McDaniels v. State

• Decision Date: 24 April 2014
• Docket Number: No. CR–13–301.,CR–13–301.
• Citation: 432 S.W.3d 644,2014 Ark. 181
• Court: Arkansas Supreme Court
• Parties: Willie Author McDANIELS, Appellant v. STATE of Arkansas, Appellee.

2014 Ark. 181

432 S.W.3d 644

Willie Author McDANIELS, Appellant

v.STATE of Arkansas, Appellee.

No. CR–13–301.

Supreme Court of Arkansas.

April 24, 2014.

James Law Firm, by: Lee D. Short, for appellant.

Dustin McDaniel, Att'y Gen., by: Kathryn Henry, Ass't Att'y Gen., for appellee.

JIM HANNAH, Chief Justice.

Appellant, Willie Author McDaniels, appeals from the denial of his petition for postconviction relief pursuant to Arkansas Rule of Criminal Procedure 37. Appellant was convicted of two counts of rape of his step-granddaughter, Q.A., and sentenced to a total of 480 months in the Arkansas Department of Correction. The court of appeals affirmed on direct appeal. See McDaniels v. State, 2012 Ark. App. 219, 2012 WL 1021529. Appellant then filed a petition for postconviction relief, which the circuit court denied without an evidentiary hearing. On appeal, Appellant contends that the circuit court clearly erred in rejecting without a hearing his claims that (1) trial counsel was ineffective for failing to object to defective charging language and jury instructions, and (2) trial counsel was ineffective for failing to adequately investigate and utilize evidence of a third party's semen found on the victim's pants. We affirm the circuit court's order.

On appeal from a circuit court's ruling on a petitioner's request for Rule 37 relief, this court will not reverse the circuitcourt's decision granting or denying postconviction relief unless it is clearly erroneous. E.g., Prater v. State, 2012 Ark. 164, at 8, 402 S.W.3d 68, 74. A finding is clearly erroneous when, although there is evidence to support it, the appellate court after reviewing the entire evidence is left with the definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed. Id., 402 S.W.3d at 74.

The criteria for assessing the effectiveness of counsel were enunciated by the United States Supreme Court in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984). In asserting ineffective assistance of counsel under Strickland, the petitioner must first show that counsel's performance was deficient. Williams v. State, 2011 Ark. 489, at 4, 385 S.W.3d 228, 232. This requires a showing that counsel made errors so serious that counsel was not functioning as the “counsel” guaranteed the petitioner by the Sixth Amendment. Id., 385 S.W.3d at 232. The reviewing court must indulge in a strong presumption that counsel's conduct falls within the wide range of reasonable professional assistance. Id., 385 S.W.3d at 232. Second, the petitioner must show that counsel's deficient performance prejudiced the defense, which requires showing that counsel's errors were so serious as to deprive the petitioner of a fair trial. Id., 385 S.W.3d at 232. In doing so, the petitioner must show that there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel's errors, the fact-finder would have had a reasonable doubt respecting guilt, which means that the decision reached would have been different absent the errors. Id., 385 S.W.3d at 232. A reasonable probability is a probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome of the trial. Id., 385 S.W.3d at 232–33. Unless a petitioner makes both Strickland showings, it cannot be said that the conviction resulted from breakdown in the adversarial process that renders the result unreliable. Id., 385 S.W.3d at 233.

In his first point on appeal, Appellant contends that the circuit court clearly erred in rejecting without a hearing his claim that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to object to defective charging language and jury instructions. Count Two of the felony information charged Appellant with committing rape, in violation of Arkansas Code Annotated section 5–14–103, and alleged that on or about June 23, 2007, through October 17, 2008, Appellant “unlawfully, feloniously, did engage in sexual intercourse or deviate sexual activity with Q.A. ... who was less than eighteen (18) years of age, and the actor was the victim's guardian, to wit: step-grandparent, against the peace and dignity of the State of Arkansas.” At trial, the circuit court instructed the jury that, to sustain the charge of rape as to Count Two, the State had to prove beyond a reasonable doubt (1) that Appellant engaged in sexual intercourse or deviate sexual activity with Q.A.; (2) that Q.A. was less than eighteen years old at the time of the offense; and (3) that Appellant was Q.A.'s guardian or step-grandparent. Appellant alleged in his petition for postconviction relief that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to object to the language in the charging document because the definition of “guardian” found in Arkansas Code Annotated section 5–14–101 does not specifically include a step-grandparent. He also claimed that there was insufficient evidence presented at trial to demonstrate that he was Q.A.'s guardian. Appellant contended that the felony information showed that he was charged pursuant to the “guardian” subsection ¹ of the rape statute and that, “[o]nce the trial commenced without amendment to the information, any evidence or references accusing the Defendant of rape for being in the position of ‘step-grandparent’ should have been objected to by trial counsel.” He further contended that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to object to the language in the jury instruction “making reference to the Defendant as ‘step-grandparent.’ ”

