Springs v. State

• Decision Date: 03 May 2012
• Docket Number: No. CR 09–824.,CR 09–824.
• Citation: 2012 Ark. 87,387 S.W.3d 143
• Parties: Thomas Leo SPRINGS, Appellant v. STATE of Arkansas, Appellee.
• Court: Arkansas Supreme Court

2012 Ark. 87
387 S.W.3d 143

Thomas Leo SPRINGS, Appellant
v.
STATE of Arkansas, Appellee.

No. CR 09–824.

Supreme Court of Arkansas.

March 1, 2012.
Rehearing Denied May 3, 2012.

[387 S.W.3d 146]

Jeffrey Marx Rosenzweig, Little Rock, for appellant.

Dustin McDaniel, Atty. Gen., Karen Virginia Wallace, Little Rock, for appellee.

DONALD L. CORBIN, Associate Justice.

[2012 Ark. 1]Appellant Thomas Leo Springs appeals the decision of the Sebastian County Circuit Court denying his petition for postconviction relief filed pursuant to Ark. R.Crim. P. 37.5 (2011). On appeal, Appellant alleges that his trial counsel was ineffective in failing to (1) interview or call his son as a mitigation witness during sentencing; (2) object to improper closing argument

[387 S.W.3d 147]

by the State; (3) properly handle the admission of an aggravating circumstance; (4) object to the admission of written victim-impact statements; (5) properly conduct voir dire; and (6) sufficiently explain his right to present uncomplimentary evidence about the victim during the penalty phase. We affirm.

On January 21, 2005, Appellant rammed his car head-on into a car in which his estranged wife, Christina Springs, was a passenger. Her sister, Kelly Repking, was driving the vehicle, and her three-year-old niece, Paige Garner, was also a passenger. After hitting the Repking vehicle, Appellant got out of his car, shattered the passenger-side window of the [2012 Ark. 2]Repking vehicle, and began beating Christina's face into the dashboard. He stopped and returned to his vehicle, where he retrieved a knife that he used to then stab Christina multiple times. Christina died as a result of the injuries inflicted by Appellant.

Appellant was charged with capital murder, pursuant to Ark.Code Ann. § 5–10–101, and two counts of aggravated assault, pursuant to Ark.Code Ann. § 5–13–204. He was convicted of all three charges, and sentenced to death on the murder charge and six years' imprisonment and a $10,000 fine on each of the assault charges. This court affirmed his convictions and sentences in Springs v. State, 368 Ark. 256, 244 S.W.3d 683 (2006).

Thereafter, Appellant filed a timely petition for postconviction relief, as well as an amended petition, setting forth the allegations now raised on appeal.¹ A hearing on the petitions was held on April 30, 2009, at which Appellant, his trial counsel, John Joplin and Cash Haaser, as well as Appellant's son, Matthew Mooring, testified. The circuit court entered an order on June 10, 2009, denying Appellant's request for postconviction relief. This appeal followed.

This court has held that it will reverse the circuit court's decision granting or denying postconviction relief only when that decision is clearly erroneous. See Williams v. State, 369 Ark. 104, 251 S.W.3d 290 (2007); Howard v. State, 367 Ark. 18, 238 S.W.3d 24 (2006). This court has said, “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 [2012 Ark. 3]conviction that a mistake has been committed.” Williams, 369 Ark. at 107, 251 S.W.3d at 292 (quoting Howard, 367 Ark. at 26, 238 S.W.3d at 31).

When considering an appeal from a circuit court's denial of a Rule 37 petition, the sole question presented is whether, based on a totality of the evidence under the standard set forth by the United States Supreme Court in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984), the circuit court clearly erred in holding that counsel's performance was not ineffective. Anderson v. State, 2011 Ark. 488, 385 S.W.3d 783;Sparkman v. State, 373 Ark. 45, 281 S.W.3d 277 (2008). In making a determination of ineffective assistance of counsel, the totality of the evidence must be considered. Howard, 367 Ark. 18, 238 S.W.3d 24.

The benchmark for judging a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel must be “whether counsel's conduct so undermined the proper functioning of the adversarial process that the trial cannot be

[387 S.W.3d 148]

relied on as having produced a just result.” Strickland, 466 U.S. at 686, 104 S.Ct. 2052. Pursuant to Strickland, we assess the effectiveness of counsel under a two-prong standard. First, a petitioner raising a claim of ineffective assistance must show that counsel made errors so serious that counsel was not functioning as the “counsel” guaranteed the petitioner by the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Williams, 369 Ark. 104, 251 S.W.3d 290. A court must indulge in a strong presumption that counsel's conduct falls within the wide range of reasonable professional assistance. Id.

