Opinion ID: 744576
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Failure to impeach Fink

Text: 35 At Thompson's trial, the State called Edward Fink, a jailhouse informant, who testified that Thompson had admitted raping and murdering Fleischli. Fink testified that he had come forward with Thompson's confession on his own initiative and that in exchange for his statement he asked only that he be allowed to serve his parole violation sentence in Chino. Fink also admitted to four prior felony convictions. 36 Brower cross-examined Fink and elicited that Fink had spoken twice with law enforcement officers about Thompson's case. Brower also produced Fink's rap sheet, which listed his additional felonies and numerous aliases. Brower also inquired into Fink's history of drug abuse, and got Fink to admit that he was known as an informant. 37 There was, however, far more to the story of perennial informant Fink. At the evidentiary hearing, Thompson produced Fink's extensive history as an informant who frequently claimed that fellow inmates confessed their crimes to him while awaiting trial and who frequently received favors in exchange for cooperating with the police. Joel Baruch, a defense attorney, testified that in another capital case, in which he represented the defendant, he had discovered Fink's informant history, including statements in Fink's file by law enforcement officers that Fink was an unreliable informant, a con man, and a heroin addict. Baruch testified that after he repeatedly advised the prosecutor in his case that he was well aware of Fink's background, the case was dismissed. Thompson also offered a transcript of Fink's testimony in People v. Goldstein, a 1980 California murder trial. Goldstein's counsel cross-examined Fink at length, and he undermined Fink's credibility by showing that Fink regularly informed to law enforcement officers in exchange for future favors and probably had fabricated Goldstein's confession. 38 Brower testified at the evidentiary hearing that he had stopped investigating Fink's background before trial because he believed he had enough material to cross-examine Fink, and that he had stopped cross-examining him because he thought the judge was getting restless and the jury had gotten the message. Like Brower's excuse for not calling an independent forensic expert, this feeble explanation underscores Brower's ineffectiveness. Brower readily could have obtained evidence about Fink's background as an informant and the favors he received in exchange for his frequent testimony. Of particular relevance to Thompson's case was the fact that Fink was released from his parole hold soon after he provided the information that incriminated Thompson. Rather than investigating Fink's background or requesting discovery from the prosecutor regarding Fink, Brower focused on Fink's drug use and on whether Fink in fact had been in sufficient proximity to Thompson to obtain the alleged confession. Given the crucial import of Fink's testimony, Brower's conduct in failing adequately to impeach him fell well below a reasonable standard of professional representation. 39 Brower's failure to investigate and impeach Fink severely prejudiced Thompson. Brower could have destroyed Fink's credibility. Without Fink's testimony, the State's rape case against Thompson would have been dramatically weaker. We are in accord with the district court; Brower's ineffective assistance in defending against the forensic evidence and against Fink's testimony fatally undermines our confidence in the outcome of Thompson's rape conviction. See Kyles, 514 U.S. at 434-35, 115 S.Ct. at 1566. Without the rape finding, Thompson could not have been sentenced to death. Brower's ineffective performance therefore prejudiced not only the rape conviction and the rape special circumstance, but the ultimate outcome: the finding of death eligibility and the imposition of a capital sentence.