Robert Krogmann v. State of Iowa
Robert Krogmann v. State of Iowa
Opinion of the Court
In this case, we consider whether Robert Krogmann, a severely mentally ill defendant charged with attempted murder and willful injury causing serious injury in connection with an attack on his former girlfriend, is entitled to a new trial after the State limited his access to his personal funds by freezing his assets prior to trial. Krogmann claims the order freezing his assets was illegal and imposed for an improper purpose. He also contends the asset freeze adversely impacted his ability to defend himself by, among other things, preventing him from posting bond, inhibiting his ability to select his counsel of choice, limiting the number of phone calls he could afford to make from jail, and preventing him from hiring a jury consultant to assist his defense. The State asserts Krogmann had sufficient access to resources to pay for competent defense counsel through a court-approval process. The State further contends Krogmann can make no showing of prejudice.
Krogmann filed an application for interlocutory appeal of the freeze order, which we denied. A jury subsequently convicted Krogmann of attempted murder and willful injury causing serious injury. We affirmed his conviction on appeal. State v. Krogmann (Krogmann I ),
I. Background Facts and Proceedings.
A. Introduction. On March 13, 2009, Krogmann shot his former girlfriend, Jean Smith, after Smith ended their relationship. The attack was brutal. Krogmann, armed with a pistol, entered Smith's home to talk to her about their relationship. After some discussion, Krogmann shot Smith three times, pausing after each shot. He refused to call 911 at the time of the shooting despite pleas from Smith. Krogmann allowed Smith to speak to her mother *296on the phone, which instigated a chain of events leading to police and paramedics arriving at Smith's residence.
Krogmann was quickly apprehended and charged with attempted murder in violation of Iowa Code section 707.11 (2009) and willful injury causing serious injury in violation of Iowa Code section 708.4(1). Bond was initially set at $750,000 cash only. Smith survived the attack but endured extensive hospitalization, a long period of rehabilitation, and permanent injuries.
B. Order Freezing Assets. On March 24, 2009, the Delaware County Attorney, John Bernau, filed an application for an order freezing all of Krogmann's assets on behalf of the State. At the time, Krogmann had more than $3,000,000 in assets, most of which was farmland. The one-page application stated in its entirety,
COMES NOW Delaware County Attorney, John W. Bernau, and in support of the State's Application for Order states:
1. On March 23, 2009, the undersigned filed a Trial Information in the above-captioned matter charging the Defendant Robert Krogmann with the offenses of Attempted Murder and Willful Injury.
2. The victim of the Defendant's offenses, Jean Smith, has suffered severe life altering injuries that will require approximately six to eight weeks initial hospitalization with unknown amounts of after care and treatment.
3. The victim's expenses associated with her hospitalization and after care are, and will be, sizeable.
4. The Defendant, if convicted, will be required to reimburse the victim for all out of pocket expenses associated with her hospitalization and after care as part of court-ordered restitution. Additionally, it is likely that the Defendant will be subject to civil litigation regardless [of] what happens in his criminal matter.
5. It is believed that the Defendant has a number of assets that he may attempt to sell or transfer to avoid his financial obligations to the victim of his offenses. It is therefore appropriate and necessary that the Court enter an Order freezing all of Defendant's assets which he owns personally or jointly with others unless application is made to the Court and good cause shown why the subject asset should be sold or transferred prior to criminal and/or civil restitution being established.
WHEREFORE, the State of Iowa prays that the Court will enter an Order freezing all of Defendant's assets unless and until such time as Defendant makes application to the Court for the sale or transfer of an asset and is able to establish good cause why the asset should be transferred or sold prior to the establishment of criminal and/or civil restitution.
Notably, the application did not cite any authority for the total asset freeze or include any factual basis to support the assertion that Krogmann "may attempt to sell or transfer [his assets] to avoid his financial obligations."
The application contained a certificate of service stating it had been served on David Nadler, Krogmann's attorney of record at the time, by first-class mail on March 24, 2009, but the address listed on the application for Nadler is crossed out with an "X." Underneath the crossed out certificate of service is a notation stating, "Re-mailed on 3-30-09."
On March 30, the date the application was remailed to Nadler, the district court, without a hearing, entered an order granting the asset freeze and requiring Krogmann to make an application to the court *297prior to sale or transfer of any asset. The order provided,
The State's Application for Order filed March 24, 2009, is granted. All of the Defendant's assets shall be frozen. The Defendant shall make application to the Court for the sale or transfer of an asset at which time the Court will determine whether good cause has been shown to grant the application.