Second, the petitioner must show that counsel's deficient performance so prejudiced petitioner's defense that he was deprived of a fair trial. Id. A petitioner making an ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim must show that his counsel's performance fell below [2012 Ark. 4]an objective standard of reasonableness. Abernathy v. State, 2012 Ark. 59, 386 S.W.3d 477 (per curiam). The petitioner must show there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel's errors, the fact-finder would have had a reasonable doubt respecting guilt, i.e., the decision reached would have been different absent the errors. Howard, 367 Ark. 18, 238 S.W.3d 24. A reasonable probability is a probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome of the trial. Id. The language “the outcome of the trial,” refers not only to the finding of guilt or innocence, but also to possible prejudice in sentencing. Id. Unless a petitioner makes both showings, it cannot be said that the conviction resulted from a breakdown in the adversarial process that renders the result unreliable. Id. “[T]here is no reason for a court deciding an ineffective assistance claim ... to address both components of the inquiry if the defendant makes an insufficient showing on one.” Strickland, 466 U.S. at 697, 104 S.Ct. 2052. With this standard in mind, we now turn to the issues raised by Appellant.

I. Failure to Investigate and Call Particular Mitigation Witness

As his first point on appeal, Appellant argues that the circuit court erred in denying his request for relief based on his assertion that counsel were ineffective in failing to interview his son, Matthew Mooring, as a potential mitigation witness and in not calling him to testify during the penalty phase of his trial. Specifically, Appellant asserts that his son would have asked for mercy and testified to his father's positive characteristics and that this testimony could have balanced the testimony of his younger son presented by the State. The State counters that Appellant cannot demonstrate prejudice because Appellant presented testimony from fourteen mitigation witnesses, and anything Mooring stated would have been similar to [2012 Ark. 5]evidence that had been introduced. Moreover, the State asserts that there was evidence it could have used to impeach Matthew's testimony that his father was generally a good dad and a good provider. The circuit court correctly denied relief on this claim.

In denying relief, the circuit court noted that Appellant called fourteen mitigation witnesses that testified, among other things, that Appellant was a loving father who was involved in his children's lives, that he was loved by his children, that he was a hard worker, good natured, and an honorable person. The circuit court found that the testimony that Matthew would have given was cumulative of much of the aforementioned testimony. Moreover, the court noted that any testimony about appropriate punishment would not have been admissible under this court's decision in

[387 S.W.3d 149]

Greene v. State, 343 Ark. 526, 37 S.W.3d 579 (2001).

In Coulter v. State, 343 Ark. 22, 29, 31 S.W.3d 826, 830 (2000) (citations omitted), we explained as follows:

The constitutional guarantee of effective assistance of counsel extends to the sentencing phase of the defendant's trial. Counsel's failure to investigate and present substantial mitigating evidence during the sentencing phase may constitute ineffective assistance of counsel. Counsel is obligated to conduct an investigation for the purpose of ascertaining mitigating evidence, and the failure to do so is error. Such error, however, does not automatically require reversal unless it is shown that, but for counsel's errors, there is a reasonable probability that the sentence would have been different. When reviewing a claim of ineffectiveness based upon failing to present adequate mitigating evidence, we must view the totality of the evidence—both that adduced at trial and that adduced in the postconviction proceeding.

Thus, it is undisputed that the guarantee of effective assistance of counsel clearly encompasses the penalty phase of a criminal trial, and this court has recognized that the failure to present any testimony during the mitigation phase of the trial fails to pass constitutional [2012 Ark. 6]muster. See, e.g., Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. 362, 120 S.Ct. 1495, 146 L.Ed.2d 389 (2000) (holding trial counsel's failure to investigate and present substantial mitigation evidence during the sentencing phase can constitute ineffective assistance of counsel); see also State v. Smith, 368 Ark. 620, 249 S.W.3d 119 (2007). However, this court has further held that the decision not to offer certain mitigating evidence is a matter of trial strategy where the decision is made after a full investigation of the facts. See Wooten v. State, 351 Ark. 241, 91 S.W.3d 63 (2002).

Appellant cites us to the United States Supreme Court's decision in Wiggins v. Smith, 539 U.S. 510, 123 S.Ct. 2527, 156 L.Ed.2d 471 (2003), to support his contention that counsel was ineffective in failing to interview and call Matthew as a mitigation witness and that prejudice resulted therefrom. In Wiggins, the defendant was convicted of murder and sentenced to death. During postconviction proceedings, the defendant...