Davis v. State , 296 Ga. 126 ( 2014 )

In the Supreme Court of Georgia
Decided: November 3, 2014
S14A1179. DAVIS v. THE STATE.
BLACKWELL, Justice.
Tremain Stuart Davis was tried by a Gwinnett County jury and convicted
of murder and an aggravated assault. Davis appeals, contending that he is
entitled to a new trial at which he can present evidence that his alleged
accomplice — who was tried separately and after Davis — was acquitted of the
murder. Davis also claims that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel
when his lawyer failed to insist upon a more specific answer to a jury question.
Upon our review of the record and briefs, we find no merit in these contentions,
and we affirm.1
1
The crimes were committed on June 4, 2010. Davis and co-defendant Armand
Babbitt were indicted on September 9, 2010, and each was charged with two counts of felony
murder, two counts of aggravated assault, and one count of armed robbery, possession of a
firearm by a convicted felon, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
Davis was tried alone, beginning on September 24, 2012. The jury returned its verdict on
October 5, 2012, finding Davis guilty on one count of felony murder and both counts of
aggravated assault, and finding him not guilty on the other count of felony murder, armed
robbery, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. The charge of
possession of a firearm by a convicted felon was dismissed by nolle prosequi. On December
1. Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, the evidence shows
that Felipe Brito was involved in the distribution of cocaine, and he arranged to
sell some cocaine on June 4, 2010. Because Brito spoke little English, he asked
Miguel Bautista to assist him as a translator. On the afternoon of June 4, Davis,
Armand Babbitt, and a man known as “Omar” arrived in a Dodge Charger at the
apartment complex in which Brito lived. Omar was driving, Babbitt was seated
in the front as a passenger, and Davis was seated in the back. When they arrived
at the complex, Brito exited his apartment and joined the three men in the
Charger, sitting in the back with Davis. Brito then called for Bautista to bring
a package to the car. Bautista did so, and after he handed the package through
the window of the car, Brito and Davis told Bautista to join them in the car.
When Bautista entered the car, however, Davis pushed Bautista and took a
handgun from him. At that point, Davis, Babbitt, and Omar all displayed
handguns, and they began to threaten Bautista and Brito. Bautista panicked,
5, 2012, Davis was sentenced to imprisonment for life for the felony murder and a concurrent
term of imprisonment for twenty years for aggravated assault (Davis was sentenced on only
one count of aggravated assault, and the other count merged with the felony murder). Davis
timely filed a motion for new trial on December 12, 2012, he amended it on March 27, 2013,
and he amended it again on January 21, 2014. The trial court denied his motion on January
27, 2014, and Davis timely filed a notice of appeal on February 14, 2014. The case was
docketed in this Court for the April 2014 term and submitted for decision on the briefs.
2
pushed Brito from the car, and exited the car himself. Davis and one of the men
in the front seat of the Charger then began to fire their guns. When Brito’s
brother emerged with his own gun from the apartment and returned fire at the
Charger, Davis, Babbitt, and Omar drove away. In the course of the shooting,
Brito sustained three gunshot wounds, at least one of which was fatal. Bautista
sustained a single gunshot wound, but he survived. Davis was wounded as well.
At his trial, Davis testified and admitted his presence at the scene and his
involvement in the drug deal. Davis claimed, however, that he left the Charger
(to relieve himself behind the apartment) before the gunfire began, that he was
shot as he ran back to the Charger, and that he never had a gun on the day of the
shootings. Davis also said that he did not know that Babbitt and Omar were
armed.
Davis does not dispute that the evidence is sufficient to sustain his
convictions, but consistent with our usual practice in murder cases, we have
independently reviewed the record to assess the legal sufficiency of the
evidence. As we have explained on many occasions, “we must view the
evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict and leave questions of
credibility and the resolution of conflicts in the evidence to the jury.” Bradley
3
v. State, 292 Ga. 607, 609 (1) (a) (740 SE2d 100) (2013). So viewed, we
conclude that the evidence adduced at trial was legally sufficient to authorize a
rational trier of fact to find beyond a reasonable doubt that Davis was guilty of
the crimes of which he was convicted. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U. S. 307, 319
(III) (B) (99 SCt 2781, 61 LE2d 560) (1979).
2. Davis and Babbitt were indicted together for the murder of Brito, but
they were tried separately. After Davis was convicted, Babbitt was tried by
another Gwinnett County jury and acquitted of the murder. Citing White v.
State, 257 Ga. 236 (356 SE2d 875) (1987), Davis contends that he is entitled to
a new trial at which he can present evidence of Babbitt’s acquittal. We disagree.
