Opinion ID: 2974046
Heading Depth: 6
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Petitioner’s Defense

Text: Petitioner’s defense was also anemic. Petitioner claims that he and another man purchased .38 caliber bullets for this man’s gun. Petitioner then shot the gun for target practice at his camp. Petitioner then left his camp, returned, left again, and he was then arrested. The prosecution presented Billy Joe Camden (“Camden”) as a rebuttal witness. Camden testified that he purchased .38 caliber bullets at Petitioner’s request. After purchasing these bullets, Camden left Petitioner. (4). Reasonable Probability of a Different Result We hold that had the prosecution disclosed to Petitioner its tacit agreement with Davenport and its attendant benefits, there would have been a reasonable probability of a different result as to both Petitioner’s conviction for first-degree murder and his conviction for second-degree murder. When considered cumulatively, the suppressed agreement was strong impeachment evidence of Davenport. Because of his testimony, Davenport dodged four criminal counts and secured a recommendation from the prosecutor for early release. In addition, not only did the prosecution fail to disclose this tacit agreement, but the prosecution went further and misrepresented to the jury that it had no “say-so” with Davenport’s parole board. The evidence of the parole board’s decision suggests otherwise; in the “Notice of Board Action,” the parole board granted Davenport early release, indicating under “Final Board Action” to “see DA’s letter supporting parole.” (J.A. at 498.) Not only did the prosecution’s letter influence the parole board’s decision, it appears to have been the basis of the board’s decision. Certainly the prosecution cannot require action of the parole board, as prosecutor Miller so testified, but the actual decision of the parole board is proof positive that the prosecution does have influence with the parole board. Moreover, the fact that the parole board took heed to the prosecution’s recommendation that Davenport be paroled is no novel outcome; a prosecutor may appear on behalf of a potential parolee or give similar assistance, and No. 04-5523 Bell v. Bell Page 17 the parole board, while not required to act according to the wishes of the prosecutor, often takes into consideration the prosecutor’s recommendation. Miller’s proclamation to the jury that he had no “say-so” with the parole board was therefore misleading. The harm from the prosecution’s misrepresentation to the jury is similar to that in Reutter, where the Eighth Circuit found that the prosecution’s statement to the jury that the witness had nothing to gain from testifying exacerbated the Brady violation in light of undisclosed evidence that the witness was seeking a commutation of his sentence. 888 F.2d at 582. In this case, the prosecution failed to disclose its tacit agreement to aid Davenport at his parole hearing; additionally, the prosecution then told the jury that it had no power to aid Davenport at his parole hearing, despite the fact that it could do so and did do so. In other words, the prosecution’s statement bolstered Davenport’s testimony by portraying Davenport as a man testifying without benefit, when in fact his testimony should have been questioned because of the actual benefits he realized therefrom. The tacit agreement, the nolle prosequied counts, the letter to the parole board, and the prosecution’s misrepresentation are sufficient to establish materiality. Materiality is especially apparent in light of the prosecution’s remaining evidence. With respect to first-degree murder, Davenport’s testimony was the only evidence of premeditation as to the shooting of Mrs. Wallace. There is a reasonable probability that, had the jury been made aware of Davenport’s agreement with the prosecution, a different result would have occurred, as proof of one of the required elements of first-degree murder would have been in doubt. With respect to Petitioner’s conviction of second-degree murder of Mr. Wallace, Davenport’s testimony was the strongest piece of evidence presented by the prosecution, as it positively identified Petitioner as the shooter. With the veracity of the testimony in doubt, the prosecution would have had to rely on the circumstantial evidence that Petitioner was carrying the same type of bullets that were used to kill the victims, and that spent cartridges found at the crime scene matched spent cartridges found at Petitioner’s camp. The prosecution’s case was also negated by the fact that no blood was found on Petitioner’s clothes, and Petitioner’s testimony that he fired a .38 caliber handgun that belonged to Camden at Petitioner’s camp. These facts sufficiently demonstrate a reasonable probability