Court Opinion

ID: 9596824
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 00:53:17.525228+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:42:52.809416
License: Public Domain

STUMBO, Justice,
dissenting.
Respectfully, I must dissent because of the failure to conduct an evidentiary hearing on three of the issues discussed herein. I believe that there should have been an evidentiary hearing held to inquire into: the allegation that trial counsel failed to make any preparation for the penalty phase; why trial counsel failed to call certain jail employees and the psychologist who examined Appellant soon after his arrest to provide evidence of his mental state; and counsel’s alleged failure to advise Appellant’s wife that she could escape testifying against him by asserting the marital privilege. KRS 421.210(1). Therefore, I would reverse and remand for a hearing.
The need for an evidentiary hearing is vital in the examination of counsel’s performance during the penalty phase of the trial. At the conclusion of the guilt phase, counsel advised the court that the mitigation testimony had already been presented. The record establishes that the evidence presented by counsel during the penalty phase lasted less than twenty minutes, including Appellant’s own testimony.
*395When the closing argument of counsel is reviewed, we find that there was no reference made to any testimony given during the guilt phase. Further, the argument that was made was extremely abbreviated and failed to include any discussion of mitigation evidence such as medical testimony that Appellant did indeed suffer from a personality disorder, that he repressed anger and his feelings, and that, during his testimony, Appellant did express remorse for his actions. An evidentiary hearing is necessary to determine whether counsel’s actions were strategic or incompetent.
The first psychologist to examine Appellant did so during Appellant’s pretrial incarceration when the jailer was concerned about Appellant’s behavior. It was that professional’s opinion that Appellant was under severe emotional stress, was suicidal, and was suffering from a serious psychiatric disorder, possibly of the dissociative disorder type. Appellant complains of his counsel’s failure to call this psychologist as a witness to this condition as well as the failure to call two jail employees who witnessed that behavior. What could be more important to a diminished capacity defense than testimony from a trained mental health professional with access to the defendant immediately after the crime, supported by testimony from witnesses who were charged with Appellant’s custody and welfare during incarceration? An evidentiary hearing is necessary to determine whether counsel decided not to call these witnesses as a part of trial strategy or out of incompetence.
The final issue that requires an eviden-tiary hearing is the question of whether Appellant’s wife was advised of her right to refuse to testify against him as provided by KRS 421.210(1), as the marital privilege was statutory at the time this matter was tried. Mrs. Sanders’ testimony described, among other things, telephone conversations between herself and her husband, talks with the police, and the fact that she gave the police a .22 pistol found in Appellant’s truck. She also described an incident during which Appellant held a pillow over her face. This testimony would not have been admissible if Mrs. Sanders’ invoked her right not to testify against her husband. There is nothing in the record that indicates that she was aware of that right and therefore, an evidentiary hearing should have been conducted. I would reverse and remand for further proceedings.
KELLER, J., joins this dissent.