Court Opinion

ID: 9558365
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 17:08:27.252597+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:09:01.977780
License: Public Domain

STEWART, Associate Chief Justice,
dissenting:
There is no question that this case involves exceptionally wanton and heinous murders, and there is no question that defendant was the perpetrator. Nevertheless, whether the death penalty should be imposed was a question to be decided solely by the jury, but only after all the requisite legal procedures and requirements had been complied with. Defense counsel’s failure to meet those requirements resulted in defendant’s being denied the effective assistance of counsel as required by the Sixth Amendment. Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984); State v. Templin, 805 P.2d 182 (Utah 1990).
The majority opinion states that “[djefense attorneys ... absolutely must perform” a “mitigation workup.” That was not done in this case. The majority opinion characterizes defense counsel’s mitigation investigation as “very limited” but “adequate.” Id. I cannot agree that it was adequate. Defense counsel did not conduct an in-depth investigation of defendant’s psychological history and condition. It is simply not sufficient that the attorney knew about some of defendant’s childhood psychological problems, his learning disorder, and substance abuse in his family. All those factors and possibly others that may have seriously affected defendant’s character were simply not explored in any meaningful way for the purpose of providing some evidence that would weigh in favor of a life sentence. It may be that nothing would have come from an adequate mitigation workup that would have persuaded a jury to reach a different conclusion as to the appropriate penalty, but it is not possible to know what might have been discovered had defense counsel done his job.
Furthermore, defense counsel clearly should have been disqualified from representing defendant and any other capital defendant because of his failure to adhere to fundamental professional standards of competence and conduct. See State v. Holland, 876 P.2d 357 (Utah 1994) (discussing and disapproving defense counsel’s personal approach and strategy in conducting defense of criminal cases); see also id. at 361 (opinion of Stewart, Assoc. C.J., & Durham, J.). Indeed, defense counsel’s closing argument to the jury, to the extent it even addresses issues somewhat pertinent to the case, is more a self-justification of defense counsel than a plea that the jury impose a life sentence rather than death.
In my view, the death penalty should be vacated and the case remanded for another penalty hearing to take place after an appropriate mitigation workup has been conducted by competent counsel.