In White, this Court held that one charged distinctly as an accessory to a
crime may be entitled under Georgia law to present evidence of the acquittal of
another charged distinctly as the principal.2 257 Ga. at 236. The Court reasoned
that such evidence is relevant in the trial of the accessory because
proof of the guilt of the principal is a necessary element in the crime
of one who does not directly commit the crime but is charged as an
aider, abettor, encourager or counselor in the commission of the
2
In White, the defendant was charged distinctly with “aiding, abetting, encouraging
and counseling the commission of the crime” by another. 257 Ga. at 236.
4
crime. The acquittal of the principal is some evidence [that the
accessory] did not aid [or] abet [the crime of which the principal
was acquitted].
Id. Even assuming that White was correctly decided, it is distinguishable from
this case.3
Unlike White, it was not essential in the case against Davis for the State
to prove that Babbitt also was guilty. In the indictment, Davis was not charged
distinctly as having aided or abetted Babbitt in the commission of the murder.
To the contrary, Davis (like Babbitt) simply was charged with murder, and that
charge permitted the State to make out its case against Davis with proof beyond
a reasonable doubt that he was a party to that crime in any way, see Brinson v.
State, 261 Ga. 884, 884 (1) (413 SE2d 443) (1992); see also Butler v. State, 273
3
Noting that the great weight of authority would exclude the acquittal of the principal
at the trial of an accessory, Justice Hunt — joined by Justice Weltner — dissented in White.
See 257 Ga. at 237 (Hunt, J., dissenting) (collecting cases). The position that Justice Hunt
staked out in his dissent appears to accurately reflect the general rule in American law. See
23 CJS Criminal Law § 1336 (“Evidence of acquittal of one jointly indicted with the accused
is not admissible on behalf of the accused as tending to establish that he or she is also
innocent.”) (citation omitted). See also State v. Weaver, 873 S2d 909, 915-916 (La. App.
2004); State v. Scott, 619 NW2d 371, 374-375 (III) (Iowa 2000); Commonwealth v. Howard,
706 NE2d 303, 306 (2) (Mass. App. 1999); Miller v. State, 650 S2d 940, 945-946 (VI) (Ala.
Crim. App. 1993), rev’d on other grounds, Ex parte Miller, 650 S2d 947 (Ala. 1994).
Nevertheless, because White is distinguishable, we have no occasion in this case to
reconsider its holding.
5
Ga. 380, 384 (9) (541 SE2d 653) (2001),4 whether as the principal, an accessory
to Babbitt, or an accessory to another not even named in the indictment (such
as Omar). See generally OCGA § 16-2-20 (identifying the several ways in which
one may be a party to a crime).5 The evidence presented at the trial of Davis was
legally sufficient to prove his guilt as a party to the crime in any of these ways,
and so, the case against Davis for murder did not depend necessarily upon proof
that Babbitt committed the murder.
Davis insists that the jury must have convicted him only as an accessory,
noting that he was acquitted of the unlawful possession of a firearm during the
commission of a crime, and noting as well that, in the course of its deliberations,
4
It is now well-settled that the State is not required to specify in the indictment, as it
did in White, 257 Ga. at 236, whether the defendant is alleged to be a principal or accessory.
See White v. State, 289 Ga. 511, 513 (2) (712 SE2d 834) (2011); Jennings v. State, 288 Ga.
120, 121 (2) (702 SE2d 151 (2010).
5
OCGA § 16-2-20 provides:
(a) Every person concerned in the commission of a crime is a party thereto and
may be charged with and convicted of commission of the crime.
(b) A person is concerned in the commission of a crime only if he:
(1) Directly commits the crime;
(2) Intentionally causes some other person to commit the crime
under such circumstances that the other person is not guilty of
any crime either in fact or because of legal incapacity;
(3) Intentionally aids or abets in the commission of the crime; or
(4) Intentionally advises, encourages, hires, counsels, or
procures another to commit the crime.
6
the jury asked whether Davis could be a party to the murder even if he were
unarmed.6 As for the acquittal on the firearm charge, however, it shows nothing
of consequence, inasmuch as this Court will not speculate about why a jury
might have acquitted a defendant of one crime and convicted him of another,
even when the verdicts seem inconsistent. See Turner v. State, 283 Ga. 17, 20
(2) (655 SE2d 589) (2008). As for the jury question, even if it shows that the
jury, in fact, believed Davis was a party to the murder only as an accessory, it
does not show that his guilt depended on Babbitt’s. For all we know, the jury
that found Davis guilty might have thought that Omar was the principal in the
killing of Brito, and it might have found that Davis was an accessory to Omar.
If that is, in fact, what the jury concluded, that Babbitt was factually innocent
of the murder — even assuming, as this Court did in White, that Babbitt’s
subsequent acquittal in another trial is evidence of his factual innocence —
would be inconsequential to the guilt of Davis.
