People v. Harris

• Decision Date: 20 June 2002
• Docket Number: No. 89796.,89796.
• Citation: 794 N.E.2d 181,276 Ill.Dec. 286,206 Ill.2d 293
• Parties: The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Appellee, v. David HARRIS, Appellant.
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court

794 N.E.2d 181

206 Ill.2d 293

276 Ill.Dec. 286

The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Appellee, v. David HARRIS, Appellant.

No. 89796.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

June 20, 2002.

Rehearing Denied August 29, 2002.

Gary Ravitz, Eric Palles, of Ravitz & Palles, P.C., and Marshall Hartman, Deputy Defender, Office of the State Appellate Defender, Chicago, for appellant.

James E. Ryan, Attorney General, Springfield, Richard A. Devine, State's Attorney, Chicago (William L. Browers, Assistant Attorney General, Chicago, Renee Goldfarb and William D. Carroll, Assistant State's Attorneys, of counsel), for the People.

Justice FITZGERALD delivered the opinion of the court:

Defendant, David Harris, was convicted of first degree murder and attempted armed robbery in 1995 and sentenced to death. On direct appeal, this court affirmed defendant's conviction and sentence. People v. Harris, 182 Ill.2d 114, 230 Ill.Dec. 957, 695 N.E.2d 447 (1998). Defendant thereafter petitioned the Cook County circuit court for relief pursuant to the Post-Conviction Hearing Act (725 ILCS 5/122-1 et seq. (West 1998)). Defendant now appeals directly to this court the Cook County circuit court's order dismissing his first and second amended post-conviction petitions without an evidentiary hearing. 134 Ill.2d R. 651(a).

ANALYSIS

The Post-Conviction Hearing Act provides a procedural mechanism for a criminal defendant to assert that "in the proceedings which resulted in his or her conviction there was a substantial denial of his or her rights under the Constitution of the United States or of the State of Illinois or both." 725 ILCS 5/122-1 (West 1998); People v. Enis, 194 Ill.2d 361, 375-76, 252 Ill.Dec. 427, 743 N.E.2d 1 (2000); People v. Coleman, 183 Ill.2d 366, 378-79, 233 Ill. Dec. 789, 701 N.E.2d 1063 (1998). A post-conviction proceeding is a collateral attack upon a prior conviction or sentence and does not relitigate a defendant's innocence or guilt. People v. Evans, 186 Ill.2d 83, 89, 237 Ill.Dec. 118, 708 N.E.2d 1158 (1999). Therefore, any issues considered by the court on direct appeal are barred by the doctrine of res judicata, and issues which could have been raised on direct appeal are deemed waived. People v. West, 187 Ill.2d 418, 425, 241 Ill.Dec. 535, 719 N.E.2d 664 (1999).

After a capital defendant files a post-conviction petition, the trial court examines the petition and appoints an attorney to represent the defendant, if necessary. 725 ILCS 5/122-2.1(a)(1) (West 1998). Thereafter, the State may answer or move to dismiss the petition. 725 ILCS 5/122-5 (West 1998). If the State moves to dismiss the petition, the trial court must examine and rule upon the legal sufficiency of the defendant's allegations, taking all well-pleaded facts as true. People v. Ward, 187 Ill.2d 249, 255, 240 Ill.Dec. 636, 718 N.E.2d 117 (1999). A defendant is not entitled to an evidentiary hearing unless the allegations of the post-conviction petition, supported by the trial record and any accompanying affidavits, make a substantial showing of a constitutional violation. People v. Orange, 195 Ill.2d 437, 448, 255 Ill.Dec. 450, 749 N.E.2d 932 (2001); Enis, 194 Ill.2d at 376, 252 Ill.Dec. 427, 743 N.E.2d 1. A trial court's ruling on the sufficiency of defendant's allegations is a legal determination and, therefore, our review is de novo. Coleman, 183 Ill.2d at 388, 233 Ill.Dec. 789, 701 N.E.2d 1063.

In this appeal, defendant raises eight issues. He contends: (1) he is actually innocent of the crime; (2) he received ineffective assistance of trial counsel because his lawyer failed to request a fitness examination; (3) he received ineffective assistance of trial counsel because his lawyer failed to adequately investigate the case and produce exculpatory evidence and alibi witnesses; (4) the State committed a Brady violation when it failed to disclose impeachment evidence regarding its witness Theodore Traylor; (5) the State committed a Brady violation at his capital sentencing hearing when prosecutors failed to disclose material exculpatory evidence regarding a disciplinary incident; (6) he received ineffective assistance of counsel at his capital sentencing hearing because his lawyer failed to perform a proper mitigation investigation; (7) he was not statutorily death eligible; and (8) the Illinois death penalty statute is unconstitutional.

