Holcomb v. Taylor

397 P.3d 517, 285 Or. App. 462, 2017 Ore. App. LEXIS 595
Court of Appeals of Oregon·Decided May 10, 2017·No. CV121141; A156455·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinions

FLYNN, J. pro tempore

Petitioner appeals from a judgment dismissing his petition for post-conviction relief (PCR) for failing to satisfy the requirement that “affidavits, records or other documentary evidence supporting the allegations of the petition shall be attached to the petition.” See ORS 138.580. As the Supreme Court has explained, the requirement means that a petitioner must support the petition for post-conviction relief with materials “that address each element of each asserted ground for relief and that, considered together, and if substantiated at the post-conviction hearing, would permit the post-conviction court to determine that the petitioner was entitled to post-conviction relief’ on the alleged ground. Ogle v. Nooth, 355 Or 570, 589, 330 P3d 572 (2014).

Petitioner argues that his attachments—his own affidavits and the transcript of petitioner’s criminal trial— support his claim, set out in paragraph 9.a.l of the formal petition, that he was denied his constitutional right to counsel because his trial counsel failed “to adequately investigate, prepare and present Petitioner’s claim that he acted in self-defense” when he shot two individuals, killing one of them.1 The state responds that the attachments fail to support petitioner’s claim because the trial transcript refutes petitioner’s averments in ways that would preclude petitioner from proving his allegations.2 We conclude that petitioner’s attachments support the existence of facts that, “if substantiated,” would permit the post-conviction court to determine that petitioner is entitled to relief on the alleged ground and that nothing in the trial transcript would preclude the post-conviction court from reaching that determination.

[465] I. BACKGROUND

The relevant facts are undisputed and mostly procedural in nature. Petitioner was charged in a 29-count indictment that included the murder of one victim and the attempted murder of a second victim. State v. Holcomb, 213 Or App 168, 170-71, 159 P3d 1271, rev den, 343 Or 224 (2007). In closing remarks to the jury, petitioner’s criminal trial counsel argued that the evidence showed that the gun discharged while one victim was “wrestling” with petitioner and the other was “wailing on them” with a flashlight. However, counsel did not assert that petitioner had acted in self-defense or request a jury instruction that would have permitted the jury to acquit petitioner on that basis. The jury found petitioner guilty of murder and of multiple counts of attempted murder, burglary, and unlawful use of a weapon. On appeal, we reversed the judgment of conviction as to three counts.

Petitioner then filed a petition for post-conviction relief, in which he alleged various grounds for relief, including the ground that we consider on appeal—the allegation that petitioner was denied adequate and effective representation of counsel, in violation of the state and federal constitutions, by his counsel’s failure “to adequately investigate, prepare and present Petitioner’s claim that he acted in self-defense.”3 Petitioner attached to the petition the transcripts from his criminal trial and sentencing hearing.

The state moved for partial summary judgment, contending that petitioner failed to satisfy the attachment requirement of ORS 138.580 because the claims were “without support.” As to the self-defense allegations, the state argued that petitioner failed to satisfy the attachment requirement because petitioner identified no evidence or [466] witnesses who “would have supported a self-defense defense.” In response, petitioner submitted two affidavits, in which he averred that he “requested and wanted [his] trial attorneys to represent and present a case based on [his] claim of self-defense”; averred what the factual basis for that claim would have been; and averred that he was found guilty after his attorneys, instead, “put forth a defense that they fashioned over [petitioner’s] objections.”4

In reply, the state expanded the scope of its motion from a motion for partial summary judgment against some of plaintiffs allegations, on the basis that they were unsupported, to a motion for summary judgment as to all of petitioner’s claims on the basis that they were “entirely without support and almost certainly can never be reasonably supported.”5 The state argued that petitioner’s affidavits failed to support his allegations regarding self-defense because the transcript showed that petitioner’s trial counsel had put on the evidence that petitioner described as the basis for asserting the defense of self-defense. The post-conviction court granted the state’s motion for summary judgment and dismissed all of petitioner’s claims with prejudice.

On appeal, petitioner renews his contention that he provided “evidence supporting the allegations of the petition,” at least as to the allegation that his trial counsel failed to “adequately investigate, prepare and present” petitioner’s defense that he acted in self-defense. We agree.

[467] II. APPLICABLE LAW

The requirement that a petitioner attach evidence to the petition is part of a list of requirements that a petition for post-conviction relief must meet. ORS 138.580. Those requirements include that “[t]he petition shall set forth specifically the grounds upon which relief is claimed” and that “[a]ffidavits, records or other documentary evidence supporting the allegations of the petition shall be attached to the petition”—the requirement at issue in this appeal. The attached “materials must support all elements of the asserted claims for relief.” Ogle, 355 Or at 580. Thus, before considering whether petitioner’s evidence supported his allegations, we briefly consider the elements of petitioner’s claim for relief.

A. Elements that a Petitioner’s Attachments Must Support

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Holcomb v. Taylor, 397 P.3d 517, 285 Or. App. 462, 2017 Ore. App. LEXIS 595 (Or. Ct. App. 2017).

397 P.3d 517 (Holcomb v. Taylor) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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