Opinion ID: 612544
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Prosecution and Preparation for the Mitigation Hearing

Text: Foust waived his Miranda rights and confessed to breaking into the Coreanos' home, striking Jose with a hammer, and raping Damaris. However, Foust claimed that he `didn't intentionally want to do any harm' and said, `I really don't know what I was doing, just trying to find out where Jani[r]a was.' Id. (alteration omitted). Foust pleaded not guilty and was appointed two attorneys  Charles K. Webster and Donald Butler  on April 13, 2001. After waiving his right to a jury, Foust proceeded to trial on December 12, 2001 before a three-judge panel. Foust presented no evidence during the guilt phase. Id. at 847. On December 14, 2001, the three-judge panel convicted Foust of the aggravated murder of Jose Coreano; the kidnaping, rape, gross sexual imposition, and attempted murder of Damaris Coreano; and aggravated burglary, aggravated robbery, and aggravated arson. Important for this appeal is the involvement of Dr. James Karpawich during this time period. Karpawich was appointed by the trial court on June 13, 2001 as an independent psychiatric expert to evaluate Foust's sanity at the time of the act and competency to stand trial. App'x Vol. 2 at 300 (Journal Entry Granting Mot. for Indep. Psychiatric Expert). Four months later, on October 18, 2001, Foust's attorneys requested funds to appoint Karpawich as a mitigation specialist, id. at 372 (Mot. for Appropriation of Funds for Mitigation Expert), and the court appointed Karpawich on December 3, 2001, id. at 402. [1] On December 12, 2001, Karpawich received a voicemail from Foust's attorneys informing him that he should prepare to testify for the mitigation hearing `in three or four days.' App'x Vol. 3 at 1202 (Karpawich Aff. ¶ 11). (The mitigation hearing was later postponed by 30 days.) Karpawich had not heard from Foust's attorneys in months. He explained via a faxed letter that counsel had never informed him of any expectation that he would assist with the mitigation phase. The next day, Foust's attorneys spoke with Karpawich by phone to inform him of his appointment as a mitigation specialist. During this conversation, Karpawich asked whether a social worker also had been appointed to assist with the mitigation phase. Webster said no. Karpawich pointed out that usually there was a social worker working on the mitigation aspect of a capital case. Id. at 1203 (Karpawich Aff. ¶ 12). On many occasions, Karpawich recommended to Foust's attorneys that they (1) obtain records relating to Foust's upbringing, (2) speak with potential witnesses, and (3) meet with Karpawich:  September 20, 2001: Karpawich recommended that the attorneys obtain a court order directing Cuyahoga County Children's Services to release their records related to Kelly Foust and his family for the purpose of eventual mitigation. Id. at 1202 (Karpawich Aff. ¶ 10).  December 13, 2001: Karpawich faxed Foust's attorneys a letter in which he reminded them that on September 20, 2011, [he] had recommended they obtain records from Children's Services to be used during the mitigation phase of the Foust capital trial. Id. at 1202-03 (Karpawich Aff. ¶ 11).  December 13, 2001: By phone that same day, Butler told Karpawich that the attorneys had not obtained a copy of the Children's Services records and that they had not contacted any member of the Foust family. Id. at 1203 (Karpawich Aff. ¶ 12).  December 16, 2001: Webster wrote to Karpawich, saying that he and Butler would like to meet with Karpawich at Karpawich's convenience. Id. at ¶ 13.  December 21, 2001: Karpawich sent a letter to the attorneys recommending that they obtain records from Cuyahoga County Children's Services, the Cuyahoga County Jail[,] and other sources. Id. at 1204 (Karpawich Aff. ¶ 14).  December 31, 2001: Karpawich sent a letter to the attorneys, remind[ing] them that [Karpawich] still had not received the Children's Services records. He again recommended that they obtain Kelly's records reflecting his time in the Cuyahoga County jail since his arrest. Karpawich told the attorneys that he could meet with them on January 2, 4, or 5, 2002. Id. at ¶ 15.  January 4, 2002: Concerned because he had not heard from the attorneys since the December 16 letter, Karpawich left a voicemail with Webster. Webster did not return the call. Karpawich also phoned Butler, who stated that he had not talked to Webster since the end of Kelly's trial, and ... had not obtained any of the records [that Karpawich] had requested. Karpawich recommended that [Webster] speak to witnesses for the mitigation hearing. Id. at ¶ 16.  January 4, 2002: After the conversation with Butler, Karpawich faxed a letter to both attorneys, again recommend[ing] that they contact Kelly's sister GaryAnne, his mother Barbara[,] and his father Gary Sr. He provided telephone numbers for those three family members and attached four pages of notes and suggested questions for the attorneys to ask the witnesses. After the fact, Karpawich observed that the attorneys used many of the questions I suggested, with little deviation. Karpawich ended the letter stating: `I am still able to meet with you tomorrow to discuss mitigation issues.' Id. at 1204-05 (Karpawich Aff. ¶ 17). The attorneys did not respond.  January 5, 2002: Via fax to the attorneys, Karpawich reiterated [his] recommendations regarding interviewing witnesses and getting pertinent records for mitigation. He added that his experience from other capital cases was that family members and other witnesses testified first to establish the basis for the opinions [that Karpawich] would be stating at the mitigation hearing. Karpawich asked the attorneys to inform him which witnesses would testify and what documents would be entered as evidence. Even though there was only one more full day before the January 7, 2002 hearing, Karpawich again stated that he was available to meet with the attorneys before the hearing. Id. at 1204 (Karpawich Aff. ¶ 18). The attorneys did not respond. In fact, counsel performed minimal work on Foust's case during the weeks between conviction and the mitigation hearing. Butler's Motion, Entry, and Certification for Appointed Counsel Fees shows that, between December 14, 2001 (the date of conviction) and January 7, 2002 (the date of the mitigation hearing), Butler worked only seven days and a total of 28 hours. Butler did not work any hours between December 18, 2001 and January 2, 2002. Similarly, Webster's fee statement shows that he worked nine days and a total of 24.5 hours between conviction and the mitigation hearing. [2] In the end, the attorneys never met with Karpawich before the mitigation hearing. The attorneys never spoke to any of Foust's family members before the mitigation hearing. They did not prepare Barbara or Gary to testify. Id. at 1226 (Barbara Aff. ¶ 4); id. at 1227 (Gary Sr. Aff. ¶ 2). The attorneys never sought the Children's Services records that Karpawich repeatedly asked them to obtain. The attorneys never requested funds for a substance-abuse expert to aid the defense team's preparation for the mitigation proceedings.