Like the asset-freeze application, the order granting the freeze did not cite any authority or legal basis for the asset freeze.
Nadler received the order granting the asset freeze before he saw the application requesting it. Although the court had already entered the order, Nadler filed a resistance to the asset-freeze application on April 2, arguing "the State has cited no authority for [the asset freeze] nor does any exist." On April 28, Nadler filed an application for interlocutory relief, which we denied on May 26.
While Krogmann's application for interlocutory appeal was pending, he filed a motion to reduce the $750,000 bond amount. Following our denial of interlocutory relief and after holding a hearing, the district court raised the bond amount to $1,000,000 cash only on June 1.
Due to being incarcerated and the asset freeze, Krogmann voluntarily applied for the appointment of a conservator to manage his assets. On April 13, the probate court approved the application, declaring Krogmann "is incapacitated and will be unable to carry on his business and make decisions and transactions for the foreseeable future." The probate court directed the appointed conservator to adhere to the asset-freeze order entered in Krogmann's criminal case "and make application to the Court for authority to sell or transfer any assets other than in the normal course of the farming operation where the transfer is made for good and valuable consideration."
C. Applications Submitted to the Probate Court Pursuant to Freeze Order. Pursuant to the freeze order, Krogmann, through his conservator, applied to the probate court to expend his assets. The county attorney and the victim were able to review each application and allowed to, and did, object to Krogmann's requests to use his own assets.
On June 15, Krogmann's conservator applied to the probate court to mortgage farmland to raise the funds necessary to post bond. The victim, citing her high past and future medical expenses, resisted the application, which the probate court denied on June 20.
On September 3, Krogmann's conservator applied to the probate court to obtain funds of $500 per month for jail amenities, toiletries, and phone cards to make phone calls from jail. The State, asserting the request was "unreasonable and excessive," resisted the application, which the probate court denied on September 21.
On several occasions, Krogmann's conservator applied to the probate court for payment of attorney fees in connection with the criminal proceeding. Although payment was sometimes delayed,
On October 16, Krogmann's conservator, pursuant to Krogmann's criminal defense *298attorney's
D. Trial Proceedings. The case came to jury trial on November 2, 2009.
1. Opening statements. In opening statements, the State
The defense in its opening did not dispute that Krogmann shot Smith three times. The defense urged the jury to consider that Krogmann had a documented fifteen- or twenty-year history of "bipolar [disorder] with depression" and had been "hospitalized for suicide thoughts, depression, sleep disorders, [and] a host of other issues." The defense noted Krogmann had no criminal history to speak of yet ended up shooting his former girlfriend.
The defense urged the jury to consider closely the testimony of defense expert, psychiatrist Dr. James Gallagher. The defense asserted Dr. Gallagher would opine there was a possibility that on March 13, Krogmann's medical condition came into play and "could skew what we call intent." The defense told the jury that testimony from the Krogmann family members would establish a history of mental illness and odd behavior regarding Smith-such as texting her fifty or sixty times a day, making unwelcome appearances at her home, sending her flowers at her employer's place of business after she refused to see him-shortly before the tragic events of March 13. The defense told the jury it would receive evidence that after March 13, Krogmann had attempted suicide by wrapping a phone cord around his neck and by cutting his wrist with a plastic fork, which required a trip to the hospital for stitches.
*2992. Evidence presented at trial. The State established its case through testimony from Smith, her brother, Krogmann's son (who arrived at the scene shortly after the shooting), Smith's mother (who received a phone call from her daughter after the shooting while Krogmann was still at the residence), and various law enforcement and emergency medical personnel. These witnesses testified regarding the facts of the shooting and the crime scene. For the most part, cross-examination by the defense focused on witness knowledge of Krogmann's mental health.
The defense called Krogmann's mother, a brother, a daughter, and a sister-in-law as witnesses. These witnesses had no direct knowledge of the events of March 13, but they did present evidence on Krogmann's mental health. Krogmann's sister-in-law testified that after the breakup with Smith, Krogmann seemed fixated on Smith, would stare at the wall blankly, and repeat the same thing over and over again. She further testified that the family threatened Krogmann with commitment but did not follow through. Other family members recounted Krogmann being hospitalized for mental health issues in the past. The family members testified Krogmann was very distraught over the breakup with Smith and they had told him the relationship with Smith was over but that was something Krogmann could not accept.
