Robert Foley v. Commonwealth of Kentucky

Kentucky Supreme Court·Decided October 26, 2020·No. 2019 SC 0182·Unknown

Opinion

IMPORTANT NOTICE

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED OPINION

THIS OPINION IS DESIGNATED “NOT TO BE PUBLISHED.” PURSUANT TO THE RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE PROMULGATED BY THE SUPREME COURT, CR 76.28(4)(C), THIS OPINION IS NOT TO BE PUBLISHED AND SHALL NOT BE CITED OR USED AS BINDING PRECEDENT IN ANY OTHER CASE IN ANY COURT OF THIS STATE; HOWEVER, UNPUBLISHED KENTUCKY APPELLATE DECISIONS, RENDERED AFTER JANUARY 1, 2003, MAY BE CITED FOR CONSIDERATION BY THE COURT IF THERE IS NO PUBLISHED OPINION THAT WOULD ADEQUATELY ADDRESS THE ISSUE BEFORE THE COURT. OPINIONS CITED FOR CONSIDERATION BY THE COURT SHALL BE SET OUT AS AN UNPUBLISHED DECISION IN THE FILED DOCUMENT AND A COPY OF THE ENTIRE DECISION SHALL BE TENDERED ALONG WITH THE DOCUMENT TO THE COURT AND ALL PARTIES TO THE ACTION.

RENDERED: OCTOBER 29, 2020 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED

Supreme Court of Kentucky 2019-SC-0182-MR

ROBERT FOLEY APPELLANT

V. APPEAL FROM LAUREL CIRCUIT COURT HONORABLE MICHAEL O. CAPERTON, JUDGE NO. 91-CR-00180

COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY APPELLEE

MEMORANDUM OPINION OF THE COURT AFFIRMING

Appellant, Robert Foley (“Foley”), is no stranger to this Court. In the twenty-seven years since he was sentenced to death for the murders of Rodney and Lynn Vaughn, Foley has mounted numerous assaults on his conviction. This appeal stems from a recent neuropsychological evaluation Foley received. In light of a clinical psychologist’s expert opinion that he suffers from certain cognitive impairments, Foley seeks to vacate his death sentences. Now, we must decide whether the trial court erred in denying Foley’s motion to vacate or set aside his sentences. Based on our review of the record and applicable law, we hold that the trial court did not err and affirm its Order.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND1

This case arises out of the shooting deaths of Rodney and Lynn Vaughn in August 1991. Foley shot and killed both brothers during a party at his Laurel County residence. At trial, the Commonwealth presented eyewitness testimony and circumstantial evidence identifying Foley as the killer and his attempts to conceal the crime. The jury accepted this evidence and found Foley guilty of two counts of murder. During the penalty phase of the trial, Foley’s counsel did not introduce mitigating evidence. Based on the jury’s recommendation, the trial court sentenced Foley to death for both murders.

This Court affirmed Foley’s convictions and sentences on direct appeal.2 Foley then sought post-conviction relief pursuant to RCr3 11.42, alleging, as is relevant here, that trial counsel was ineffective due to his failure to adequately investigate and to present mitigating evidence during the penalty phase of his trial. Foley’s state post-conviction counsel did not include a claim that trial counsel’s ineffectiveness consisted in part of a failure to seek appointment of a neuropsychological expert.4 The circuit court denied post-conviction relief and this Court affirmed.5 In the intervening years, Foley unsuccessfully sought

1 In light of the extensive procedural history of this case and the narrowness of the issue at hand, we set out only an abbreviated recitation of the facts. For a more comprehensive account, see Foley v. Commonwealth, 425 S.W.3d 880 (Ky. 2014); Foley v. Commonwealth, 17 S.W.3d 878 (Ky. 2000); Foley v. Commonwealth, 942 S.W.2d 876 (Ky. 1997).