of a different result with the impeachment of Davenport’s testimony. In the words of the Supreme Court, Petitioner did not receive “a trial resulting in a verdict worthy of confidence.” Kyles, 514 U.S. at 434. We emphasize that the materiality prong is not a sufficiency of the evidence test, nor is the inquiry whether Petitioner more likely than not would have been acquitted. The question is whether the withheld evidence would have “put the whole case in such a different light as to undermine confidence in the verdict.” Id. at 435. Had the jury been made aware of Davenport’s substantial interest in his testimony against Petitioner, the jury’s view of the case would have been significantly colored by this impeachment evidence. Of critical importance is how Davenport’s testimony interacted with the remainder of the evidence and the theory presented by the prosecution. Davenport’s testimony significantly corroborated what the circumstantial evidence could only imply as to the events surrounding the shooting. Had the prosecution made available the appropriate impeaching evidence, not only would Davenport’s testimony have been shrouded in doubt, his testimony’s corroboration of the prosecution’s theory vis-a-vis the circumstantial evidence would also have been weakened. There is simply no way to know how the jury would have viewed the remaining circumstantial evidence with Davenport’s credibility placed into question, such that one cannot safely say that Petitioner received a fair trial. Moreover, we disagree with the district court’s assessment of materiality. We first note that the district court did not consider in its materiality analysis the nolle prosequied counts or the prosecution’s letter to the parole board. It also did not consider the prosecution’s misrepresentation to the jury. These facts alone demonstrate that the district court erred in its materiality analysis. Furthermore, the district court found that materiality was lacking because “Davenport’s offer to No. 04-5523 Bell v. Bell Page 18 testify and statements to the prosecutor were disclosed,” and because “Davenport’s criminal history and his interest in parole eligibility were presented to the jury.” (J.A. at 580.) We will address these points in turn. While the jury knew Davenport offered to testify, they did not know why Davenport offered to testify: he wanted to exchange his testimony for leniency. A witness’ offer to testify is not inherently impeaching; a witness may testify for any number of reasons that do not cast doubt as to his testimony. What makes a witness’ testimony suspect is an offer to testify for a selfinterested motive, and complete evidence of Davenport’s self-interest was never fairly presented to the jury. With respect to Davenport’s criminal history, we agree that Petitioner was afforded the opportunity to impeach Davenport with his criminal history, but this is a non sequitur; the fact that Petitioner was able to impeach Davenport with his criminal history does not answer his inability to impeach Davenport with other crucial evidence that Davenport had an interest in the testimony. The Supreme Court has spoken directly on this type of argument: “[W]e do not believe that the fact that the jury was apprised of other grounds for believing that the witness . . . may have had an interest in testifying against petitioner turned what was otherwise a tainted trial into a fair one.” Napue v. Illinois, 360 U.S. 264, 270 (1959) (emphasis supplied). This language applies with equal force to Respondent’s argument that the jury knew of Davenport’s interest in parole eligibility. Again, while the jury was made aware of this interest, Davenport’s interest in currying favor with the parole board was wholly separate from Davenport’s interest in receiving lenient treatment from the prosecution in the form of the nolle prosequied counts and the recommendation letter to the parole board. The impeachment evidence actually presented at trial does not act as a constitutional substitute for the impeachment evidence suppressed by the prosecution. In short, Davenport’s testimony was the crux of the prosecution’s case as to both first- and second-degree murder. Had Davenport’s testimony been properly impeached, there is a reasonable probability that the result would have been different for both of these charges. B. THE DISTRICT COURT DID NOT ERR IN DENYING RELIEF ON THE PETITIONER’S CLAIM THAT HE WAS DENIED EFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL BECAUSE HIS TRIAL COUNSEL FAILED TO INVESTIGATE AND PRESENT EVIDENCE THAT HE LACKED THE MENS REA NECESSARY FOR FIRST-DEGREE PREMEDITATED MURDER. 