After his family members testified, Krogmann took the stand in his own defense. Krogmann testified he had had mental health issues since his twenties or thirties. He described a history of being seen by local psychiatrists, receiving prescriptions for antidepressants, hospitalizations for mental health issues, and occasional suicide ideation.
Krogmann admitted going to Smith's house on March 13 with a pistol. He could not explain the purpose of carrying the pistol other than he was depressed and suicidal. He denied both intending to harm Smith and remembering the sound of the gun. He testified he merely remembered seeing Smith laying on the floor and bleeding.
On cross-examination, the prosecutor began by briefly asking Krogmann if he was suffering from bipolar disorder on March 13 and if he was currently suffering from that disorder. Krogmann responded affirmatively. The prosecutor then asked, "Shot anybody today?"; the immediate objection to which was sustained.
The defense's final witness and only expert was Dr. Gallagher. Dr. Gallagher testified,
[O]ne of the characteristics of being in the severe depressed phase or a manic phase of bipolar disorder is that you lack insight into the fate of your illness so you don't know what you're doing and you don't know what you're doing is incorrect or not functional.
According to Dr. Gallagher, bipolar disorder can influence a person's intent. Dr. Gallagher testified "it's possible" that either Krogmann's bipolar condition or his depression could have influenced his intent on March 13.
On cross-examination, Dr. Gallagher conceded he could not say with medical certainty that Krogmann's intent was affected by his bipolar condition. Dr. Gallagher further agreed he had no reason to believe Krogmann did not know the difference between right and wrong. Dr. Gallagher averred he did not have an opinion regarding whether Krogmann had the mental capacity to form specific intent on March 13.
The State called psychiatrist Dr. Michael Taylor as a rebuttal witness. Dr. Taylor agreed with Dr. Gallagher that *300Krogmann suffered from bipolar disorder. Like Dr. Gallagher, Dr. Taylor testified that on March 13, Krogmann was capable of distinguishing right from wrong. Further, Dr. Taylor attested Krogmann, by his own admission, was fully capable of forming specific intent. Dr. Taylor noted that on the morning of the shooting, Krogmann conducted business, returned to his house to gather his gun, and intended to shoot himself. Dr. Taylor also cited Krogmann's post-shooting action of getting Smith a rosary as demonstrating specific intent. Dr. Taylor conceded, however, it is theoretically possible for bipolar disorder or depression to influence a person's intent.
3. Jury instructions. After the close of testimony, the court considered the State's objection to submitting a jury instruction on diminished responsibility. The district court overruled the objection, noting Dr. Gallagher's testimony that it was possible Krogmann's depression or bipolar disorder could have influenced his intent and other testimony for the defense supported the theory.
The specific intent and diminished responsibility jury instructions submitted by the court were Instructions No. 24 and No. 25. Instruction No. 24, the specific intent instruction, provided,
"Specific intent" means not only being aware of doing an act and doing it voluntarily, but in addition, doing it with a specific purpose in mind.
Because determining the defendant's specific intent requires you to decide what he was thinking when an act was done, it is seldom capable of direct proof. Therefore, you should consider the facts and circumstances surrounding the act to determine the defendant's specific intent. You may, but are not required to, conclude a person intends the natural results of his acts.
Instruction No. 25, the diminished responsibility instruction, stated,
One of the elements the State must prove is that the defendant acted with specific intent. The lack of mental capacity to form a specific intent is known as "diminished responsibility."
Evidence of "diminished responsibility" is permitted only as it bears on his capacity to form specific intent.
"Diminished responsibility" does not mean the defendant was insane. A person may be sane and still not have the mental capacity to form an intent because of a mental disease or disorder.
The defendant does not have to prove "diminished responsibility"; rather, the burden is on the State to prove the defendant was able to, and did, form the specific intent required.
4. Closing arguments. The State's closing argument began with a brief summary of the events of March 13 and the elements of attempted murder. The State then focused, however, on the related questions of specific intent and diminished responsibility. The State closed by reviewing the elements of willful injury.
