Court Opinion

ID: 9499423
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 17:48:13.973609+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:59:30.052271
License: Public Domain

CLAY, Circuit Judge,
concurring in part and dissenting in part.
While I concur in Part I of the majority’s opinion, which concludes that Petitioner suffered no constitutional violation of his right to an impartial jury, I dissent from the majority’s evident error in Part II of the majority opinion in approving the continuation of the trial proceedings in the absence of Petitioner’s counsel.
Contrary to clear Supreme Court precedent and with absolutely nothing in the record justifying such a holding, the majority by its ruling in this case makes a mockery of perhaps the most fundamental of all rights of the accused. Petitioner’s Sixth Amendment right to counsel was clearly violated by his counsel’s unexplained absence during the jury reinstruction. There is absolutely no indication anywhere on the record that Petitioner was aware that his counsel would be absent from the trial or that Petitioner consented to the co-defendant’s counsel “standing in” for his own counsel; therefore, it defies logic to conclude that Petitioner knowingly or intelligently waived his right to be represented by his counsel. Where a record is completely silent as to the circumstances of one defense counsel “standing in” as counsel for another defendant, there is also no indication on the record regarding whether the two defendants have competing or conflicting interests, claims, or defenses; this is a problem which is simply not addressed by the majority opinion.
In the present case, the jury requested to be reinstructed on the elements of conspiracy, one of the crimes with which Petitioner had been charged. With no on-the-record acknowledgment that Petitioner’s counsel was not present, the court began the reinstruction. In explaining the crime of conspiracy, the court gave an example of how conspiracy worked and, in the process, incorporated the prosecution’s theory of the case into its example. Petitioner’s counsel was not present to witness or object to the content or method of the instruction. The counsel for the co-defendant stood up and objected on behalf of her own client, and then, purportedly, on behalf of Petitioner. The objection was overruled. Petitioner’s actual counsel then entered the courtroom and for the very first time anywhere on the record, there is an acknowledgment that he had been absent.
Petitioner’s counsel apologized to the court for his absence and thanked the co-defendant’s counsel for “standing in.” Petitioner, however, was not addressed at all by his counsel or by the court concerning Petitioner’s knowledge of his counsel’s absence or his consent to proceed in the absence of his counsel. There is a deafening silence on the record as to whether Petitioner was ever informed of his Sixth Amendment right to counsel, his counsel’s anticipated absence from the proceedings, or that he would be represented by another defendant’s counsel. However, with virtually no information available to it in order to assess whether Petitioner’s rights were violated, the majority blithely proceeds to hold that Petitioner’s Sixth Amendment right to counsel was not abridged.
I.
The majority opinion inappropriately narrows the issue in this case to whether the Supreme Court has ever expressly held that the interjection of another defendant’s counsel as replacement counsel— even if not consented to — amounts to a *715violation of Petitioner’s Sixth Amendment rights. The majority claims that none of the cases Petitioner cites benefit him because none of them address the issue of replacement counsel, which the majority insists on innocuously referring to as “stand-in” counsel. To underline this point, the majority spends significant energy distinguishing the cases cited by Petitioner on factual grounds. However, a Supreme Court case need not be precisely factually identical to the instant case in order to be instructive with respect to the legal principles at issue. Harris v. Stovall, 212 F.3d 940, 945 (6th Cir.2000). The cases Petitioner cites are relevant because they stand for the very propositions of law that are at stake in this case. While the Court has never expressly addressed the issue of replacement counsel, where there is no indication on the record that the defendant has consented to the replacement, it has been established that, as a threshold matter, counsel’s absence during a critical stage of a trial constitutes reversible error. United States v. Cronic, 466 U.S. 648, 659, 104 S.Ct. 2039, 80 L.Ed.2d 657 (1984). Further, the Court has explicitly stated that “[i]t is hardly necessary to say that, the right to counsel being conceded, a defendant should be afforded a fair opportunity to secure counsel of his own choice.” Powell v. Alabama, 287 U.S. 45, 53, 53 S.Ct. 55, 77 L.Ed. 158 (1932). See also United States v. Gonzalez-Lopez, — U.S. —, 126 S.Ct. 2557, 2561, 165 L.Ed.2d 409 (2006); Wheat v. United States, 486 U.S. 153, 159, 108 S.Ct. 1692, 100 L.Ed.2d 140 (1988). Finally, the Court has held that for any abridgment of this right to be permissible, a defendant must “intelligently” and “knowingly” waive the right to counsel, and the burden falls wholly to the government to “prove an intentional relinquishment or abandonment” of the right. Johnson v. Zerbst, 304 U.S. 458, 464, 58 S.Ct. 1019, 82 L.Ed. 1461 (1938), overruled in part on other grounds by Edwards v. Arizona, 451 U.S. 477, 101 S.Ct. 1880, 68 L.Ed.2d 378 (1981). Taken together, these cases provide the very framework of Petitioner’s legal argument, which is that because Petitioner had a right to counsel at the jury reinstruction phase of his trial, the Sixth Amendment clearly required an on-the-record showing that Petitioner was aware of and knowingly consented to any substitution of his counsel. Where such a showing is absent, as it was in the instant case, this Court cannot, consistent with Supreme Court precedent, relieve the government of its burden of proving waiver of this clearly established right.
