Jones v. SuthersJones v. Suthers
MURPHY, Circuit Judge.
I. INTRODUCTION
After a five-day trial, a Colorado jury found Gary Jones guilty of child abuse and sexual assault on a child. In a postconviction motion in state court, Jones argued that his trial counsel‘s failure to retain and call an expert witness infringed his Sixth Amendment right to the effective assistance of counsel. After the state courts denied his claim, Jones filed an application for writ of habeas corpus under
II. BACKGROUND
Jones’ convictions stem from the sexual abuse of his four-year-old stepdaughter, R.F. At trial, Jones’ counsel did not attempt to dispute the medical evidence that R.F. had been sexually abused. Instead, she advanced the theory that R.F.‘s biological father was the actual perpetrator of the abuse. R.F. and her six-year-old brother lived with their mother and Jones in Gypsum, Colorado, but visited their father in Denver on alternate weekends.
The prosecution‘s key witness at trial was Dr. Patrick Bacon, an expert in child psychiatry. Dr. Bacon testified extensively about approximately one hundred hours of videotaped therapy sessions he conducted with R.F. During the first eight weeks of these sessions, he testified that R.F. was anxious and unwilling to talk about the abuse. As she became more comfortable, Dr. Bacon testified that R.F. began speaking of a “bad guy” who was only bad when she was alone with him. R.F. also told Dr. Bacon on several occasions that Jones had hurt her and that she was frightened by him. Approximately four and one half months after beginning therapy, R.F. first told Dr. Bacon that Jones had put his finger into her vagina. Jones’ counsel vigorously cross-examined Dr. Bacon but did not call another expert witness in rebuttal.
The jury also heard from other witnesses linking Jones with the abuse. The girlfriend of R.F.‘s father testified that when she asked R.F. if anyone had hurt or touched her, R.F. replied that “Gary said it‘s a secret.” Dr. Hendrika Cantwell of Denver Social Services testified that she asked R.F. if someone had touched her in her vaginal area, and that R.F. responded “Gary does that.” R.F.‘s aunt testified that R.F. told her that Jones had hurt her “gina” “with his finger.” R.F.‘s father also testified at trial that R.F. told him she hated Jones because “he hurt [her] where [she goes] to the bathroom.”
The jury found Jones guilty of sexual assault on a child and child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury to R.F.‘s vagina. After his conviction was upheld on appeal, Jones filed a motion for postconviction relief in Colorado state district court. Jones argued that his counsel was ineffective for failing to hire an expert in child interview techniques to rebut Dr. Bacon‘s testimony. At an evidentiary hearing, Jones called Dr. John Yuille, a professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia who specializes in methods of interviewing children. Dr. Yuille reviewed the videotaped therapy sessions and criticized Dr. Bacon‘s use of suggestive and repetitive questions, his decision to allow others in the room during therapy sessions, and his “very strong bias” against Jones. Dr. Yuille also found fault with Dr. Bacon‘s utilization of “play therapy,” his conclusion that R.F. suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder, and his use of symbolic interpretation, such as his association between R.F.‘s mention of snakes and phallic symbols. Dr. Yuille testified that Dr. Bacon‘s techniques were “seriously profoundly inappropriate” and were known to produce false allegations in children. He concluded that “this was an example of how not to conduct an investigative interview with a preschool aged child.”
After the district court heard the testimony of Dr. Yuille, expert witnesses on both sides, and Jones’ trial counsel, the court issued a written order denying Jones’ motion. The Colorado Court of Appeals affirmed, and the Colorado Supreme Court denied certiorari.
Jones next filed a
III. STANDARD OF REVIEW
Because Jones’ claim was adjudicated on the merits in state court, Jones is entitled to § 2254 relief only if he can establish that the state court decision “was contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established federal law, as de
IV. DISCUSSION
Jones claims on appeal that his Sixth Amendment right to the effective assistance of counsel was violated when his trial counsel failed to retain an expert witness to demonstrate that Dr. Bacon used improper interview techniques in his work with R.F. Jones argues that his counsel was deficient both in failing to investigate Dr. Bacon‘s methods with an expert before trial, and in failing to call an expert witness at trial to rebut Dr. Bacon‘s testimony.
A. Failure to investigate
Jones first argues that the state courts erred by ignoring his claim that counsel failed to conduct an adequate pretrial investigation. The state district court, however, did find that counsel had reviewed the approximately one hundred hours of videotaped therapy sessions and had recognized the need to carefully examine Dr. Bacon‘s methodology. Furthermore, the court found that counsel consulted with another experienced attorney and with psychologist Dr. Suzanne Bernhard in preparing for trial. The court noted that Dr. Bernhard did not find serious problems with Dr. Bacon‘s interview methods after reviewing a portion of the videotapes, but that counsel “received valuable information and advice on cross-examining Dr. Bacon and eliciting information favorable to the defendant.” Recognizing that “[a]n attorney‘s decision not to interview certain witnesses, and to rely on other sources of information, if made in the exercise of reasonable professional judgment, does not amount to ineffective assistance of counsel,” the court concluded that counsel‘s investigation under these circumstances was a reasonable exercise of professional judgment. These statements by the court indicate that it adequately considered and rejected Jones’ failure-to-investigate claim on the merits.
