State v. Hamlet, CR-03-0811.

• Decision Date: 13 May 2005
• Docket Number: CR-03-0811.
• Citation: 913 So.2d 493
• Parties: STATE of Alabama v. Gregory Clay HAMLET.
• Court: Alabama Supreme Court

913 So.2d 493

STATE of Alabama v. Gregory Clay HAMLET.

CR-03-0811.

Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama.

January 7, 2005.

Rehearing Denied February 18, 2005.

Certiorari Denied May 13, 2005 Alabama Supreme Court 1040784.

Troy King, atty. gen., and Corey L. Maze, asst. atty. gen., for appellant.

William M. Dawson, Jr., Birmingham, for appellee.

WISE, Judge.

This is an appeal by the State of Alabama of the circuit court's order granting Gregory Clay Hamlet's Rule 32, Ala.R.Crim.P., petition for postconviction relief, in which he challenged his 2001 conviction for first-degree robbery and the resulting sentence, imposed pursuant to the Habitual Offender Act, of life imprisonment. On October 18, 2002, this Court affirmed Hamlet's conviction, by unpublished memorandum. See Hamlet v. State, (No. CR-01-1141) 876 So.2d 542 (Ala.Crim.App.2002) (table). Following the Alabama Supreme Court's denial of Hamlet's petition for a writ of certiorari, this Court issued a certificate of judgment on February 21, 2003.

On June 4, 2003, Hamlet filed a Rule 32 petition, seeking a new trial on the ground that he had been denied his constitutional right to the effective assistance of counsel. Hamlet filed an amendment to his Rule 32 petition on September 19, 2003, in which he provided additional factual allegations concerning his ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim. An evidentiary hearing was held on Hamlet's Rule 32 petition, and on January 8, 2004, the circuit court entered the following order:

"This matter coming before the Court after an evidentiary hearing and with both parties having submitted briefs, it is therefore ordered as follows: the petition is due to be granted and a new trial ordered for the reasons set out herein:

"Initially, it should be noted that this case took a rather strange course. Unfortunately, there is little precedent for this Court to look to in making its decision, which requires a rather fact-intensive exercise. Nevertheless, the caselaw does provide some guiding principles as to what constitutes ineffective assistance of counsel. The test that remains applicable is as follows:

"`First, the Defendant must show that counsel's performance was deficient. This requires showing that counsel made errors so serious that counsel was not functioning as the "counsel" guaranteed the defendant by the Sixth Amendment. Second, the defendant must show that the deficient performance prejudiced the defense. This requires showing that counsel's errors were so serious as to deprive the defendant of a fair trial, a trial whose result is reliable.' Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984); see also Williams v. State, 480 So.2d 1265 (Ala.Crim.App.1985).

"This Court is also mindful that petitioner carries the burden of proof and must meet the elements of the above test by a preponderance of the evidence. Wilson v. State, 644 So.2d 1326, 1328 (Ala.Crim.App.1994). Further, the Court recognizes the presumption that trial counsel was sufficient and provided petitioner with effective assistance. Halford [Hallford] v. State, 629 So.2d 6 (Ala.Crim.App.1992).

"The facts that assisted this Court in arriving at its decision are numerous. This is not the typical case in which there is a single act that may constitute ineffective assistance of counsel. These facts present a combination of errors by both the appointed and the retained lawyer.

"The Court finds that neither Attorney [John] Rudd nor Attorney [Rod] Walls properly prepared this matter for trial and confusion ensued at the trial. Rudd assumed this matter would settle, and any effort at preparation was thwarted by the late appearance of Walls. Further, it is clear that Walls did not have adequate time to prepare and was wholly unfamiliar with the facts in this case.

"Given Walls's recent appearance and lack of knowledge concerning the facts, a continuance was in order. Walls, instead, went forward with a defense based upon Rudd's presenting photographs to show that the cigarettes were encased and otherwise inaccessible. Unfortunately, there was no such evidence and the defense had to awkwardly change course in the middle of the proceedings. This conduct of pressing forward without any discovery or investigation falls below the duty owed to the petitioner.

"In addition, during the trial, Rudd never bothered to assist in the defense. Rudd knew of prior inconsistent statements by key State's witnesses, yet never bothered to inform Walls of them. Given the critical nature of these witnesses' statements, this silence compromised petitioner's defense. Moreover, Rudd never communicated any defense strategy to Walls. While Rudd still owed a duty to petitioner, he mistakenly took the position that only Walls was responsible. Even assuming Rudd had formally withdrawn, this behavior also falls well below the duty owed to petitioner.

