Court Opinion

ID: 9516509
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-06 23:44:02.280258+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:40:27.462463
License: Public Domain

Cavanagh, J.
(concurring in part and dissenting in part). I agree with Justice Boyle that the right to effective assistance of appellate counsel does not necessarily require that appellate counsel advance every conceivable issue on appeal. I write separately, however, to emphasize my belief that federal habeas corpus jurisprudence should play only a limited role in defining the standards imposed by MCR 6.508.
i
The primary motivation behind the writ of habeas corpus is to provide a mechanism whereby state prisoners can seek redress of their federal rights. A federal habeas corpus claim is based on the theory that the prisoner is being held in violation of the federal constitution or federal law and, thus, his imprisonment is unconstitutional or otherwise illegal. 28 USC 2254(a). Nevertheless, federal courts are increasingly reluctant to interfere with state court judgments because of the *403concepts of comity and federalism; thus, habeas corpus relief is sparingly granted. Coleman v Thompson, 501 US 722, 730-731; 111 S Ct 2546; 115 L Ed 2d 640 (1991).
As the New Jersey Supreme Court has recently, and unanimously, observed:
It would be a bitter irony indeed if our courts, in an attempt to accommodate the [United States] Supreme Court’s retrenchment of federal habeas corpus review, were artificially to elevate procedural rulings over substantive adjudications in post-conviction review, at a time when the Court’s curtailment of habeas review forces state prisoners to rely increasingly on state post-conviction proceedings as their last resort for vindicating their state and federal constitutional rights. When appropriate, the procedural bars imposed by Rules 3:22-4, 3:22-5, and 3:22-12 may be asserted to preclude post-conviction relief, but their use should not be shaped or inñuenced in the slightest by the federal courts’ restrictive standards for allowing or disallowing habeas review. [New Jersey v Preciose, 129 NJ 451, 477; 609 A2d 1280 (1992). Emphasis added.]
Thus, the curtailment of habeas corpus review is based on a theory of federalism that subordinates the vindication of federal constitutional rights to a state’s enforcement of its procedural rules. Id. at 472.
It seems evident to me that the concepts of comity and federalism are simply inapplicable to MCR 6.508. Therefore, the more prominence these concepts gain in federal habeas corpus jurisprudence, the less that jurisprudence should influence our interpretation of MCR 6.508. MCR 6.508 is intended to force a defendant to bring all his appellate claims in his appeal of right, thereby promoting the finality of judgments, and is not concerned in the least with comity or federalism.
*404This is not to say that federal habeas corpus jurisprudence is of no use whatsoever. The limited usefulness of that jurisprudence in interpreting the meaning of "good cause” is evidenced by the citation in the committee notes of MCR 6.508 of United States v Frady, 456 US 152; 102 S Ct 1584; 71 L Ed 2d 816 (1982), and Wainwright v Sykes, 433 US 72; 97 S Ct 2497; 53 L Ed 2d 594 (1977). However, the committee citations of these cases surely do not mean that it also was adopting every future federal case that expanded or restricted those holdings.
Although the concepts of comity and federalism have no place in interpreting MCR 6.508, that rule shares at least one goal in common with habeas corpus review: finality of judgments. Consequently, I believe that the Court should embrace the very reasonable approach adopted in Gray v Greer, 800 F2d 644 (CA 7, 1985), because it protects both the state’s interest in finality of judgments and the defendant’s interest in the effective assistance of appellate counsel.
In Greer, petitioner Gray sought habeas corpus relief on the basis of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel, essentially the claim defendant Reed makes in the case at bar. In resolving the petitioner’s claim, that court held:
Were it legitimate to dismiss a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel on appeal solely because we found it improper to review appellate counsel’s choice of issues, the right to effective assistance of counsel on appeal would be worthless. When a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel is based on failure to raise viable issues, the district court must examine the trial court record to determine whether appellate counsel failed to present signiñcant and obvious issues on appeal. Significant issues which could have been raised should then *405be compared to those which were raised. Generally, only when ignored issues are clearly stronger than those presented, will the presumption of effective assistance of counsel be overcome.
A reviewing court can evaluate appellate counsel’s choice of issues on appeal by examining the trial record and the appellate brief. While it is true that decisions which were arguably correct at the time will not be "second-guessed,” a reviewing court must initially determine whether such decisions were, in fact, strategic. [Id. at 646. Emphasis added.]
Under Greer, therefore, only those issues that are both significant and obvious can be a basis of relief. Any such issues must be presented in defendant’s brief, and citation of the record must be included. Greer also incorporates a respect for the strategic decisions of counsel if such discretion was actually exercised.
n
Finally, I also wish to point out that this- Court need not even reach the issue whether defendant has shown good cause because it is evident that he has not suffered actual prejudice. As observed in Strickland v Washington, 466 US 668; 104 S Ct 2052; 80 L Ed 2d 674 (1984), and implicitly adopted by this Court in People v Pickens, 446 Mich 298; 521 NW2d 797 (1994), a defendant must show both good cause and prejudice to substantiate a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. But,
a court need not determine whether counsel’s performance was deficient before examining the prejudice suffered by the defendant as a result of the alleged deficiencies. ... If it is easier to dispose of an ineffectiveness claim on the ground of *406lack of sufficient prejudice, which we expect will often be so, that course should be followed. [Strickland, 466 US 697.]
Therefore, if it is clear that there is no actual prejudice, then there is no need to determine whether good cause has been shown. A defendant needs to prove both — thus a failure to meet one dooms relief. "Actual prejudice” is defined by MCR 6.508(D)(3)(b)(i) to mean that the defendant must show a reasonably likely chance of acquittal if not for the alleged error.* In light of the overwhelming evidence of defendant’s guilt, the errors asserted would not have altered the verdict of guilty. Because the defendant cannot show actual prejudice, it is unnecessary to determine whether he can show good cause. His conviction should be affirmed and this appeal dismissed.
Mallett, J., concurs with Cavanagh, J.

 Of course, MCR 6.508(D)(3)(b) (ii), (iii), and (iv) provide other definitions.