Opinion ID: 382340
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: incomplete transcript

Text: 26 The transcript in petitioner's murder trial does not include the closing and sentencing arguments of counsel or the voir dire of the jury. It appears that the entire trial was recorded by the court reporter. The customary practice in that court, however, was that voir dire and closing arguments were not transcribed in the absence of a request by the State or the defendant. Both of petitioner's attorneys were familiar with that practice but neither they nor the State requested that those portions of the trial be transcribed. Trial counsel were also informed by the trial judge that if they had any objections to the arguments, the objectionable portion of the argument and the objection would be transcribed. No objections were made. Thus, no part of closing arguments was transcribed. 27 At the time of petitioner's initial appeal to the Supreme Court of Georgia, the trial judge submitted as part of the record on appeal the detailed, seven-page questionnaire required by Ga. Code Ann. § 27-2537(a) and described in Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153, 211-12, 96 S.Ct. 2909, 2942-43, 49 L.Ed.2d 859 (1976) (White, J., concurring). That questionnaire provided a comprehensive summary of the trial and a profile of the defendant. 28 An affidavit of the trial judge was received at the habeas corpus hearing in state court. In that affidavit the trial judge made the following statement. 29 In his closing argument, (the district attorney) factually summarized the evidence in the case. He made no allusions to race nor did he use any epithet in referring to Stephens. I recall no statement by (the district attorney) that was inflammatory or that injected passion or prejudice into the trial of Stephens. 30 Petitioner has not alleged that anything erroneous, inflammatory or prejudicial occurred in the untranscribed portion of the trial. As he stated in his brief, there is nothing to indicate that there was anything of special importance in that part of the trial. His contention, simply stated, is that a death sentence cannot constitutionally be affirmed when the transcript before the reviewing court does not contain the proceedings of the entire trial. 31 Petitioner relies principally on Gardner v. Florida, 430 U.S. 349, 97 S.Ct. 1197, 51 L.Ed.2d 393 (1976). In Gardner, the defendant was convicted of first degree murder and the jury recommended a life sentence. The trial judge did not accept the advisory verdict of the jury, but instead, on the basis of a presentence report, imposed the death penalty. The confidential portion of the presentence report was shown neither to counsel nor to the defendant, and neither requested to see it. The judge did not state on the record the substance of the material contained in the report. The report was also omitted from the record on appeal. The plurality opinion of Justice Stevens, joined by two other justices, found that this procedure violated the Due Process Clause and vacated the sentence. 32 Gardner does not establish the per se rule that petitioner attributes to it. The decisive test is the one suggested by the plurality's statement that the procedure on appeal should be ( ) consistent with the basis upon which the (state's) capital-sentencing procedure was upheld. Id. at 360 n.11, 97 S.Ct. at 1205. This Court must examine Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153, 96 S.Ct. 2909, 49 L.Ed.2d 859, to determine the basis upon which Georgia's capital-sentencing procedure was upheld and thereby identify the function the Georgia Supreme Court's review is to play in that procedure. If the record presented to the Georgia Supreme Court was so deficient that it would be impossible for that court to perform the function required of it under Gregg, or would create a substantial risk that the penalty is being inflicted in an arbitrary and capricious manner, id. at 188, 96 S.Ct. at 2932, petitioner's sentence cannot be permitted to stand. This analysis is especially appropriate where, as here, the case was tried and appealed before the decision in Gregg. 33 In discussing the automatic appeal of death-sentence cases to the Georgia Supreme Court, the Gregg plurality identified the role of that court in reviewing death sentences. 34 That court is required by statute to review each sentence of death and determine whether it was imposed under the influence of passion or prejudice, whether the evidence supports the jury's finding of a statutory aggravating circumstance, and whether the sentence is disproportionate compared to those sentences imposed in similar cases. 35 Id. at 198, 96 S.Ct. at 2936. 36 Several considerations convince us that the record on appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court was adequate to permit that court to make the determinations required of it under Gregg. For the reasons set out below, we hold that Gardner is not controlling here and that petitioner's sentence should not be overturned on this ground. First, the report in Gardner was clearly the key element in the decision to impose the death penalty, for it contained the factual basis for the judge's rejection of the advisory verdict. 