Kirby's death, police discovered the door to his home splintered as a result of forcible entry. Although nothing was missing, a picture on the floor was shattered. Mr. Boltz argues that Mr. Miller was ineffective because he did not rebut the State's allegation by putting on evidence that it would have been impossible for Mr. Boltz to have committed the burglary and still arrive at the American Legion when he did. 53 Assuming Mr. Miller should have pursued this line of attack — which, given the testimony of Officer Moody and the other witnesses at the American Legion Hall, is a dubious assumption at best — we are not convinced that the burglary was essential to the jury's finding of the continuing threat aggravating circumstance. Ms. Kirby testified that after Mr. Boltz told her he was going to kill her son, he told her that he would also kill her. Mr. Boltz subsequently carried through on the first threat. Even if the jury did not believe that Mr. Boltz broke in to Mr. Kirby's home looking for Ms. Kirby the night of the killing, the fact remains that Mr. Boltz threatened Ms. Kirby's life shortly before he killed her son. As the State stated during the penalty phase, the Defendant appears to harbor extreme ill will towards the mother of the victim, and ... she is still alive. Therefore, in light of that evidence, we are unpersuaded that had Mr. Miller demonstrated that Mr. Boltz did not burglarize Mr. Kirby's residence, the jury might have found that Mr. Boltz was not a continuing threat to society. 14. Penalty Phase Mitigation Witnesses 54 Mr. Boltz's final contention with respect to his ineffective assistance claim is that Mr. Miller should have conducted a proper investigation of possible mitigation witnesses and then called such witnesses to testify during the penalty phase. 55 To begin, we note that Mr. Miller made a record at trial that Mr. Boltz did not want him to present mitigation witnesses: 56 MR. MILLER: I want the record to show that Mr. Boltz has advised me that he does not wish to present any additional evidence to this jury during the punishment stage, with the exception of a stipulation that the District Attorney and the defense are entering into; and that stipulation being, that Mr. Boltz has no prior criminal record, which is not to say that we aren't going to present argument, and that sort of thing. But we intend to offer no other evidence. 57 And that's your — your instructions to me; is that correct? Would you say Yes — 58 MR. BOLTZ: Yes. 59 ... 60 THE COURT: All right. 61 Trial Tr. at 687-88. 62 Instead, Mr. Miller incorporated the testimony of four character witnesses who appeared in the guilt phase of the trial. Moreover, Mr. Miller testified at the evidentiary hearing that he conducted an investigation into possible mitigation evidence, but ultimately did not call witnesses — including members of Mr. Boltz's church — in part because they either did not know Mr. Boltz well, were unwilling to testify, or had criminal records or other problems that would undermine their efficacy as a mitigation witness. Indeed, Mr. Miller testified that his investigation produced very few people that would be willing to offer any kind of evidence in mitigation for Mr. Boltz. 63 Mr. Boltz argues, however, that had Mr. Miller conducted an adequate investigation, he would have discovered many helpful witnesses. The District Court examined the proffered testimony of these witnesses during the evidentiary hearing and concluded that they would have testified in the same manner as the character witnesses in the guilt phase of the trial — namely, that [Mr. Boltz] was a good guy, honest and likable — and that, given the nature of the crime, there was not a possibility that their cumulative testimony would have altered the jury's decision to impose death. 5 64 Upon a review of the record, we agree. The State presented two possible aggravating circumstances: that the killing was especially heinous, atrocious or cruel, and that Mr. Boltz was a continuing threat to society. The fact that these witnesses considered Mr. Boltz to be a good person would not have supported the notion that the crime was not committed in a heinous, atrocious, or cruel manner. Additionally, the fact that Mr. Boltz threatened to kill Ms. Kirby shortly before he killed her son provides more than adequate support for finding the continuing threat aggravating circumstance, even if witnesses testified that Mr. Boltz was generally an upstanding citizen. Accordingly, habeas relief is denied as to this claim. 65 In sum, because we conclude that Mr. Miller's performance either was not deficient or not prejudicial, we conclude that his conduct did not rise to the level of ineffective assistance of counsel; therefore, habeas relief is not warranted. 6 66