Jones disputes the court‘s factual finding that his counsel reviewed the one hundred hours of videotaped sessions. He points out that counsel actually utilized teams of non-lawyers to conduct the review, consisting of her husband, staff from her office, Jones, and Jones’ family. Fairly read, however, the state court‘s order is not inconsistent with the fact that counsel delegated some of the work to others. The state court never suggested that counsel had reviewed all the tapes personally. Nor is it particularly significant that some delegation occurred. Counsel gave team members verbal and written instructions on how to review the tapes, and told them to notify her if they found anything of significance. Jones does not demonstrate why it would have been necessary for his counsel personally to review every hour of the videotaped sessions. Considering the enormity of the task, it was not unreasonable to delegate some of the work to lay volunteers.
Jones also disputes the factual bases behind the state court‘s conclusion that counsel‘s consultation with Dr. Bernhard constituted reasonable pretrial investigation. Jones claims that Dr. Bernhard was not qualified to critique child interview techniques, and that her review of only a small sample of the videotaped sessions was insufficient for her to form a reason
In addition to contending that the state court‘s order reflects an unreasonable determination of the facts, Jones also argues that the court‘s conclusion was both contrary to and an unreasonable application of Strickland v. Washington. A state court determination is contrary to clearly established federal law “if the state court applied a rule different from the governing law set forth in Supreme Court cases, or if it decides a case differently than the Supreme Court has done on a set of materially indistinguishable facts.” Turrentine v. Mullin, 390 F.3d 1181, 1189 (10th Cir.2004) (quotation and alterations omitted). In its written order, the state district court properly explained that Jones’ burden under Strickland was to show that (1) his counsel‘s performance was deficient, and (2) the deficient performance prejudiced his defense. See Strickland, 466 U.S. at 687. The court concluded that Jones had not met his burden under Strickland‘s first prong because he had failed to demonstrate “that trial counsel‘s performance fell below an objective standard of professional conduct for criminal defense counsel.” The court therefore did not consider whether Jones had established prejudice under Strickland‘s second prong. Nothing in the Colorado district court‘s order is contrary to Strickland.
A state court unreasonably applies federal law when it “correctly identifies the governing legal principle from Supreme Court decisions but unreasonably applies it to the facts of the particular case.” Turrentine, 390 F.3d at 1189 (quotation and alteration omitted). The Colo
B. Failure to call an expert witness at trial
Jones next claims that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to call an expert witness at trial to rebut Dr. Bacon‘s testimony. In addressing this claim, the state district court credited counsel‘s explanation that she feared calling an expert witness would open the door to evidence of four prior sexual assault allegations against Jones. Based on this testimony, the court found that counsel‘s decision not to call an expert was “one of trial strategy.” On appeal, the state appellate court concluded that “the record supports the trial court‘s finding that counsel‘s decision not to call a rebuttal expert was a tactical choice.” The conclusion of the Colorado courts that counsel‘s decision was based on trial strategy is a finding of fact. Bryan v. Mullin, 335 F.3d 1207, 1221 n. 17 (10th Cir.2003). In reviewing a state court factual finding, this court “asks whether it represented an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented, and gives the state court‘s determination a presumption of correctness that can be rebutted only by clear and convincing evidence.” Hogan v. Gibson, 197 F.3d 1297, 1306 (10th Cir.1999) (citations, quotation, and alterations omitted).
Jones argues that the state district court‘s finding was unreasonable because counsel‘s fear of opening the door to past-acts testimony was “wholly without factual support and unfounded in the Colorado Rules of Evidence.” After reviewing the record, this court cannot agree that the court‘s finding was either unreasonable or contradicted by clear and convincing evidence. Counsel testified that she consulted with three other attorneys about the evidentiary issues and was advised to avoid the risk of calling an expert. Prior to trial, the judge warned counsel in chambers that the prosecutor would be allowed to present the past-acts evidence “if the door is even so much as cracked,” and the prosecutor stated that if the door was opened he was “going to drive a truck through it.” Counsel feared that questioning an expert about Dr. Bacon‘s methodology might disclose the expert‘s knowledge that Dr. Bacon was aware of the allegations of prior sexual misconduct, and that this influenced the way Dr. Bacon interact
Even if Jones is correct that Colorado evidentiary law would not ordinarily have allowed admission of the past-acts evidence, his counsel could legitimately have feared that she would unwittingly lay the groundwork for the evidence‘s admissibility. Counsel‘s supervisor warned her before trial that calling an expert witness could “blow[] up on you,” and counsel testified at the postconviction hearing that this was not a risk she was willing to take. Jones argues that counsel could have neutralized the risk of calling an expert with a motion in limine, but counsel testified that she did not “take a lot of comfort” from pretrial rulings because the judge might change his mind if the direct examination of the expert took an unexpected turn. Her supervisor agreed that in the “uncontrolled environment” of direct examination, counsel would be “running a huge risk that is not resolved by a limine motion” because the expert may inadvertently say something that opens the door. Even Jones’ expert on criminal defense at the postconviction hearing admitted that he could “imagine some way” the door could inadvertently be opened.