The defense's closing argument concentrated on Krogmann's mental health. The defense noted Krogmann came to the case with fifteen or twenty years of mental health issues. The defense recounted the testimony of family members about Krogmann's mental health.
5. Jury verdict, sentence, and award of restitution. After deliberating for a couple of hours, on November 6, the jury found Krogmann guilty of attempted murder and willful injury causing serious injury. For the attempted murder conviction, the district court sentenced him to an indeterminate term of twenty-five years in prison with a mandatory minimum of 17.5 years before being parole or work release eligible.
*301For the willful injury conviction, the court sentenced him to an indeterminate term of ten years and applied Iowa Code section 902.7 's dangerous-weapon enhancement to impose a mandatory minimum of five years. The court ordered the sentences to run consecutively. The court ordered Krogmann to pay $35,570.14 in victim restitution to Smith and $18,219.54 in restitution to the Delaware County Sheriff's Department and the State.
E. Direct Appeal. Krogmann appealed his convictions. Krogmann I ,
With respect to his challenges to the asset freeze, we stated,
We are troubled by the State's effort to tie up a criminal defendant's personal assets without citing any rule or statute, without making a verified filing, and without citing the district court to relevant authority ( [ State ex rel. Pillers v. ] Maniccia [,343 N.W.2d 834 (Iowa 1984) ] ). We are also troubled by the State's attempts to use the asset freeze, once it was in place, to object to defense expenditures not on the ground they would jeopardize restitution or other victim compensation (the alleged reasons for the asset freeze), but simply because the State deemed them unnecessary.
Id. at 525. Yet we declined to reach the issue's merits because Krogmann's trial counsel did not preserve the issue for appeal. Id. at 523-25. Trial counsel did not raise any constitutional challenges to the asset freeze before the district court. Id. at 523. Additionally, while Krogmann's trial counsel did contest the lack of authority for the freeze order after the court entered it, counsel never sought a hearing or dissolution of the order after it was entered. Id. at 523-24. In a footnote, we expressly noted the asset-freeze issue could be raised as an ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim in a PCR proceeding. Id. at 525 n.8.
With respect to the claim of prosecutorial misconduct, we also concluded that claim was not properly preserved. Id. at 526. While we observed the "Shot anybody today?" question was "inflammatory and improper," we did not believe the "isolated incident of misconduct was so severe or pervasive that it affected Krogmann's right to a fair trial." Id. at 526-27.
F. PCR Proceedings.
1. Overview of proceedings. After obtaining no relief on direct appeal, Krogmann filed a PCR action on October 5, 2012. Krogmann claimed his defense counsel provided constitutionally ineffective assistance under the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution and article I, section 10 of the Iowa Constitution by failing to challenge and preserve an objection to the freeze order; by failing to challenge as prosecutorial misconduct the prosecutor's asset-freeze application, "continued involvement in the handling of [Krogmann's] assets and presentation of his defense," and question of "Shot anybody today?"; in pursuing Krogmann's defense, specifically the defense of diminished responsibility; and by failing to object as a violation of double jeopardy and the merger doctrine the consecutive sentences for attempted murder and willful injury.
The PCR court held a hearing on the application on January 22, 2015. Krogmann offered his own testimony and the testimony of Marygrace Schaeffer, a jury and trial consultant. In addition, he offered as exhibits a report on jury consultant assistance (prepared by Schaeffer and a colleague from her consulting firm), the deposition testimony of County Attorney *302Bernau and Krogmann's two criminal trial lawyers, Nadler and Brown, and the psychiatric report and evaluation of Dr. Jerome Greenfield, among other things.
2. PCR testimony of jury consultant Marygrace Schaeffer. Schaeffer testified she is an expert jury consultant hired in a variety of matters. She asserted that if she had been present for jury selection, she would have made a number of suggestions or recommendations regarding the structure of jury selection. Further, Schaeffer was highly critical of the voir dire conducted by Krogmann's trial counsel in this case involving mental health and guns.
On the topic of the structure of jury selection, Schaeffer noted the trial court selected fifteen jurors without identifying which jurors were alternates. She testified she would have urged Krogmann's counsel to object to this procedure. According to Schaeffer, because of the lack of identification of which jurors were alternates, jury selection was harder for Krogmann and put the defense at a "great disadvantage."