1. Preservation of the Issue Respondent argues that this Court may not review Petitioner’s ineffective assistance of counsel claim because he failed to raise the claim before any state court. We agree. As explained above, when a petitioner’s claim is procedurally defaulted in state court, the federal courts may not review the claim on habeas review unless the petitioner shows cause and prejudice. Here, Petitioner failed to exhaust his state remedies with respect to his ineffective assistance of counsel claim. Because a state procedural rule would bar Petitioner from raising this claim in state court, Petitioner’s claim is procedurally defaulted. See supra. Petitioner argues that in fact he raised the substance of his claim before a state court, so that he exhausted his state court remedies and his claim is not procedurally defaulted. We disagree. Petitioner did raise a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel in his state post-conviction hearings, but this claim was based only on two underlying claims: (1) counsel’s failure to object to “and raise on appeal the admissibility of a lay opinion offered by a state’s witness on the mental condition of the dying victim,” Bell v. State, 1994 WL 406168, at ; and (2) counsel’s failure to “raise the issue as to whether a rational trier of fact could find beyond a reasonable doubt [Petitioner] was guilty of murder in the first degree absent proof of deliberation,” (J.A. at 123). Petitioner never raised the No. 04-5523 Bell v. Bell Page 19 underlying claim that counsel failed to investigate and present evidence of alcoholism and mental illness. In determining whether a claim has been fairly presented to the state courts, this Court looks to whether “the petitioner asserted both a factual and legal basis for his claim in state court.” Newton v. Million, 349 F.3d 873, 877 (6th Cir. 2003). In this case, Petitioner did not assert either; Petitioner never presented to the state courts the factual basis of his trial counsel’s failure to investigate or present evidence of alcoholism and mental illness; likewise, Petitioner did not present the legal basis that such action was objectively deficient performance and prejudicial under Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984). Petitioner’s citation to Vasquez v. Hillery, 474 U.S. 254 (1986), is to no avail. That case involved a petitioner who claimed that the state systematically excluded blacks from the grand jury which eventually indicted him. Id. at 256. The petitioner made this claim on both direct review and state habeas review. Id. On federal habeas review, the district court ordered statistical evidence as to the grand jury service of blacks in the relevant county, and it also ordered the parties to present evidence of statistical significance, i.e., the probability that blacks were excluded from the jury not by deliberate design but by “chance or accident alone.” Id. at 257. The Supreme Court held that the district court could view this additional evidence without running afoul of the state exhaustion requirement despite the fact that such evidence was not presented to the state courts. Id. at 258. The Court found that the circumstances present no occasion for the Court to consider a case in which the prisoner has attempted to expedite federal review by deliberately withholding essential facts from the state courts. We hold merely that the supplemental evidence presented by respondent did not fundamentally alter the legal claim already considered by the state courts, and, therefore, did not require that respondent be remitted to state court for consideration of that evidence. Id. at 621-22. The instant case is easily distinguishable; while the petitioner in Hillery was only looking to present supplemental evidence for the same claim, Petitioner here is attempting to add an entirely new underlying claim to his claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. This would work a fundamental alteration to the legal claim already considered by state courts, so that we cannot say that the state courts had the first opportunity to review the claim. See Coleman, 501 U.S. at 731 (“[I]n a federal system, the States should have the first opportunity to address and correct alleged violations of state prisoner’s federal rights.”). The state courts were never presented with the issue of ineffective assistance of counsel due to counsel’s failure to investigate and present evidence of alcoholism and mental illness, and we agree with those circuits that have held that an ineffective assistance of counsel claim based on one ground does not exhaust state court remedies with respect to an ineffective assistance of counsel claim based on another ground. See Sweet v. Bennett, 353 F.3d 135, 139-140 (2d Cir. 2003); Tippitt v. Lockhart, 903 F.2d 552, 554 (8th Cir. 1990); Gibson v. Scheidemantel, 805 F.2d 135, 139 (3d Cir. 1986). The question now is whether Petitioner