Crowther v. State

249 P.3d 1214, 45 Kan. App. 2d 559, 2011 Kan. App. LEXIS 61
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kansas
DecidedMarch 25, 2011
Docket102,923
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 249 P.3d 1214 (Crowther v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Crowther v. State, 249 P.3d 1214, 45 Kan. App. 2d 559, 2011 Kan. App. LEXIS 61 (kanctapp 2011).

Opinion

249 P.3d 1214 (2011)

David CROWTHER, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Kansas, Appellee.

No. 102,923.

Court of Appeals of Kansas.

March 25, 2011.

*1219 Jason B. Billam, of Billam & Henderson, LLC, of Olathe, for appellant.

Steven J. Obermeier, assistant district attorney, Stephen M. Howe, district attorney, Steve Six, attorney general, for appellee.

Before STANDRIDGE, P.J., McANANY, J., and KNUDSON, S.J.

KNUDSON, J.

The district court granted summary dismissal of David Crowther's K.S.A. 60-1507 motion. On appeal, Crowther contends his claim of ineffective assistance of trial counsel cannot be determined without an evidentiary hearing. We disagree and affirm the judgment of the district court.

The underlying criminal proceeding

Following a jury trial in August 2004, Crowther was convicted of attempted aggravated kidnapping, aggravated arson, aggravated battery, criminal threat, and seven counts of violating a protective order. The facts underlying these convictions are provided in State v. Crowther, No. 93,747, 2006 WL 2265049, unpublished opinion filed August 4, 2006, rev. denied 282 Kan. 792 (2006).

On direct appeal, Crowther argued there was insufficient evidence to support his convictions for aggravated battery and criminal threat. He also argued the district court erred in permitting the State to introduce prejudicial and irrelevant evidence. Our court rejected these arguments and affirmed Crowther's convictions. Op. at 1225.

Crowther's K.S.A. 60-1507 motion was dismissed without a hearing

In August 2007, Crowther filed this K.S.A. 60-1507 motion alleging: (1) there was insufficient evidence to support his conviction of aggravated arson; (2) there was insufficient evidence to support his conviction of aggravated *1220 kidnapping; (3) overt acts alleged by the State were based on improper inferences; (4) his convictions of aggravated battery and aggravated attempted kidnapping were multiplicitous; and (5) ineffective assistance of counsel.

The district court denied the motion without granting an evidentiary hearing or appointing counsel. The court found the first three contentions in Crowther's motion were trial errors. The court further found Crowther failed to show any exceptional circumstances excusing his failure to raise those contentions on direct appeal and declined to address the merits of the arguments. Regarding Crowther's multiplicity claim, the district court concluded that Crowther's precise argument had been previously considered and rejected by a panel for this court. The district court also rejected all of Crowther's claims of ineffective assistance of counsel.

Crowther's appeal to this court

On appeal, Crowther has elected to only pursue his claims of ineffective assistance of trial counsel. Consequently, the other claims in his K.S.A. 60-1507 motion are deemed waived or abandoned. See State v. Martin, 285 Kan. 994, 998, 179 P.3d 457, cert. denied ___ U.S. ___, 129 S.Ct. 192, 172 L.Ed.2d 138 (2008).

Standard of Review

A district court is required to conduct a hearing on a K.S.A. 60-1507 motion "[u]nless the motion and the files and records of the case conclusively show that the prisoner is entitled to no relief." K.S.A. 60-1507(b); see Supreme Court Rule 183(f) (2010 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 255). It is error to deny a K.S.A. 60-1507 motion without a hearing where the motion alleges facts that do not appear in the original record that if true would entitle the movant to relief and the motion identifies readily available witnesses whose testimony would support such facts or other sources of evidence. Swenson v. State, 284 Kan. 931, 939, 169 P.3d 298 (2007). When the district court summarily denies a K.S.A. 60-1507 motion, an appellate court conducts a de novo review to determine whether the motion, files, and records of the case conclusively establish that the movant is not entitled to any relief. Trotter v. State, 288 Kan. 112, 132, 200 P.3d 1236 (2009).

Legal Standards Governing Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

A claim of ineffective assistance of counsel presents mixed questions of fact and law. We review the underlying factual findings for substantial competent evidence and the legal conclusions based on those facts de novo. Boldridge v. State, 289 Kan. 618, 622, 215 P.3d 585 (2009).

To support a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, a claimant must prove that (1) counsel's performance was deficient and (2) counsel's deficient performance was prejudicial and deprived the claimant of a fair trial in the underlying criminal proceeding. The benchmark for judging any claim of ineffectiveness must be whether counsel's conduct so undermined the proper functioning of the adversarial process that the trial cannot be relied on as having produced a just result. Bledsoe v. State, 283 Kan. 81, 90, 150 P.3d 868 (2007).

The first prong of the test for ineffective assistance of counsel requires a showing that counsel made errors so serious that his or her performance was less than guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution. State v. Mathis, 281 Kan. 99, 109, 130 P.3d 14 (2006). This prong requires a showing that counsel's representation fell below an objective standard of reasonableness, considering all the circumstances. Our scrutiny of counsel's performance must be highly deferential, and a fair assessment of attorney performance requires that every effort be made to eliminate the distorting effects of hindsight, to reconstruct the circumstances of counsel's challenged conduct, and to evaluate the conduct from counsel's perspective at the time. This court indulges a strong presumption that counsel's conduct falls within the wide range of reasonable professional assistance.

The second prong of the test for ineffective assistance of counsel requires a showing that there is a reasonable probability *1221 that, but for counsel's deficient performance, the result of the proceeding would have been different. A reasonable probability is a probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome. Bledsoe, 283 Kan. at 90, 150 P.3d 868.

Crowther's Specific Allegations of Ineffective Assistance

1. Failing to file motion to suppress evidence

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
249 P.3d 1214, 45 Kan. App. 2d 559, 2011 Kan. App. LEXIS 61, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/crowther-v-state-kanctapp-2011.