2 Foley, 942 S.W.2d at 890.

3 Kentucky Rule of Criminal Procedure 4 Foley’s state post-conviction counsel did seek funding for a ballistics expert

and a clinical social worker for assistance in the RCr 11.42 hearing. See Foley, 17 S.W.3d at 887.

5 Foley, 17 S.W.3d

federal habeas corpus relief6 and unsuccessfully pursued numerous CR7 60.02 motions.8 In 2018, Foley received funding to hire a neuropsychologist in connection with a separate federal habeas case.9 Dr. Daniel Martell (Dr. Martell), a clinical psychologist, evaluated Foley for over fifteen hours across two days. The examination consisted of a review of prior case materials, an investigation into Foley’s personal and medical history, and the evaluation of Foley’s performance on numerous neuropsychological tests. Based on his examination, Dr. Martell opined that Foley demonstrated a decline in cognitive abilities consistent with a history of prior head injuries and “appeared to suffer from progressive chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).”10 Additionally, Dr. Martell opined that Foley exhibited “multiple areas of impairment in frontal lobe executive functioning.”

Foley moved the Laurel Circuit Court to vacate his sentences due to this report. Foley alleged that the report was “newly discovered evidence” sufficient to grant relief under either CR 60.02, CR 60.03, RCr 10.02; and RCr 11.42(10).

6 Foley v. Parker, 488 F.3d 377 (Cir. 2007).

7 Kentucky Rule of Civil Procedure.

8 Foley v. Commonwealth, 425 S.W.3d 880 (Ky. 2014); Foley v. Commonwealth, No. 2008–SC–000909–TG, 2010 WL 1005873 (Ky. March 18, 2010); Foley v. Commonwealth, No. 2007-SC-000754-MR, 2009 WL 1110333 (Ky. Apr. 23, 2009); Foley v. Commonwealth, No. 2002-SC-0222-TG, 2003 WL 21993756 (Ky. Aug. 21, 2003).

9 Foley is currently serving four additional death sentences related to four

murder charges arising out of a separate incident. See Foley v. Commonwealth, 952 S.W.2d 924 (Ky. 1997).

10 Foley Brief on Appeal, Ex. 2 at 58.

The circuit court denied the motion, finding it to be “procedurally improper, time-barred, or otherwise defective.” Foley now appeals as a matter of right.11 II. ANALYSIS12

Foley seeks relief under three different procedural rules, but each shares a basic premise: Dr. Martell’s expert opinion and report constitute newly discovered evidence of such import that a reasonable juror, had he or she known of it, would not have voted to impose the death penalty. The circuit court’s Order purportedly declines to reach the merits. Instead, the court dismissed each challenge on procedural grounds. The gist of the court’s reasoning was that the report is not new evidence. Instead, that circuit court found that the report rearticulates similar claims of head injuries that Foley has raised for years. We consider these general arguments in context of the specific procedural vehicles Foley raised.

A. CR 60.02

First, Foley seeks relief from his sentences under CR 60.02. On appeal, we review the denial of a CR 60.02 motion for abuse of discretion.13 The test for abuse of discretion is whether the trial court’s decision was “arbitrary, unreasonable, unfair, or unsupported by sound legal principles.”14 We will

11 KY. CONST. § 110(2)(b); Skaggs v. Commonwealth, 803 S.W.2d 573, 577 (Ky.

1990) (Court of Appeals has no authority to review any matter affecting the imposition of death sentence).

12 Each of these issues is preserved via Foley’s omnibus motion to vacate. See Foley Brief, Ex. 3 at 20-36.

13 Brown v. Commonwealth, 932 S.W.2d 359, 361 (Ky. 1996).

14 Commonwealth v. English, 993 S.W.2d 941, 945 (Ky. 1999) (citations omitted).

affirm the lower court’s decision unless doing so would be a “flagrant miscarriage of justice.”15 In addition to the causes enumerated in subsections (a)-(e), CR 60.02(f)

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