has demonstrated cause and prejudice for his default, and we conclude that Petitioner has not done so. Petitioner argues that he has cause for not raising this claim before a state court, because the state courts did not provide funding for expert witnesses such as Dr. Auble. This fact does not constitute cause; even without expert witness testimony, Petitioner could have still made a viable claim as to ineffective assistance of counsel due to counsel’s failure to investigate and present evidence of Petitioner’s alcoholism and mental illness. Petitioner could have simply shown that there were records of his conditions sufficient to support a defense, and that counsel did not investigate and thus did not present this evidence. Petitioner also argues that he has cause for not raising the claim before a state court because of the ineffective assistance of counsel during his state post-conviction proceedings. The problem with Petitioner’s position is that attorney error can only be considered cause if the error meets the No. 04-5523 Bell v. Bell Page 20 threshold of ineffective assistance of counsel in violation of the Sixth Amendment. Coleman, 501 U.S. at 752 (citing Murray v. Carrier, 477 U.S. 478, 488 (1986)). Petitioner, however, does not have a constitutional right to effective assistance of counsel during state collateral proceedings. Id. (citing Pennsylvania v. Finley, 481 U.S. 551 (1987); Murray v. Giarratano, 492 U.S. 1 (1989)). Petitioner argues that because ineffective assistance of trial counsel is a claim that can first be brought at a state post-conviction proceeding, Petitioner is entitled to effective assistance of counsel at the post-conviction proceeding. This Court has specifically rejected that argument, finding that a petitioner must bear the risk of attorney error at such proceedings. Abdus-Samad v. Bell, 420 F.3d 614, 631-32 (6th Cir. 2005). With respect to prejudice, Petitioner’s claim lacks merit, so that he cannot establish prejudice. See infra. 2. Standard of Review When a district court denies a habeas petition, this Court reviews its legal conclusions de novo and its factual conclusions for clear error. Lucas v. O’Dea, 179 F.3d 412, 416 (6th Cir. 1999). Because Petitioner filed his habeas petition prior to the enactment of the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (“AEDPA”), the pre-AEDPA standard of review applies with respect to the conclusions of the state courts. Under this standard, the Court “presume[s] the correctness of the state court factual findings, unless rebutted by clear and convincing evidence, and [it] review[s] determinations of law, or mixed questions of fact and law, de novo.” Smith v. Mitchell, 348 F.3d 177, 198 (6th Cir. 2004) (citations omitted). 3. Analysis While we find that Petitioner’s claim is procedurally barred, we also note that Petitioner’s claim lacks merit. Petitioner’s trial counsel conducted a reasonable investigation as to Petitioner’s alcoholism and mental health, and Petitioner was the party ultimately responsible for deciding against presenting evidence of Petitioner’s alcoholism and mental health. a. Legal Framework Under Strickland v. Washington, a petitioner may establish a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel if he shows that: (1) counsel’s performance was deficient in that it fell below an objective standard of reasonableness; and (2) the deficient performance prejudiced the defense in that there is a reasonable probability that but for the deficient performance, the result of the proceeding would have been different. 466 U.S. at 687-88, 694. Under Strickland, trial counsel has a duty to investigate his case: [S]trategic choices made after thorough investigation of law and facts relevant to plausible options are virtually unchallengeable; and strategic choices made after less than complete investigation are reasonable precisely to the extent that reasonable professional judgments support the limitations on investigation. In other words, counsel has a duty to make reasonable investigations or to make a reasonable decision that makes particular investigations unnecessary. In any ineffectiveness case, a particular decision not to investigate must be directly assessed for reasonableness in all the circumstances, applying a heavy measure of deference to counsel’s judgments. The reasonableness of counsel’s actions may be determined or substantially influenced by the defendant’s own statements or actions. Counsel’s actions are No. 04-5523 Bell v. Bell Page 21 usually based, quite properly, on informed strategic choices made by the defendant and on information supplied by the defendant. In particular, what investigation decisions are reasonable depends critically on such information. For example, when the facts that support