Schaeffer was also highly critical of the approach of Krogmann's counsel to voir dire of the jury panel. She noted that during voir dire, Krogmann's counsel asked many closed-ended questions and did not give the potential jurors an opportunity to talk enough for effective jury selection. Schaeffer opined,
[I]f you don't allow them to talk based on the fact that you're doing all the talking, then you're not learning what their potential preexisting beliefs, attitudes, biases are, and you can't make an informed decision on whether they are a dangerous juror or not for you and your client.
According to Schaeffer, without exception, you want the potential jurors to talk more than the lawyer during voir dire and this approach is supported by scientific research.
Additionally, Schaeffer noted, based on her review of the jury selection transcript, a lack of effective follow-up with potential jurors who were able to speak. She criticized Krogmann's counsel for asking jurors whether "you can be fair and put [misconceptions of the law] aside"-a technique Schaeffer would not recommend.
Schaeffer cited the fact that no potential juror was disqualified for cause as support for her conclusion about the ineffectiveness of the voir dire. She told the court it was "very unusual" or "very rare" for the defense not to have any for-cause strikes in a case of this magnitude. Schaeffer testified scientific research on criminal cases, as well as her work on Iowa cases, reveals jurors have "attitudes about mental health" and "gun use," which could support for-cause challenges. Schaeffer attested the lack of for-cause strikes during voir dire disadvantaged Krogmann.
Finally, Schaeffer testified "with reasonable certainty" that if a jury consultant had been involved in the jury selection, there would have been a different jury. Moreover, according to Schaeffer, if she had been involved in the jury selection, it would have been "highly likely" that a different jury would have been chosen.
A report prepared by Schaeffer and a colleague was admitted into evidence at the PCR hearing. Among other things, the report listed various cases where jury consultation was employed and summarized recent research findings. The report concluded,
Without having access to professional assistance in developing and assessing profiles of favorable and unfavorable jurors prevalent in the venue, Mr. Krogmann was denied the ability to use such information as identified in the above research methodologies, to tailor voir dire efforts to more efficiently and effectively *303identify jurors with unfavorable characteristics and opinions, and prompt those prospective jurors to reveal their biases.
Further, the report stated, "[In f]ailing to identify and address such bias, Mr. Krogmann was additionally unable to benefit from expert consultation in evaluating and exercising strikes to strategically produce a jury composition more disposed to fairly evaluating the charges against him." The report concluded, "Prohibiting the defendant access to use and benefit from well-established and commonly employed social science jury selection and consulting assistance has significantly handicapped Mr. Krogmann's ability to defend himself in court."
3. Krogmann's PCR testimony. Krogmann testified the asset freeze affected the way he approached his defense-that it "disadvantaged every move, every thought or strategy." He told the PCR court that but for the asset freeze, he would have bonded out of jail. Once having bonded out, he would have sought the best possible defense team, "probably" from across the nation, "no matter what it would have cost." Krogmann testified that if he had bonded out, he would have hired additional lawyers "who [he] was confident with." He noted that in hiring PCR counsel, he had contacted more than "a dozen" attorneys to get additional names and addresses.
Krogmann testified regarding his mental health while in jail. He was not able to see his personal physician to manage his illness. Thus, when he was incarcerated awaiting trial, he had to take a "pretty high dose of something that was very mind-altering" prescribed by the state doctors. But then he was taken off that medication one week before his trial, which caused him to experience withdrawal symptoms during his criminal trial, including feeling as though "the floor was moving under [his] feet."
Krogmann testified that while in jail, he attempted to take steps to contact other attorneys. He recalled his unhappiness with Brown, desire to contact Des Moines attorneys, and request to a jailer for a Des Moines phone book, to which the jailer responded that no such phone book was available. He stated that he asked his family and friends to get him the phone number of a Des Moines attorney but that did not happen because they did not understand the gravity of his request.
Krogmann testified he could not buy phone cards to make calls from jail because of the asset freeze. He stated that, at times, he did not have the ability to make phone calls and he had to call his attorneys collect.
Krogmann told the court it was his idea to hire a jury consultant and he specifically asked Brown to do so. Krogmann acknowledged that he was paying for Schaeffer to provide evidence on his behalf at the PCR hearing. He asserted he would have engaged a jury consultant to do research on the potential jury pool and provide advice during the jury selection process at his criminal trial if he had been able to access his assets.