430 U.S. at 362, 97 S.Ct. at 1206. Without it, it was impossible for the state supreme court to determine whether the state was administer(ing) its capital-sentencing procedures with an even hand. Id. at 361, 97 S.Ct. at 1206. In this case, however, the bases for the imposition of the death penalty are set forth in the record, and the record is more than adequate to permit the state court to determine whether the death penalty was imposed with an even hand. 37 Second, the plurality in Gardner was obviously disturbed by defense counsel's lack of opportunity to comment on and object to the portion or the report not in the record, and to challenge the accuracy or materiality of the information it contained. Honest and robust debate between adversaries is essential in foreclosing the possibility, in both fact and appearance, for the intrusion of caprice, emotion, and other arbitrary influences in the truth-seeking process. In the absence of such debate, it may be difficult to achieve accuracy and avoid the appearance of arbitrariness. In the present case, all proceedings took place in open court and all counsel had a full opportunity to comment on and challenge those proceedings. The appearance of arbitrariness is thus not a factor here as it was in Gardner. 38 Third, unlike in Gardner, there is affirmative evidence here that the conviction and sentence were based on the evidence presented and transcribed. The State has come forward with affirmative and uncontroverted proof that in the untranscribed arguments the district attorney merely factually summarized the evidence in the case. In addition, the jurors were twice instructed to base their decision on the facts and inferences presented in the evidence. The failure of petitioner's attorneys to make any objection to the argument must also be seen as further evidence that there was no injection of anything prejudicial to petitioner and that the jury received the case solely on the basis of the evidence. 39 Fourth, the Georgia Supreme Court had before it in this case the detailed report of the trial judge on the defendant and the trial. At least three justices in Gregg felt the presence of this report was a significant factor in the state supreme court's review function. 40 An important aspect of the new Georgia legislative scheme, however, is its provision for appellate review. Prompt review by the Georgia Supreme Court is provided for in every case in which the death penalty is imposed. To assist it in deciding whether to sustain the death penalty, the Georgia Supreme Court is supplied, in every case, with a report from the trial judge in the form of a standard questionnaire.... The questionaire contains, inter alia, six questions designed to disclose whether race played a role in the case and one question asking the trial judge whether the evidence forecloses all doubt respecting the defendant's guilt. 41 Id. at 211-12, 96 S.Ct. at 2942-43 (opinion of White, J., joined by Burger, C. J. and Rehnquist, J.). No such report was available to the state supreme court in Gardner. 42 Fifth, as noted above, petitioner has neither alleged nor offered any evidence that he was actually prejudiced by anything said in the untranscribed portion of the trial or by the failure to make the transcription. Both petitioner and one of his trial attorneys were present at the habeas corpus hearing in the Superior Court and neither suggested anything that was harmful, erroneous, inflammatory, or prejudicial. See Clayton v. Blackburn, 578 F.2d 117 (5th Cir. 1978). 43 The presence of these factors persuades us that the record as a whole adequately meets the need for reliability in the determination that death is the appropriate punishment in (this) specific case, Woodson v. North Carolina, 428 U.S. 280, 305, 96 S.Ct. 2978, 2991, 49 L.Ed.2d 944 (1976) (opinion of Stewart, Powell and Stevens, JJ.), and that the capital-sentencing procedures have been administered with an even hand. See Gardner v. Florida, 430 U.S. at 361, 97 S.Ct. at 1206; Proffitt v. Florida, 428 U.S. 242, 250-53, 96 S.Ct. 2960, 2965-67, 49 L.Ed.2d 913 (1976) (opinion of Stewart, Powell and Stevens, JJ.). The state of the record reviewed by the Georgia Supreme Court was adequate to permit it to complete the review functions required of that court under Gregg and to ensure that there was no substantial risk that the death sentence was arbitrarily imposed. Accordingly, we hold that in this case the failure to transcribe counsel's arguments is not a constitutional violation requiring petitioner's sentence to be vacated. 44 Our holding should not be construed to suggest that we condone the failure of the trial court to transcribe the entire proceedings in a death penalty case. We note that the Supreme Court of Georgia has directed that the argument of counsel should henceforth be transcribed in all cases in which the death penalty is sought. Stephens v. Hopper, 241 Ga. at 600, 247 S.E.2d at 95. 45 The question whether voir dire was properly conducted was considered by the Supreme Court of Georgia on direct appeal. Stephens v. State, 237 Ga. 259, 227 S.E.2d 261. That court ordered the trial record to be supplemented. From the extensive notes he made during the trial, the judge filed a five-page supplement to the record on the voir dire issue, and that supplement was acknowledged by counsel. The detailed supplement clearly presented to the Supreme Court of Georgia the opportunity to consider any possible error or any injection of arbitrariness. Petitioner shows no prejudice from the failure to transcribe voir dire. 46 The supplement also shows that the only potential juror expressing conscientious objection to the death penalty was struck by the State using one of its peremptory challenges. There is thus no Witherspoon issue in this appeal. See Witherspoon v. Illinois, 391 U.S. 510, 88 S.Ct. 1770, 20 L.Ed.2d 776 (1968).