Thus, while there is no Supreme Court case which expressly provides that a court may not substitute a defendant’s counsel without the defendant’s consent and even the defendant’s knowledge, the logical extension of the Supreme Court’s past holdings clearly indicate that this practice implicates a defendant’s Sixth Amendment rights and require an intelligent and knowing waiver of those rights. Powell, 287 U.S. at 53, 53 S.Ct. 55; Johnson, 304 U.S. at 464, 58 S.Ct. 1019. The Supreme Court has made it abundantly clear that “a state-court decision ... involves an unreasonable application of this Court’s precedent if the state court ... unreasonably refuses to extend that principle to a new context where it should apply.” Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. 362, 412, 120 S.Ct. 1495, 146 L.Ed.2d 389 (2000). The majority’s dismissal of instructive Supreme Court cases on the grounds of inconsequential factual distinctions is improper, and its focus on a supposed lack of precedent on the precise issue of replacing a defendant’s counsel without the defendant’s knowledge or consent is entirely misplaced.
II.
While the Supreme Court has thus far not issued a ruling on the exact issue *716before this Court, we have been confronted with this issue and have come to a conclusion contrary to the one put forth by the panel majority. In fact, the majority opinion admits that the state court’s holding was neither the “ideal solution, nor consistent with this court’s precedent of what federal courts must do.” Thus, it is undisputed that this Court considers the practice of having a co-defendant’s counsel take over for an absent attorney, at least in the federal system, to require an on-the-record showing that the defendant “knowingly and intelligently waive[ ] his [or her] Sixth Amendment right to counsel,” in order to be constitutionally permissible. Olden v. United States, 224 F.3d 561, 568, 569 (6th Cir.2000). In Olden, this Court was confronted with a case where the defendant’s counsel, Mr. Wittenberg, anticipated two absences from trial. Id. at 568-69. Mr. Wittenberg notified the court and the exchange proceeded as follows:
Mr. Wittenberg: My client has no objections to having Timothy Barkovic [co-defendant’s counsel] in my absence take notes or whatever. And I would just like to place it on the record at [sic] my client acknowledge that.
The Court: Mr. Olden, is that agreeable with you?
Defendant Olden: Yes.
The Court: All right. Mr. Barkovic, is that agreeable with you?
Mr. Barkovic: Absolutely, your Honor.
The Court: Okay, fine.
Id. at 569. For the second absence, the following exchange occurred:
Mr. Barkovic: Mr. Wittenberg has called and asked that I again stand in for Mr. Olden. I’ve discussed it with Mr. Olden. [To Olden] You don’t have any objection to me standing in place and stead of Mr. Wittenberg today?
Defendant Olden: No.
Mr. Barkovic: Very good. Thank you.
The Court: Okay. Thanks.

Id.