I. Actual Innocence

Defendant argues that he is entitled to an evidentiary hearing on his claim that he is actually innocent of the crime for which he was convicted. Defendant's claim of actual innocence is based upon the affidavits of codefendants Demetrius Daniels and Howard McClinton, who state that defendant was not present at the time of the crime and that they conspired to frame defendant. Defendant also bases his claim upon the affidavits of his brothers, Darrell and Rashid Harris, who state that defendant was at home with them in defendant's basement apartment watching a movie at the time of the shooting.

Courts may consider a freestanding claim of actual innocence in a post-conviction proceeding if the claim is based on newly discovered, material, and noncumulative evidence that the defendant is innocent of the crime for which he has been tried, convicted, and sentenced. People v. Washington, 171 Ill.2d 475, 489, 216 Ill.Dec. 773, 665 N.E.2d 1330 (1996). Newly discovered evidence is evidence that was unavailable at trial and could not have been discovered sooner through due diligence. People v. Burrows, 172 Ill.2d 169, 180, 216 Ill.Dec. 762,665 N.E.2d 1319 (1996). A defendant is only entitled to relief on his claim of actual innocence if the evidence is of such a conclusive character that it would probably change the result of retrial. Washington, 171 Ill.2d at 489,216 Ill.Dec. 773,665 N.E.2d 1330; Burrows, 172 Ill.2d at 180,216 Ill.Dec. 762,665 N.E.2d 1319.

We affirm the circuit court's dismissal of defendant's claim of actual innocence without an evidentiary hearing. First, the affidavits of defendant's brothers, Darrell and Rashid, do not contain "newly discovered" evidence. This evidence could have been discovered before trial with the exercise of due diligence. Despite defendant's contention that the evidence is newly discovered because the alibi affidavits are dated after the time of trial, the mere fact that these affidavits are dated after the time of trial does not render the evidence newly discovered. Clearly, the fact that defendant was allegedly with his brothers on the night of the crime could have been discovered sooner. More importantly, defendant is the source of this information and was armed with this information at the time of trial.

Turning to the affidavits of codefendants Daniels and McClinton, we also reject defendant's claim of actual innocence based upon the evidence contained in these affidavits. In 1994, Daniels and McClinton gave statements to the police in which they outlined their involvement in the crime and identified defendant as the shooter. In their affidavits, however, they state that it was "a scheme to say that it was [defendant] who shot Clifford Chase in the event any of us were caught." However, as we observed in defendant's direct appeal, "evidence of guilt in this case was overwhelming." Harris, 182 Ill.2d at 142, 230 Ill.Dec. 957, 695 N.E.2d 447. Defendant was convicted based upon the following evidence: defendant's written statement in which he confessed to personally shooting the victim; the testimony of an eyewitness, Theresa Barnes, who identified defendant as the shooter; and the testimony of codefendant Theodore Traylor, who stated that defendant was the shooter. Importantly, the statements of Daniels, McClinton, Traylor, Barnes, and defendant describe in strikingly similar detail the circumstances of the crime. Based upon the overwhelming evidence of guilt, the affidavits of codefendants Daniels and McClinton are not of such a conclusive character that they would probably change the outcome on retrial. We affirm the decision of the circuit court dismissing this claim without an evidentiary hearing.

II. Guilt-Phase Issues

A. Strickland—Failure to Request a Fitness Hearing

Defendant argues that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to seek a fitness hearing pursuant to section 104-11(a) of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 (725 ILCS 5/104-11(a) (West 1998)). Under section 104-11(a), "[t]he issue of the defendant's fitness for trial, to plead, or to be sentenced may be raised by the defense * * *. When a bona fide doubt of the defendant's fitness is raised, the court shall order a determination of the issue before proceeding further." 725 ILCS 5/104-11(a) (West 1998). Defendant argues that at the time of trial and sentencing there was a bona fide doubt of his fitness because he suffered from depression, a dependent personality disorder, and organic brain damage.

The State argues that defendant waived this claim because it could have been raised on direct appeal. See People v. Olinger, 176 Ill.2d 326, 365, 223 Ill.Dec. 588, 680 N.E.2d 321 (1997) ("argument is waived because it was apparent from a direct examination of the record and should have been raised on direct appeal"). The record on direct appeal contains defendant's pretrial and presentence investigation reports. These reports state that in 1994, one year prior to his conviction and sentence in August 1995, defendant was diagnosed with depression and prescribed medication for a period of five months, to manage his depression.

Defendant, however, also relies on evidence outside the record on direct appeal, including psychological assessments gathered by his post-conviction counsel which conclude that defendant suffers from severe depression, dependent personality disorder, and organic brain disorder. Accordingly, to the extent defendant relies upon evidence outside the record, we examine this claim. Claims of ineffective assistance of counsel are examined under the two-prong test...