Krogmann recognized his primary defense was diminished responsibility. He questioned the experience of the defense expert used at his criminal trial and asserted he would have hired multiple experts if he had been able to access his assets.
While in jail, Krogmann's communications were monitored and later used against him at sentencing. In those communications, he made inflammatory statements about, inter alia , the victim, the judicial system, jurors, and a Dubuque newspaper. If he had been out on bond, *304these materials would not have been available to the prosecution at sentencing.
4. County Attorney Bernau's PCR testimony (by deposition). Bernau testified he received advice from either the Iowa Attorney General's Office or the Iowa County Attorneys Association regarding the asset freeze. He thought he was sent a form to use in the case. Bernau told the court, at the time of Krogmann's prosecution, he was a part-time county attorney and did not do any research on the asset-freeze issue.
With respect to victim restitution, Bernau asserted Krogmann was responsible for "whatever might not be covered by insurance." Bernau acknowledged that at the time of the asset-freeze order, he knew there was some insurance coverage but he did not know the actual extent of the coverage. He further testified no one approached him regarding a potential cap on the asset freeze. He recalled a brief discussion with a judge about a potential hearing date on the issue but nothing substantive.
5. Criminal defense counsel David Nadler's PCR testimony (by deposition). Nadler testified he was outraged by the asset-freeze order and he received the order before he had received the application for it. Nadler explained he did not consider requesting a hearing before the court on the asset-freeze order because he assumed it was entered by "a cowboy judge." He conceded he did not think about whether he had sufficiently preserved the issue for appeal.
On the question of potential release on bond, Nadler testified he did not know whether Krogmann's release would have helped or harmed the case. But he averred that he did not think the freeze order affected his representation of Krogmann.
6. Criminal defense counsel Mark Brown's PCR testimony (by deposition). Brown stated he was in solo practice, doing primarily criminal work in state and federal court. He testified Krogmann hired him around the time the interlocutory appeal was filed or pending (June 2009). According to Brown, Krogmann disclosed to him the need for court approval for payment of fees in light of the freeze order. Brown did not think the asset freeze adversely affected his ability to defend Krogmann. Although he was not a fan of the court-approval procedure for getting paid, the court-approval requirement "did not seem to affect what [he] was doing for [Krogmann]" except for hiring a jury consultant. As a general matter, Brown "never felt restricted or restrained from asking for funds for Robert's defense."
Brown admitted he never considered appealing the asset-freeze order or taking any further action in connection with it. His reason for that decision was the fact that Nadler had already applied for interlocutory appeal, which had been rejected.
Brown testified about his approach to the diminished responsibility defense. He thought Dr. Gallagher's opinion was appropriate even though it was equivocal on the key issue of specific intent, so he did not consider seeking another expert opinion. Brown also concluded Krogmann's medical records, which indicated periods of stability intermingled with stopping and starting medications, would not be helpful to the defense.
On the issue of the jury consultant, Brown acknowledged that although he had used a jury consultant in only one case before Krogmann's, a jury consultant was "one of the tools that a defendant may use to assist the defense." While Brown was unsure whether a defendant had a right to spend his or her own money on a jury consultant, he stated, "I'm sure many defendants believe it is important to their defense."
*305On the 911-tape issue, Brown thought presenting to the jury the fact that Krogmann called 911 would undercut the diminished responsibility defense by showing Krogmann knew he had done something wrong. With respect to the "Shot anybody today?" question, Brown asserted it was a cheap shot that would likely backfire on the prosecution.
7. Dr. Jerome Greenfield's report of his examination of Krogmann's mental health. The PCR court received a report from a psychiatrist, Dr. Jerome Greenfield. Dr. Greenfield conducted a posttrial, independent examination of Krogmann and surveyed Krogmann's history, which included three psychiatric hospitalizations and bouts of significant and severe depression and manic episodes. Krogmann told Dr. Greenfield that he could not recollect many details of what happened at Smith's house on March 13-only that they were talking and then, the next thing was they were both lying on the floor.
Dr. Greenfield diagnosed Krogmann with bipolar affective disorder type I. He noted there were periods of time when Krogmann became manic and did things of which he later had no recollection. Citing studies, Dr. Greenfield declared people with bipolar disorder can experience psychotic states and "it is very possible that this has happened from time to time with [Krogmann]." Dr. Greenfield concluded,
It is my opinion that his severe and chronic mental illness did impact his actions at the time of the crime. There is a possibility that at the time of the crime he may have had a brief psychotic episode as well as being severely depressed.