In that case, we noted that in Cronic, the Supreme Court held that a counsel’s absence from a critical stage of trial was per se prejudice, which could be overcome only by a showing that the defendant “knowingly and intelligently accepted substitute counsel and thereby waived his right to have his own counsel present.” Id. We held that it was not clear, however, “whether Olden had any knowledge as to his Sixth Amendment rights, his right to have his own counsel, his right to reject the substitute counsel of his co-defendants, or his right to request a continuance until his own counsel could be present.” Id. Thus, Olden stands for the proposition that the constitutional guarantee the Supreme Court envisioned in Cronic may not be waived absent an extensive colloquy that makes clear to this Court that the defendant accepted substitute counsel and was aware of all other options available when he or she did so. See id. Thus, our holding in Olden is entirely relevant to the present case and we are bound by our own previous interpretation of Supreme Court precedent.
In the instant case, not only did the state court not engage in a colloquy that would come even close to the standard set by Olden, but the record is wholly silent with respect to whether Petitioner was even aware that his counsel would be absent and that he would be represented by a co-defendant’s counsel. In fact, during oral argument, when confronted with the fact that there is no proof on the record that Petitioner was ever informed of his counsel’s absence, counsel for the government made the unfathomable argument that this Court should assume consent to substitute counsel where the record is si*717lent about the matter. The majority’s conclusion seems to implicitly adopt this reasoning, which renders the Supreme Court holding in Cronic meaningless. According to the Supreme Court, counsel’s absence during a critical stage of the trial is per se prejudicial, which can be overcome only by the government bearing the burden of demonstrating that the right was waived. Cronic, 466 U.S. at 659, 104 S.Ct. 2039. However, the majority opinion effectively shifts the burden to Petitioner to prove that such an absence was not consented to. Thus, the majority opinion creates a presumption that counsel’s absence from a critical stage of a trial was consented to unless there appears proof on the record to the contrary. It matters not to the majority that the record is silent and offers no guidance whatsoever. Such a presumption is wholly at odds with clear Supreme Court precedent. Id.
While the majority opinion acknowledges that Olden compels a different result, it inexplicably holds that such an inconsistency does not amount to an unreasonable application of Supreme Court precedent. According to the majority opinion, because the Supreme Court has not explicitly addressed the issue of whether substitute or replacement counsel solves the problem of proceeding with a trial in a defendant’s counsel’s absence, doing so cannot constitute an unreasonable application of Supreme Court precedent. The majority seemingly maintains this position notwithstanding the potential problems arising from the fact that a co-defendant’s counsel may represent a person whose defense or trial strategy may conflict with that of the defendant whose counsel has absented himself from the trial proceedings.
The majority’s understanding of AED-PA is not in keeping with our past analy-ses of the statute. Again, Petitioner need not be able to point to a Supreme Court case directly on point in order to be successful on a habeas petition under AED-PA. Where we have previously interpreted Supreme Court case law and held that a certain right or principle has been clearly established, the law of this Circuit should be considered. Specifically, we have held that
[although only Supreme Court case law is relevant under the AEDPA in examining what Federal law is ‘clearly established,’ the decisions of the United States Courts of Appeals may be informative to the extent we have already reviewed and interpreted the relevant Supreme Court case law to determine whether a legal principle or right had been clearly established by the Supreme Court.
Hill v. Hofbauer, 337 F.3d 706, 716 (6th Cir.2003). It is irrelevant to this reasoning that Olden does not arise under AED-PA because this Court need not limit itself to AEDPA cases to determine whether a legal principle is “clearly established” federal law. See e.g., Mason v. Mitchell, 320 F.3d 604, 634 (6th Cir.2003) (applying a pre-AEDPA case in a post-AEDPA setting and concluding that the pre-AEDPA case is nonetheless instructive). Particularly, because Olden involved an interpretation of the Supreme Court holding in Cronic, its applicability, is not limited to the direct appeal context and remains instructive to the extent that it elucidates legal principles that have been clearly established by the Supreme Court. In other words, where we have previously interpreted Supreme Court case law to encompass a legal principle or right, the law of this Circuit is relevant for habeas review under AEDPA. Id.
The Sixth Amendment cannot survive where this Court inexplicably interprets a record completely devoid of any proof of *718an intelligent and knowing waiver of the right to counsel to constitute proof that such a waiver must have occurred. Therefore, I respectfully dissent from Part II of the majority opinion.