Collins v. Davis, Director TDCJ-CID, 3:14-cv-02730

Background

Collins was convicted by a Dallas County jury of aggravated robbery after a 2010 trial; jury assessed 50 years’ imprisonment following a punishment-phase presentation of prior and extraneous-acts evidence.
At trial defense counsel adopted a strategy, with Collins’s on-the-record agreement, to concede guilt and focus on punishment rather than contesting guilt.
The evidence included: victim photo lineup identifications, police chase and arrest of Collins near the wrecked getaway van, money/handgun recovered from the van, and DNA from a baseball cap from an October 11 extraneous robbery that did not exclude Collins.
Collins raised federal habeas claims asserting ineffective assistance of counsel: conceding guilt, failure to investigate/prepare, failure to challenge photo lineups (no counsel present), and failure to oppose admission of an extraneous robbery; he also argued constructive denial of counsel.
The state habeas court credited counsel’s affidavit and Collins’s on-the-record statements approving the strategy; the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied relief. The magistrate judge recommended denying the §2254 petition with prejudice.

Issues

Issue	Collins’s Argument	Davis’s Argument	Held
1) Ineffective assistance for conceding guilt	Counsel improperly conceded guilt despite a not-guilty plea, undermining trial rights	Concession was a reasonable, client-approved strategy to limit punishment exposure	Denied — counsel’s concession was strategic, explained to Collins, and Collins agreed on record; Strickland not met
2) Failure to investigate/prepare	Counsel met only twice and failed to investigate or develop mitigation or defenses	Counsel reviewed discovery, discussed strategy with Collins, and had basis for the chosen strategy	Denied — Collins failed to identify omitted investigation that would have changed outcome
3) Failure to challenge photo lineups (no counsel present)	Lineups were conducted without counsel and should have been challenged as unduly suggestive	No Sixth Amendment right to counsel at photo lineups; challenge would be meritless	Denied — no right to counsel at photo arrays; counsel not ineffective for failing to raise meritless objection
4) Failure to challenge admission of October 11 extraneous robbery	Testimony should have been excluded because victims didn’t ID Collins and DNA was inconclusive	DNA on a dropped cap could not exclude Collins; counsel reasonably opted not to object; jury instructed on burden for extraneous acts	Denied — counsel reasonably declined to object given DNA and jury instruction
5) Constructive denial of counsel (Cronic)	Counsel’s concession plus other alleged omissions amounted to a total failure to subject prosecution to adversarial testing	Counsel actively litigated: objections, motion for instructed verdict, cross-examination, punishment-phase arguments; strategy was client-approved	Denied — Cronic not triggered; must analyze under Strickland and Collins failed both prongs

Key Cases Cited

Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984) (two-part test for ineffective assistance: deficient performance and prejudice)
United States v. Cronic, 466 U.S. 648 (1984) (circumstances giving rise to presumed prejudice and constructive denial of counsel)
Florida v. Nixon, 543 U.S. 175 (2004) (counsel may concede guilt as a strategic decision if defendant is informed and does not object)
Blackledge v. Allison, 431 U.S. 63 (1977) (credence accorded to defendant’s sworn statements in court)
Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. 362 (2000) (AEDPA standards for "contrary to" or "unreasonable application" of clearly established federal law)