"In Esters v. State, 894 So.2d 755 (Ala.Crim.App.2003), the Court recognized the continuing duty of appointed counsel even when replaced by new counsel. The Court began its analysis by citing to Ala.R.Crim.P. 6.2 for the basic principle that a defendant deserves continuity of representation through all critical stages, including trial. Also cited was Rule 1.16(d) of the Ala.R.Prof.Cond., which states `even if the lawyer has been unfairly discharged by the client, a lawyer must take all reasonable steps to mitigate the consequences to the client.' Based on the above citations, the Court recognized a continuing duty on the part of the appointed counsel, even if discharged by the client. But again, even if you ignore the above caselaw, it is undisputed that Rudd never even formally sought to withdraw from the case. Thus, he still owed a duty to petitioner, and Walls's involvement certainly does not release him from that continuing duty to assist in petitioner's defense.

"Finally, it is clear that petitioner was never adequately presented with his options regarding settlement and the consequences that could follow. Given the course of this case and the comments by Walls, the Court finds that petitioner was not given sufficient information to make an informed and intelligent choice. Although an argument can be made to the contrary, the confusing nature of this case and the lack of attorney cooperation contributed to petitioner's inability to make a sound and reasoned decision.

"The State argues that this matter is procedurally barred, citing petitioner's pro se motion for a new trial. However, Attorney Walls represented petitioner at the motion for new trial and drafted the motion. Independent counsel was appointed to represent petitioner only after the motion was denied. As a practical matter, the issue of ineffective assistance could not have been properly presented by Walls. See V.R. v. State, 852 So.2d 194 (Ala.Crim.App.2002). This action is the proper forum for this issue and is petitioner's first real opportunity to present this matter with the assistance of independent counsel and a full transcript of the proceedings.

"In summary, the Court finds that petitioner has shown that his legal representation fell below an objective standard of reasonableness, and that a reasonable probability existed, that but for both counsels' mistakes, the result of the trial would have been different. See Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 694, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984). There is a great probability that had this been handled appropriately, the petitioner would not be serving a life sentence. Id. There were a number of opportunities to avoid this result, however, neither attorney exercised good judgment in heading off this result. The Court, therefore, sets aside the conviction and orders a new trial."

This Court must determine whether the circuit court abused its discretion when it granted postconviction relief. Jones v. State, 724 So.2d 75, 76 (Ala.Crim.App.1998). Particular deference is accorded the decision of a circuit judge who presided over the original trial and the subsequent postconviction proceeding, because that judge is in a better position than is an appellate court to evaluate claims that are based on personal observations of, and a familiarity with the circumstances surrounding, the postconviction claims. See, e.g., Brown v. State, 807 So.2d 1, 4 (Ala.Crim.App.1999).

Alabama courts have repeatedly held that when the facts presented in a Rule 32 proceeding are undisputed and an appellate court is presented with a pure question of law, the court reviews the legal question de novo. Ex parte White, 792 So.2d 1097, 1098 (Ala.2001); Brown v. State, 850 So.2d 1261, 1263 (Ala.Crim.App.2002). When conflicting evidence is presented, however, a presumption of correctness is applied to the court's factual determinations, and they will not be disturbed unless they are clearly erroneous. See, e.g., Ex parte Hill, 690 So.2d 1201, 1204-05 (Ala.1996).

To prevail on a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, a defendant must establish (1) that his counsel's performance was deficient, and (2) that he was prejudiced by the deficient performance. Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984); Ex parte Lawley, 512 So.2d 1370, 1372 (Ala.1987). "The performance component outlined in Strickland is an objective one: that is, whether counsel's assistance, judged under `prevailing professional norms,' was `reasonable considering all the circumstances.'" Daniels v. State, 650 So.2d 544, 552 (Ala.Crim.App.1994) (quoting Strickland, 466 U.S. at 688, 104 S.Ct. 2052). "[A] court deciding an actual ineffectiveness claim must judge the reasonableness of counsel's challenged conduct on the facts of the particular case, viewed as of the time of counsel's conduct." Strickland, 466 U.S. at 690, 104 S.Ct. 2052.

The prejudice component requires proof that counsel's errors were so serious as to deprive the defendant of a fair trial, a trial whose result is reliable. Stricklan...