Court Opinion

ID: 9499168
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 17:39:28.282946+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:59:19.251662
License: Public Domain

SILER, Circuit Judge,
concurring.
I concur in the majority opinion’s conclusion to affirm the decision of the district court in granting Williams a conditional writ of habeas corpus on his sentence only and denying the writ on the conviction. However, because I think that it is unnecessary to rule on other issues which have been raised, I file this separate concurring opinion.
In order to get to the sentencing issues, it is appropriate for this court to rule on the issues which affect the conviction itself. Thus, I concur specifically on the grounds that Williams is not entitled to habeas corpus relief based on his claims that the trial judge was biased and that the prosecution withheld exculpatory evidence in violation of Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 87, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963). I also agree that the issue of the admissibility of Kim Berry’s testimony in rebuttal was procedurally defaulted in the state court. Finally, I concur in the conclusion of the majority that the Ohio Supreme Court’s determination that the combined effect of cumulative evidentiary errors was harmless was not an unreasonable application of clearly established Supreme Court law. The majority is correct that the conviction should stand, because those are the only issues which are before this court concerning the conviction.
Then, I further agree with the majority that trial counsel was ineffective during the sentencing phase of the trial. Counsel essentially did nothing during the mitigation portion of the trial, except to make a brief closing argument and to allow Williams to make an unsworn statement. It is regretful that this case has gone on so long that the original counsel is now dead, so the court has no way of knowing why he failed to investigate certain matters or to interview certain witnesses. His representation fell below the standards required in Rompilla v. Beard, 545 U.S. 374, 125 S.Ct. 2456, 162 L.Ed.2d 360 (2005); Wiggins v. Smith, 539 U.S. 510, 123 S.Ct. 2527, 156 L.Ed.2d 471 (2003); and Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. 362, 120 S.Ct. 1495, 146 L.Ed.2d 389 (2000). Finding that a writ should issue on the grounds of ineffective assistance of counsel at the mitigation stage alone, I would not rule on the other issues discussed by the majority for the reasons stated below. It is totally unnecessary for the resolution of this case.
First, I would not make the determination that appellate counsel was ineffective at the state level by raising the question of ineffective trial counsel on direct appeal. Truly, matters outside of the record could not have been considered by the Ohio courts on direct appeal. See State v. Coo-perrider, 4 Ohio St.3d 226, 448 N.E.2d 452, 454 (1983). However, the question of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel was not a part of the certificate of appealability and was never asserted by the parties. The State has not raised the issue of procedural default on the issue of ineffective assistance of trial counsel, so it is unnecessary to discuss this at all.
Second, on the issue of whether the combined evidentiary errors at trial could be cumulated to violate due process, I feel it is unnecessary to make such a ruling, since we have already granted the writ for ineffective assistance of counsel. As the majority correctly points out, there are several cases from this court which state *818that the Supreme Court has not expressly held that cumulative errors may violate due process. See, e.g., Moore v. Parker, 425 F.3d 250, 256 (6th Cir.2005). Obviously, at a retrial in the sentencing phase of this case, the trial court would follow the decision by the Ohio Supreme Court previously that some of this evidence should not have been admitted.
Third, I also see no reason for this court to rule on the legality of the instructions in the case. Even if we should get to this question, I concur with the majority that the unanimous-life instruction did not violate the Eighth Amendment. See Jones v. United States, 527 U.S. 373, 382, 119 S.Ct. 2090, 144 L.Ed.2d 370 (1999); Buell v. Mitchell, 274 F.3d 337, 356 (6th Cir.2001). On the second issue involving instructions, claiming that the acquittal-first instruction was erroneous, I would stop with the conclusion that the challenge to that instruction was procedurally defaulted. Although the majority exhaustively analyzes this instruction, there is a dispute within this circuit as to whether some of the prior decisions on the acquittal-first instructions are dicta. See, e.g., Scott v. Mitchell, 209 F.3d 854, 876 (6th Cir.2000). The recitation of all this law again appears to be dicta here, and it is not necessary to the resolution of this case.
In summation, although I concur in the district court’s granting of the writ of ha-beas corpus for ineffective assistance of counsel at the sentencing stage of the trial, and I would uphold the decision of the district court in affirming the conviction, I do not join the majority opinion on certain other issues which I deem unnecessary for the resolution of this matter.