Court Opinion

ID: 9489410
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 13:15:19.434727+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:53:31.307510
License: Public Domain

RIPPLE, Circuit Judge,
concurring in part and dissenting in part.
I concur in my colleagues’ decision that the petitioner received ineffective assistance of *908counsel at the sentencing stage of the state proceedings and that, consequently, the sentence of death imposed át those proceedings cannot stand. I respectfully differ with my colleagues as to whether the inadequate performance of counsel can be limited, as a conceptual or practical matter, to the sentencing procedure. This is not a ease in which an otherwise acceptable professional performance was marred by a significant but singular breach at sentencing. Rather, in my view, the record discloses a performance that was substandard from the beginning and cannot be said to fulfill the constitutional mandate that a defendant have adequate counsel. See Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984).
A defense counsel has a two-fold obligation to the client. First, counsel must, after careful investigation, evaluation, and consultation with his client, formulate an adequate theory of defense. Second, counsel must execute that theory in the presentation of the accused’s ease. In this case, counsel formulated a theory of defense in only the most marginal of ways. Discarding without adequate investigation an alibi defense that, although certainly not air tight, had been respectable in the eyes of the state Supreme Court,1 counsel adopted, again without adequate investigation, a theory that depended on his convincing the jury that one of the victims had been the true perpetrator. This theory was, at best, only vaguely communicated to the jury and, due to the lack of preparation, it was supported by a mediocre cross-examination of the victim. This inadequate attempt to point the finger at a victim ended in a complete rout when, at the defendant’s insistence, his brother was placed on the stand and gave an account that was completely at odds with the defendant’s case. Even though counsel was not immediately responsible for the presentation of this witness, the impending disaster of counsel’s chosen course certainly contributed to this abrupt change in course. In United States v. Cronic, 466 U.S. 648, 104 S.Ct. 2039, 80 L.Ed.2d 657 (1984), the Supreme Court noted that counsel must act in the role of an advocate: “[I]f the process loses its character as a confrontation between adversaries, the constitutional guarantee is violated.” 466 U.S. at 657-58, 104 S.Ct. at 2046. In Mr. Emerson’s case, the confrontation that was displayed was one between the defendant and his counsel. In my view, his defense counsel’s lack of pretrial investigation, lack of consultation with his client, and lack of preparation and strategy infected the trial from its inception and created a situation so prejudicial to Mr. Emerson that it resulted in Mr. Emerson’s frustrated demonstrations. Defense counsel’s performance fell below an “objective standard of reasonableness” that is based on “prevailing professional norms.” Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 688, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 2065, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984). His performance, especially the illconsidered rejection of the far stronger alibi defense, clearly rendered the result of the trial unreliable. Lockhart v. Fretwell, 506 U.S. 364, 371-73, 113 S.Ct. 838, 844, 122 L.Ed.2d 180 (1993). Therefore, counsel's “salvage closing” to the jury, rather than being characterized as a redeeming performance, ought to be regarded, as a practical matter, as the *909result of counsel’s having painted himself into a comer earlier.
Adequacy of counsel claims are often the last gasp of a near-defunct defense. Here, however, the record discloses, from beginning to end, a lack of care and preparation that resulted in a muddled presentation that the jury could only have found to be unconvincing. Although we ought not use the power of hindsight to second-guess the tactical decisions of counsel, neither ought we use that same power to construct theories of defense for a counsel whose lack of professional effort is clear from the pages of the record.

. After the first trial, at which Mr. Emerson presented an alibi defense, the Supreme Court of Illinois reversed the judgment and remanded the cause for new trial on the ground of improperly admitted testimony and clearly improper, prejudicial statements by the State's Attorneys during final argument. The court concluded:
The evidence of guilt consists solely of Ray's testimony. Defendant made no inculpatory statements, ... no fingerprints were found, and there was no evidence that any of the proceeds of the robbery were in defendant's possession. Defendant denied any participation in the offense, and his testimony, if believed, would supply the motive for Ray’s having charged him with the offense.
Where guilt or innocence depends entirely on the credibility of an accuser and the defendant, no error should be permitted to intervene. "Where error is shown to exist, it will compel reversal, unless the record affirmatively shows that the error was not prejudicial.” Here, the record fails to show affirmatively that the improperly admitted testimony and the improper oral argument were not prejudicial. The judgment must therefore be reversed and the cause remanded ... for new trial.
People v. Emerson, 97 Ill.2d 487, 502, 74 Ill.Dec. 11, 17, 455 N.E.2d 41, 47 (1983).