Crawford v. Fleming

323 F. Supp. 3d 1186
CourtDistrict Court, D. Oregon
DecidedMay 10, 2018
DocketCase No. 3:15–cv–02211–MC
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 323 F. Supp. 3d 1186 (Crawford v. Fleming) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Crawford v. Fleming, 323 F. Supp. 3d 1186 (D. Or. 2018).

Opinion

MCSHANE, District Judge:

Along with a co-defendant, petitioner was indicted by a grand jury in Multnomah County for multiple counts of robbery, assault, and attempted murder, all stemming from two separate criminal episodes that occurred on November 25, 2004. Although the juvenile record and the arrest history of the petitioner were readily obtainable, petitioner's trial counsel admitted that he failed to investigate or inquire into these facts. Deficient of this knowledge, trial counsel advised petitioner that "his worst case sentencing scenario would likely be around 17 ½ years." Resp't Ex. 119 at 3. On another occasion counsel told petitioner that "a sentence of ... over 20 years is really unrealistic. Don't even put that in your mind." Resp't Ex. 127 at 75. Based on this advice, petitioner refused to accept an initial plea offer of 200 months and later refused to negotiate a settlement that would have resulted in a prison range of 17 ½ to 20 years. Following trial, a presentence report was ordered that reflected a much more serious history of criminal conduct than the minimal criminal background known to trial counsel. Petitioner was sentenced to 396 months in prison.

Petitioner brings this habeas corpus proceeding under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, challenging his convictions and sentence for robbery, assault, and attempted murder. Because of his failure to adequately investigate petitioner's criminal history, trial counsel provided ineffective assistance by advising his client that a trial outcome could be no worse than a negotiated settlement. This caused prejudice to the petitioner. Because the PCR court failed recognize the constitutional significance of trial counsel's failure to reasonably investigate petitioner's criminal history prior to advising petitioner about potential outcomes, the decision of the PCR court was an unreasonable application of clearly established federal law. The petition is GRANTED.

BACKGROUND

On March 1, 2005, petitioner and a co-defendant were charged with four counts of Robbery in the First Degree, two counts of Robbery in the Second Degree, and one count each of Attempted Murder, Kidnapping in the Second Degree, and Assault in the First Degree. Resp't Ex. 102, at 1-3. The charges arose from two separate robberies that occurred on November 25, 2004, one of which involved a shooting and assault. Id.

On July 26, 2005, petitioner's trial counsel was appointed and took over petitioner's defense. Resp't Ex. 119 at 1.

On September 19, 2005, trial counsel sent a letter advising petitioner that he did "not have a strong case for trial" and the potential maximum sentence could be 450 months if petitioner was convicted on all counts and given consecutive sentences.1 Counsel's letter further stated "such a sentence is unlikely" and advised petitioner *1189that counsel believed a plea agreement of 11-12 years was possible but for petitioner's request "that no offer be made." Resp't Ex. 126 at 1-3.

On September 21, 2005, the State extended a plea offer of 200 months, slightly longer than 16 ½ years. Resp't Ex. 128 at 2. Petitioner rejected the offer after his counsel advised that the offer was "way too high" and they should explore plea negotiations during a judicial settlement conference. Resp't Ex. 129 at 22-23.

On September 26, 2005, prior to hearing the scheduled arguments on defense motions, the trial court offered the parties an opportunity to engage in settlement discussions. Transcript of Proceedings (Tr.) at 17-18 (ECF No. 29).2 Petitioner's counsel informed the court that the State had already made an offer and petitioner had rejected it. The trial court ultimately granted petitioner's motion to sever his case from that of his co-defendant and denied petitioner's motions to suppress. Tr. at 68-69, 188.

According to counsel, petitioner began to express an interest in plea negotiations after the motions hearing, culminating in settlement negotiations the day of the trial. Resp't Ex. 127 at 10-12, 24-25. During the negotiations, the prosecutor indicated that the State would entertain offers in the 17 to 19-year range and invited petitioner to make an offer of 17 ½ years. Id. at 12-13, 79. Counsel again advised petitioner that he would not receive a sentence much longer than the State's suggested offer if he was convicted at trial. Id. at 14 ("And my advice was that the trial is-at the conclusion of trial, if we lost, everything would not be dramatically or very much different than what had been offered"), 64-65. Based on counsel's advice, petitioner did not extend an offer and proceeded with trial. Id. at 15 ("But based on my advice in our discussion, we didn't accept an offer.").

At trial, four victims identified petitioner as the person who had robbed them; petitioner was also identified as the person who shot one victim. Tr. at 287, 337, 386, 426-427. In his defense, petitioner testified that he was at the scene of the first robbery but ran away after hearing gunshots. Tr. at 627-633. He also testified that he spent the evening with family and friends and was not present at the second robbery. Tr. at 641-46. The jury returned guilty verdicts on all eight counts presented at trial. Tr. at 778-80, 783-84.3

Shortly before the sentencing date, counsel received the pre-sentence investigation report, which recommended a sentence of 475 months based in large part on petitioner's uncharged criminal conduct that was unknown to trial counsel. Tr. at 819; Resp't Ex. 127 at 71. Counsel requested a postponement to investigate and obtain mitigation evidence. Tr. at 802-03.

At sentencing, the trial court sentenced petitioner to a total of 396 months of imprisonment. For convictions related to the first criminal episode, the court imposed consecutive 90-month sentences for each robbery, a concurrent 90-month sentence for the attempted murder, and a partially consecutive 90-month sentence for the assault (36 months running consecutive) for a total of 216 months. Resp't Ex. 101. For convictions related to the second criminal episode, the court imposed consecutive 90-month terms for each robbery, merging the lesser included counts for a total of 180 months. Id.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
323 F. Supp. 3d 1186, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/crawford-v-fleming-ord-2018.