8. The PCR court's ruling. On April 14, 2015, the PCR court denied Krogmann's application. With respect to the ineffective-assistance claim challenging the asset freeze, the court found defense counsel's failure to properly preserve the asset-freeze issue for appeal fell below the requisite standard of care. Nevertheless, the court concluded no prejudice could be traced to the asset-freeze order, finding Krogmann could not show prejudice from his inability to make bail, hire other attorneys, or obtain better or additional experts.
The court also rejected Krogmann's ineffective-assistance claims based on counsel's failure to raise issues of prosecutorial misconduct and to obtain the 911 tapes, noting the lack of prejudice. The court rejected Krogmann's argument that he is entitled to a new trial due to the prosecutor's isolated, improper "Shot anybody today?" question. Finally, the court rejected Krogmann's claim that his consecutive sentences for attempted murder and willful injury violated double jeopardy and the merger doctrine.
In its April 14 ruling, the PCR court did not address Krogmann's claims that he was prejudiced by his counsel's deficient performance because he was unable to hire a jury consultant and that the asset freeze constituted prosecutorial misconduct. On April 27, Krogmann filed a motion to enlarge and amend, asking the PCR court to address those contentions. The court did not respond, and Krogmann timely appealed.
G. Appeal from the Denial of Postconviction Relief. We transferred Krogmann's appeal to the court of appeals, which affirmed the PCR court's denial of relief. Krogmann then applied for further review, which we granted. On appeal, Krogmann first asserts his criminal defense counsel was ineffective in handling the asset freeze. Krogmann argues prejudice from his counsel's deficient performance should be presumed under the circumstances. Alternatively, Krogmann maintains he has shown traditional prejudice *306arising from the asset freeze. As a result, Krogmann asks us to vacate his convictions and remand his case for a new trial.
Aside from the asset-freeze issue, Krogmann alleges his attorney provided ineffective assistance in several respects. He claims his counsel was ineffective in raising and presenting his mental health defense, failing to seek a mistrial after the prosecutor's "Shot anybody today?" question, failing to obtain phone records demonstrating Krogmann called 911 on the day of the shooting, and failing to obtain mental health records in support of his defense.
Krogmann additionally argues there was sufficiently pervasive prosecutorial misconduct to require a new trial. Krogmann asserts the prosecutor committed misconduct by seeking and being continuously involved with the asset freeze, falsely telling the jury that Krogmann did not call 911 for help after shooting Smith, and inconsistently arguing Krogmann needed a conservatorship to control his assets while contesting Krogmann's diminished responsibility defense at trial.
Finally, Krogmann argues his consecutive sentences violated the merger doctrine and his constitutional right to be free from double jeopardy. Krogmann argues the lesser crime of willful injury causing serious injury should merge with the greater crime of attempted murder.
II. Standard of Review.
We normally review postconviction proceedings for correction of errors at law. Iowa R. App. P. 6.907 ; Castro v. State ,
III. Ineffective Assistance of Counsel and the Denial of Sixth Amendment and Article I, Section 10 Rights Caused by the Unlawful Asset Freeze.
A. Introduction. Krogmann's most powerful claim is that his lawyers provided ineffective assistance under the Iowa and United States Constitutions by failing to properly object to the court-ordered asset freeze.
Consequently, in order to resolve this issue, we first consider whether the asset freeze was unlawful, a notion suggested but not actually decided on Krogmann's direct appeal. See Krogmann I ,
B. Lawfulness of the Asset Freeze. Krogmann maintains the asset freeze was clearly illegal under our prevailing precedent. In support of his position, he cites Maniccia . In Maniccia , we considered whether "persons charged with crime [can] be enjoined from disposing of property which might otherwise be used to reimburse their alleged victims or the county."
Krogmann further argues the injunctive provisions of the Iowa Rules of Civil Procedure do not apply in this case. Krogmann notes that in order for the civil rules to apply in criminal matters, there must be specific statutory authorization, which, Krogmann points out, does not exist. See State v. Wise ,
Finally, Krogmann notes Iowa Code section 910.10 provides for a restitution lien. See
In response, the State does not defend the asset-freeze order on its merits. The State's brief does not cite Maniccia , the civil procedure rules related to injunctions, or Iowa Code section 910.10. In effect, the State has abandoned the notion that the asset freeze was lawfully imposed.