The circuit court found that trial counsel committed error by failing to object to the language of Count Two. Nevertheless, the circuit court found that under Arkansas Code Annotated section 5–14–103, Appellant could be convicted of rape for engaging in sexual intercourse or deviate sexual activity with Q.A. if he was either Q.A.'s guardian or her step-grandparent, and the circuit court found that the evidence at trial demonstrated that Appellant met the definition of both. The circuit court further found that, had trial counsel objected to the use of the term “guardian” in Count Two of the felony information, “based solely on the defendant's status as step-grandparent, the information could have been amended at any point prior to the submission of the case to the jury to reflect that he was being charged as a step-grandparent and the jury so instructed, as there would have been no change in the nature or degree of the charge.” Accordingly, the circuit court found that Appellant had not “suffered such prejudice as a result of his attorney's error as to warrant relief” pursuant to Rule 37.

A person commits rape if he or she engages in sexual intercourse or deviate sexual activity with another person who is less than eighteen years of age and the actor is the victim's guardian, seeArk.Code Ann. § 5–14–103(a)(4)(A)(i) (Repl.2006), or step-grandparent, see id. § 5–14–103(a)(4)(A)(ii). A “guardian” is defined as “a parent, stepparent, legal guardian, legal custodian, foster parent, or any person who by virtue of a living arrangement is placed in an apparent position of power or authority over a minor.” Id.§ 5–14–101(3) (Repl.2006) (emphasis added). The State contends that, in this case, although it is not entirely clear from the felony information whether the State intended to charge Appellant with rape under part (i) or part (ii) of Arkansas Code Annotated section 5–14–103(a)(4)(A), the circuit court correctly found that any error by trial counsel in failing to object to the charging language did not prejudice Appellant in light of evidence presented by the State that Appellant was both Q.A.'s guardian and her step-grandparent.

Appellant did not contest the fact that he was Q.A.'s step-grandfather. He testified at trial that he had been married to Q.A.'s grandmother, Gloria McDaniels, for thirty-three years. Q.A. testified at trial that Appellant was her step-grandfather, and that she called him “Paw Paw” while growing up. As to the allegation that Appellant was also Q.A.'s guardian, there was testimony at trial from Q.A., Q.A.'s relatives, and Appellant himself that Q.A. had spent a great deal of time at Appellant's home from the time she was a young child. Yolanda Allen, Appellant's stepdaughter, testified that Q.A. was around Appellant “from birth,” because she was the “first born grandchild,” and that Q.A. went places with Appellant and rode in the car with him “all the time.” Bridget White, Q.A.'s mother, testified that Q.A. went on vacation with Appellant and Q.A.'s grandmother to Florida and that when Q.A. moved back to Arkansas from Texas in the summer of 2007, Q.A. often spent the night with them. White also testified that Appellant bought clothes and a cell phone for Q.A. Q.A. testified that, when she returned from Texas, she lived at both her mother's house and Appellant's house, stating that, if she had school the next day, she spent the night with Appellant and her grandmother because Appellant “was like transportation ... [a]nd my mom didn't have a car at the time, so that's how we would get back and forth to school.” Q.A. testified that her grandmother would leave for work around 6:00 a.m., and Appellant would walk through the house to make sure everyone else was still sleeping and then he would “come in [my] room ... pull my pants down, ... pull his pants off, and [he'd] take his penis and stick it inside me.” Q.A. stated that Appellant bought her food and clothes, paid her cell-phone bill, and gave her money and told her that, if she told anyone about the rapes, he would “stop me from coming around my granny,” and “he'll stop doing stuff for me.” Q.A. also said that Appellant told her that if she accused him of rape, nobody would believe her. Q.A.'s grandmother testified that Q.A. was at the McDaniels home “mostly ... on the weekends, and through the summer she was there all the time.” She also stated that, when Q.A.'s mother was working at the state fair, Q.A. spent the night at the McDaniels home during the school week. Q.A.'s grandmother also testified...