Jones contends that his counsel nevertheless risked opening the door to the same issues she was trying to avoid by questioning Dr. Bacon about his bias in cross-examination. Counsel testified, however, that she felt she would have far more control over the witness in cross-examination and could thus better avoid the risk of inadvertently opening the door. See United States v. Maxwell, 966 F.2d 545, 548-49 (10th Cir.1992) (holding that defense counsel was not ineffective for foregoing expert testimony and relying instead on cross-examination in order to avoid opening the door to evidence of prior convictions); see also Reinert v. Larkins, 379 F.3d 76, 95 (3rd Cir.2004) (holding that counsel was not constitutionally ineffective for failing to call expert witness in rebuttal when counsel “thoroughly cross-examined” the state‘s witnesses); Coleman v. Calderon, 150 F.3d 1105, 1115 (9th Cir.1998), rev‘d on other grounds, 525 U.S. 141, 119 S.Ct. 500, 142 L.Ed.2d 521 (1998) (holding that counsel was not ineffective for failing to call an expert when counsel consulted with an expert prior to trial and conducted an effective cross-examination).3
Counsel was able to cover the same ground in cross-examination that she would have if she had called her own expert witness. As the state district court
Jones’ final remaining argument is that the state district court‘s finding was unreasonable because it ignored contemporaneous evidence that contradicted counsel‘s after-the-fact justification of her trial strategy. Jones points to a letter written by counsel stating that the videotaped sessions “need to be explained by an expert,” and that, “[a]bsent expert testimony concerning Bacon‘s interviewing techniques and the responses of the child, the only expert testimony the jury will receive is that of Dr. Bacon‘s.” This letter, however, was written before counsel had talked to Dr. Bernhard, who concluded that Dr. Bacon‘s methodology was “not too bad” and “could be addressed on cross-examination.” Counsel testified that she wanted to have an expert evaluate whether Dr. Bacon‘s methodology “was a fertile area to pursue,” but after consulting with Dr. Bernhard felt that the risk of calling an expert outweighed the possible advantages. Considering the strong presumption of competent performance, the state district court was not unreasonable to credit counsel‘s testimony.
Jones submits a separate letter written to his parents in which counsel stated that she was unable to retain Dr. Barbara Bebensee as an expert because “[Dr. Bebensee] did not believe that the job could be undertaken for the amount of money which had been budgeted, i.e. [$1000].” Counsel wrote that, because “time and money often dictate how much can be done at trial,” she would “not be having any expert discussion on the video tapes” and “will simply have to handle that through cross-examination.” Although this letter does appear to indicate that counsel‘s decision not to hire a witness was undertaken based on monetary rather than tactical considerations, Jones’ counsel testified at the postconviction hearing that she was not completely forthcoming in her letter because she wanted to protect Jones’ parents. If Dr. Bernhard had told her that Dr. Bacon‘s methods were grossly problematic, counsel testified that she would have hired an expert to go through the methodology on the stand. She testified that $1000 would have been adequate for this purpose, and that Dr. Bebensee‘s
Strategic or tactical decisions are presumed correct. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 690 (holding that strategic choices made after a thorough investigation of law and facts are “virtually unchallengeable“). Decisions based on trial strategy only rise to the level of ineffective assistance of counsel if they are “completely unreasonable, not merely wrong, so that they bear no relationship to a possible defense strategy.” Fox v. Ward, 200 F.3d 1286, 1296 (10th Cir.2000) (quotation and alteration omitted); see also Valenzuela v. United States, 261 F.3d 694, 699-700 (7th Cir.2001) (holding that “a lawyer‘s decision to call or not to call a witness is a strategic decision generally not subject to review” (quotation and alteration omitted)); United States v. Smith, 198 F.3d 377, 386 (2d Cir.1999) (“The decision whether to call any witnesses on behalf of the defendant, and if so which witnesses to call, is a tactical decision of the sort engaged in by defense attorneys in almost every trial.” (quotation omitted)). Counsel‘s strategic decision in this case to rely on cross-examination to avoid risking the admission of the past-acts evidence was not completely unreasonable, and the state district court was therefore also not unreasonable to conclude that counsel was not constitutionally ineffective in this case.
V. CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, the district court‘s denial of Jones’ application for writ of habeas corpus pursuant to § 2254 is AFFIRMED.