Richard Booth, Jr. v. Karen Pszczolkowski, 19-1191

Background

Booth was indicted in 2007 for robbery and related felonies, pled guilty to first-degree robbery on June 8, 2007, and was sentenced to 80 years; this Court affirmed the sentence on direct appeal in State v. Booth.
Booth filed a first habeas petition (2010) raising disproportionality, involuntary plea, and ineffective assistance; the circuit court denied, this Court remanded for findings, then the petition was denied again.
Booth filed a second habeas petition (2018) alleging ineffective assistance; it was denied and not appealed.
Booth filed a third habeas petition (2018, amended 2019) raising eight grounds including diminished capacity (alleged Xanax intoxication), incompetency, involuntary plea, ineffective assistance, and sentence disparity with a co-defendant.
The circuit court treated most claims as res judicata or waived, denied funding for experts (implied by denying the petition), declined an omnibus hearing, rejected diminished-capacity assertions as conclusory, found IAC claims meritless, and upheld the sentence disparity because Booth was the prime mover.
The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia affirmed the denial of the third habeas petition on June 23, 2021.

Issues

Issue	Booth's Argument	Pszczolkowski's Argument	Held
Whether the court erred in denying funding for an expert on diminished capacity/voluntary intoxication	Funding was necessary to show a meritorious diminished-capacity claim based on alleged massive Xanax use; expert opinion required	Booth waived affirmative defenses by pleading guilty; bald assertions of Xanax use are insufficient; motion was filed too late for trial context	No error; expert funding was properly denied (motion impliedly denied) because diminished-capacity claim was conclusory and Booth waived defenses by pleading guilty
Whether the court erred by denying an omnibus hearing and finding counsel was not ineffective without one	Counsel failed to investigate/advise on diminished capacity, competency, victim injury causation, and other defenses; an omnibus hearing was needed to develop facts	Habeas courts may deny hearings where the record shows no entitlement to relief; Booth failed to meet Strickland/Miller and did not show why claims weren’t raised earlier	No error; omnibus hearing not required where petition and record do not show entitlement to relief and Booth failed to satisfy Strickland prejudice or overcome res judicata/waiver
Whether Booth’s sentence is unconstitutionally disproportionate compared to co-defendant (after co-defendant’s sentence modification)	Sentence disparity with co-defendant (whose sentence was later modified) renders Booth’s sentence disproportionate	Disparate sentences are not per se unconstitutional; courts consider relative roles, prior record, post-arrest conduct; Booth was the prime mover and more culpable	No error; sentencing disparity upheld because Booth was more culpable and Court previously affirmed proportionality on direct appeal

Key Cases Cited

Mathena v. Haines, 219 W. Va. 417, 633 S.E.2d 771 (W. Va. 2006) (standard of review for habeas corpus findings and disposition)
Losh v. McKenzie, 166 W. Va. 762, 277 S.E.2d 606 (W. Va. 1981) (prior omnibus habeas hearing is res judicata as to matters raised or known)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (U.S. 1984) (two-prong test for ineffective assistance of counsel)
State v. Joseph, 214 W. Va. 525, 590 S.E.2d 718 (W. Va. 2003) (scope and proof required for diminished capacity defense)
State v. Miller, 194 W. Va. 3, 459 S.E.2d 114 (W. Va. 1995) (adopting Strickland standard in West Virginia)
State v. Skidmore, 228 W. Va. 166, 718 S.E.2d 516 (W. Va. 2011) (voluntary intoxication generally does not excuse a crime but may negate specific intent)
State v. Booth, 224 W. Va. 307, 685 S.E.2d 701 (W. Va. 2009) (direct appeal affirming Booth’s sentence)