Opinion ID: 1435226
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Morales's Claim

Text: Morales contends that his defense counsel rendered ineffective assistance during the guilt phase by presenting the testimony of Politzer, which, he claims, undermined rather than supported the defense's theory that Morales was not guilty by reason of insanity because he was incapable of forming the intent to murder. In support of this theory, he cites our opinion in Combs v. Coyle, 205 F.3d 269 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, 531 U.S. 1035, 121 S.Ct. 623, 148 L.Ed.2d 533 (2000). In Combs, the defense's only expert witness testified on cross-examination, during the guilt phase of the trial, that, although intoxicated, Combs acted purposefully and intentionally. Id. at 287. We held that defense counsel was objectively unreasonable (and thus ineffective) in presenting the witness without conducting a pretrial investigation adequate to reveal this damaging opinion, in light of the fact that involuntary intoxication is a defense, under Ohio law, only to the extent that it impairs the ability to form intent. Id. at 288. This case is distinguishable from Combs, however, in several crucial respects. First, unlike Combs's counsel, Morales's trial attorney fully ascertained his expert witness's opinion before trial. J.A. at 718 (Politzer Aff. at 1 ¶ 3) (When I talked to Mr. Damiani, I told him my findings were more suited to a diminished capacity defense rather than [a] not guilty by reason of insanity defense. . . . [I]n my opinion . . ., he would not be successful on a not guilty by reason of insanity defense.). Second, the bulk of Politzer's testimony was helpful to the defense. Unlike the expert in Combs, who undermined the defense in that case by testifying that the defendant was capabledespite his intoxicationof forming the requisite intent, Politzer testified that Morales's personality disorder, combined with his alcohol dependency and abuse, deprived him of the ability to refrain from or understand the wrongfulness of his actions. J.A. at 898-99 (Trial Tr. at 1534-35). Finally, although Politzer did concede, during cross-examination, that voluntary intoxication alone is not a basis for the insanity defense, J.A. at 913-14 (Trial Tr. at 1549-50), she also testified that voluntary intoxication was not the only contributing factor in the murder of Mario Trevino, J.A. at 951-53 (Trial Tr. at 1587-89). More to the point, Politzer was presented as a psychological, not a legal, expert, and thus her response to the question on cross-examination as to the legal efficacy of a voluntary-intoxication defense was neither relevant nor admissible. In fact, defense counsel objected to the question, but the trial court overruled that objection and allowed Politzer to answer. J.A. at 913-14 (Trial Tr. at 1549-50). Accordingly, because the substance of Politzer's testimony supported the defense theory, and because her one unhelpful comment was improperly admitted over defense counsel's objection, we decline to hold that trial counsel provided ineffective assistance in presenting Politzer's testimony. Morales also argues that defense counsel rendered ineffective assistance by failing to conduct an adequate investigation of Morales's medical records, which would have revealed clear indications of underlying problems including possible neurological impairment. Morales Br. at 41 (internal quotation marks omitted) (quoting J.A. at 659 (Eisenberg Aff. at 6)). According to Morales, a review of these records would have permitted Politzer to provide more helpful testimony. In support of this contention, he points to Politzer's testimony, on cross-examination, that psychological testing of Morales had revealed no signs of mental illness or organic brain impairment. Morales Br. at 40-41 (citing J.A. at 936 (Trial Tr. at 1572)). It is true that medical records that were available but undiscovered at the time of Morales's trial indicated that he may have suffered from neurological deficits. When Morales was in kindergarten, his school psychologist determined that he had an `immature neurological system' which accounted for his behavior control problems. J.A. at 712 (Ruffin Aff. at 18). The psychologist prescribed Morales an unspecified medication for this condition but believed that Morales would outgrow the problem. J.A. at 712-13 (Ruffin Aff. at 18-19). Additional evidence indicated that Morales suffered two head injuries in 1983, only two years before the killing, and a possible drug overdose less than a month before Mario Trevino's murder. J.A. at 714 (Ruffin Aff. at 20). Even assuming, however, that trial counsel was deficient in failing to review these records or to present them to Politzer, our precedents preclude a grant of relief on this ground, as Morales has not demonstrated that he was prejudiced by counsel's performance. We recently denied a claim nearly identical to Morales's on the ground that [t]rial counsel cannot be deemed ineffective, since even at this late date, there is no medical proof of a mental condition. Carter v. Mitchell, 443 F.3d 517, 529 (6th Cir.2006) (internal quotation marks, brackets, and ellipsis omitted), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 127 S.Ct. 955, 166 L.Ed.2d 730 (2007); see also Smith v. Mitchell, 348 F.3d 177, 202 (6th Cir.2003) (Dr. Smith never states that Smith suffers from organic brain damage. The closest thing to organic brain damage in Dr. Smith's statement is that Smith was dependent on alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine, and that each of these chemicals affects the central nervous system.), cert. denied, 543 U.S. 841, 125 S.Ct. 278, 160 L.Ed.2d 65 (2004); Martin v. Mitchell, 280 F.3d 594, 613 (6th Cir.) (Martin's initial brief completely fails to point to what mitigating evidence further action on the part of his counsel would have uncovered.), cert. denied, 537 U.S. 1004, 123 S.Ct. 515, 154 L.Ed.2d 401 (2002); Campbell v. Coyle, 260 F.3d 531, 555 (6th Cir.2001) (denying a habeas claim of ineffective assistance because the petitioner had provided no evidence that he suffered from the claimed disorder), cert. denied, 535 U.S. 975, 122 S.Ct. 1448, 152 L.Ed.2d 390 (2002). Under these precedents, Morales's new evidence, whichat bestindicates that he might suffer from some unidentified and unproven organic brain dysfunction, is insufficient to demonstrate that his trial counsel's allegedly deficient performance prejudiced his case. Moreover, his contention that access to the new evidence would have rendered Politzer's testimony dramatically different, Morales Br. at 41, is at least an exaggeration of the truth. By testifying that Morales had been unable to comprehend the wrongfulness of his actions or to refrain from taking those actions on the night of the murder, Politzer provided evidence supporting the defense's central contention, and that evidence was not significantly undermined by her statement that she had not detected any evidence of organic disease. Accordingly, we hold that the district court did not err in denying habeas relief on this ground.