a certain potential line of defense are generally known to counsel because of what the defendant has said, the need for further investigation may be considerably diminished or eliminated altogether. And when a defendant has given counsel reason to believe that pursuing certain investigations would be fruitless or even harmful, counsel’s failure to pursue those investigations may not later be challenged as unreasonable. In short, inquiry into counsel’s conversations with the defendant may be critical to a proper assessment of counsel’s investigation decisions, just as it may be critical to a proper assessment of counsel’s other litigation decisions. Id. at 690-91. b. Application to This Case Petitioner’s counsel conducted reasonable investigations into Petitioner’s alcoholism and mental health. Counsel requested an initial mental health evaluation of Petitioner due to Petitioner’s admitted substance abuse problems and his blackouts on the day of the crime. Counsel also conducted an initial investigation as to Petitioner’s alcoholism, unearthing records from various mental health and medical facilities. Counsel believed that Petitioner’s best defense was an intoxication defense, but Petitioner insisted on a defense of identity. This was true even after counsel explained to Petitioner other available defenses. At that point, counsel’s failure to further investigate Petitioner’s alcoholism and mental health was completely reasonable, as Petitioner effectively told him to stop investigating these defenses, because Petitioner’s defense of choice was identity. To reiterate the words of the Supreme Court, “The reasonableness of counsel’s actions may be determined or substantially influenced by the defendant’s own statements or actions. Counsel’s actions are usually based, quite properly, on informed strategic choices made by the defendant and on information supplied by the defendant.” Id. at 690. Petitioner made a strategic decision to pursue an identity defense at trial, even though trial counsel believed intoxication was the best defense. Petitioner cannot now rest the blame of that strategic decision on the shoulders of his counsel; his counsel rightfully halted the investigation into Petitioner’s alcoholism and mental health at Petitioner’s request. The point is that counsel must make reasonable investigations into all potential defenses, or have a reasonable explanation why such investigation would be unnecessary, and counsel must present these defenses so Petitioner could make an informed decision: “A good lawyer tries to persuade the accused to make a wise decision about . . . presenting a defense, even though the ultimate decision rests with the client, and wretched advice that leads the accused to make a bad decision is a form of ineffective assistance. The accused is entitled to the information essential to make an educated choice.” Wallace v. Davis, 362 F.3d 914, 920 (7th Cir. 2004) (emphasis supplied). Here, counsel made a reasonable investigation into Petitioner’s mental health and alcoholism, and he told Petitioner that he thought an intoxication defense was Petitioner’s best choice. Petitioner’s decision to forego this defense and to pursue a defense of identity was thus informed, so that Petitioner cannot claim ineffective assistance on the part of his counsel. As the Second Circuit recently observed, “[T]o the extent that defendant instructed his counsel to pursue a course of action that defendant now complains of, there was no abridgement . . . of defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel.” United States v. Wellington, 417 F.3d 284, 289 (2d Cir. 2005). See also Stano v. Dugger, 921 F.2d 1125, 1151 (11th Cir. 1991) (“When a defendant preempts his attorney’s defense strategy, he thereafter cannot claim ineffective assistance of counsel.” (citation omitted)); Alvord v. Wainwright, 725 F.2d 1282, 1288-89 (11th Cir. No. 04-5523 Bell v. Bell Page 22 1984) (holding that counsel’s failure to present an insanity defense was not ineffective assistance when the defendant refused to allow an insanity defense and insisted on relying upon a weak alibi). Petitioner’s related claim that his counsel failed to present a complete defense6 is also meritless and warrants only a few brief words. A defense of identity and a defense of intoxication are inconsistent. See, e.g., Jackson v. Shanks, 143 F.3d 1313, 1320 (10th Cir. 1998) (“Pursuing a diminished capacity defense would have been inconsistent with [the petitioner’s] complete denial of involvement in the robbery.”). Petitioner could not have successfully argued that he did not shoot the victims, but if he did, he was drunk and did not remember. Petitioner chose the defense of identity, and his counsel provided a complete defense under that chosen strategy.