6
The jury asked this question:
We need clarification on the following: When the charge reads that the assault
was performed with a handgun, does it mean that the defendant Tremain Stuart
Davis had to be the actual person wielding the gun? In other words, could we
render a guilty verdict on the assault charges for the defendant if we believe
he himself was unarmed? This would correspond to the notion of parties to a
crime.
7
By its own terms, White concerns prosecutions in which a defendant is
charged distinctly and exclusively as an accessory to an identified principal, such
that the theory of liability asserted by the State necessarily makes the factual
guilt of the identified principal an essential part of the case against the
accessory. That is not how Davis was charged or tried. That Babbitt was guilty
of murder as a principal was not an essential element of the case against Davis,
and Davis is not entitled under White to a new trial at which he can present
evidence that Babbitt was acquitted of the murder. See Harrison v. State, 257
Ga. 528, 531 (3) (361 SE2d 149) (1987) (distinguishing White on similar
grounds).
3. Davis also contends that his trial lawyer was ineffective because he
failed to insist that the trial court fully recharge the jury on parties to a crime in
response to the question about whether Davis could be convicted as a party to
the murder even if he were unarmed. To prevail on a claim of ineffective
assistance, Davis must prove both that the performance of his lawyer was
deficient and that he was prejudiced by this deficient performance. Strickland
v. Washington, 466 U. S. 668, 687 (III) (104 SCt 2052, 80 LE2d 674) (1984).
To prove that the performance of his lawyer was deficient, Davis must show that
8
the lawyer performed his duties at trial in an objectively unreasonable way,
considering all the circumstances, and in the light of prevailing professional
norms. Id. at 687-688 (III) (A). See also Kimmelman v. Morrison, 477 U. S.
365, 381 (II) (C) (106 SCt 2574, 91 LE2d 305) (1986). And to prove that he was
prejudiced by the performance of his lawyer, Davis must show “a reasonable
probability that, but for counsel’s unprofessional errors, the result of the
proceeding would have been different. A reasonable probability is a probability
sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome.” Strickland, 466 U. S. at 694(III) (B). See also Williams v. Taylor, 529 U. S. 362, 391 (III) (120 SCt 1495,
146 LE2d 389) (2000). This burden is a heavy one, see Kimmelman, 477 U. S.
at 382 (II) (C), and Davis falls far short of carrying it.
In response to the jury question about parties to a crime, the trial court
simply instructed the jury to consider as a whole all of the charges previously
given, an approach to which defense counsel agreed. Later, at the hearing on the
motion for new trial, defense counsel explained his reasons for not asking for
a recharge. A concise, direct, and accurate answer to the question posed by the
jury — that, yes, Davis could be convicted as a party to the crime even if he
were unarmed — would amount to an improper comment on the evidence,
9
counsel concluded, and in any event would not be helpful to Davis. Similarly,
a recharge only on parties to a crime would only emphasize the several ways in
which Davis could be held responsible for the crimes with which he was
charged, and in the experience of counsel, such a charge usually is harmful to
the accused. To avoid such undue emphasis, counsel reasoned, it would be
necessary to recharge the jury on several additional matters as well, including
mere presence and association. And in any event, after the trial court charged the
jury orally at the conclusion of the trial, the trial court had given the jury a
written copy of the complete charge. For that reason, recharging the jury on
parties to a crime and related matters would only involve another reading of
instructions that the jury already had, and counsel saw little to be gained by such
a recharge. As such, counsel thought it better for the court simply to refer the
jury to the charges previously given.
“Decisions as to which jury charges will be requested and when they will
be requested fall within the realm of trial tactics and strategy. They provide no
grounds for reversal unless such tactical decisions are so patently unreasonable
that no competent attorney would have chosen them.” Cantu v. State, 304 Ga.
App. 655, 659 (2) (b) (697 SE2d 310) (2010) (citation and punctuation omitted)
10
(failure to request recharge in response to jury question was not ineffective).
Here, we cannot say that the worries of counsel were unreasonable ones, and we
likewise cannot say that the strategy employed by counsel — to agree to the trial
court simply referring the jury to the whole of the charges previously given —
was unreasonable. Moreover, since the jury had a written copy of the jury
instructions, we fail to see how Davis could have been prejudiced in this case
by the failure of the trial court to read one or more of these charges again. Davis
has failed to show that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel. See
Lake v. State, 293 Ga. 56, 58 (4) (743 SE2d 414) (2013); Cantu, 304 Ga. App.
at 659 (2) (b); Skaggs-Ferrell v. State, 287 Ga. App. 872, 878 (3) (652 SE2d
891) (2007).
Judgment affirmed. All the Justices concur.
11