*308In any event, we think Maniccia is determinative on the question of whether the State may seek a common law remedy of an injunction prohibiting a defendant from disposing of assets. Further, the asset-freeze application here did not remotely resemble an application for an injunction under the rules of civil procedure, see, e.g. , Iowa Rs. Civ. P. 1.1502, 1.1504, 1.1508, nor did it comply with the requisites of Iowa Code section 910.10, see
C. Defense Counsel's Breach of an Essential Duty. Krogmann argues his lawyers breached a duty owed to him by failing to appropriately challenge the asset freeze in the district court. Krogmann notes the asset-freeze order in his case was precisely the kind of order prohibited in Maniccia . If Krogmann's lawyers had brought Maniccia to the attention of the district court, the asset-freeze order would certainly have been set aside.
The State maintains attorney Nadler took reasonable steps to obtain relief from the order by filing an application for interlocutory appeal. According to the State, Nadler's efforts were frustrated by the district court's failure to rule on his post-order resistance and the decision of this court to deny interlocutory appeal. With respect to attorney Brown, the State asserts it was reasonable for him to regard further challenge as fruitless in light of the fact that the district court declined to rule on the post-order resistance and this court's denial of interlocutory review.
The PCR court found Krogmann's attorneys should have insisted the district court rule on the resistance to the asset-freeze application or insisted upon a hearing before the district court. The PCR court further found the failure to do so fell below the standard of care of a reasonably competent attorney.
We agree. Nadler identified the asset-freeze order as "outrageous." A brief amount of research would have uncovered the Maniccia case, which the State did not cite in its naked application for the asset freeze nor did Nadler cite in Krogmann's resistance. If the district court had been made aware of Maniccia and the defense's inability to contest the order prior to its entry because of the incorrect service address, we have no doubt the district court would have granted Krogmann relief. The concept this court embraced in Krogmann I , namely, that contested matters must be brought to the attention of the district court "at a time when corrective action can be taken," is a commonplace proposition well within the grasp of a reasonably competent lawyer. See
D. Consequences of the Unlawful Asset Freeze. Under the unlawful asset freeze, Krogmann was denied access to his property, which he otherwise could have converted to cash for any lawful purposes without court approval. Not only could the requirement of obtaining court approval have had a generalized chilling effect on Krogmann's use of his assets by erecting a barrier between Krogmann and his assets, but the record here demonstrates the unlawful asset freeze adversely affected Krogmann's ability to defend himself in the criminal proceeding on several specific occasions.
*309First, Krogmann was denied access to his property for purposes of posting bond. Under the Iowa Constitution and Iowa law, a criminal defendant has a right to bail. Iowa Const. art. I, § 12 ("All persons shall, before conviction, be bailable, by sufficient sureties, except for capital offences where the proof is evident, or the presumption great.");
Yet when it appeared Krogmann might be able to raise the necessary funds to comply with the district court's order setting bail, the State passively acquiesced to Smith using the asset-freeze order as a mechanism to block Krogmann's exercise of his right to bail. In doing so, the State ignored the teaching of United States v. Salerno that "a primary function of bail is to safeguard the courts' role in adjudicating the guilt or innocence of defendants." See
It is well-established that pretrial release can impact the ability of an accused to defend in a criminal proceeding. As was noted long ago, "[T]he detainee is more apt to be convicted than if he were free on bail; and, if convicted, he is more apt to receive a tougher sentence." Vera Inst. of Justice, Programs in Criminal Justice Reform: Ten-Year Report 1961-1971 , at 19 (1972) [hereinafter Vera Inst.], https://storage.googleapis.com/vera-web-assets/downloads/Publications/programs-in-criminal-justice-reform-vera-institute-of-justice-ten-year-report-1961-1971/legacy_downloads/1002.pdf. "Pretrial confinement may imperil the suspect's job, interrupt his source of income, and impair his family relationships." Gerstein v. Pugh ,
Second, under the unlawful asset-freeze order, Krogmann was denied funds to make phone calls from jail. The State objected to an expenditure of $500 per month as extravagant, and the district court agreed. The proposed expenditure of $500 per month during the period of pretrial detention would have had virtually no impact on Krogmann's ability to pay restitution as his assets were in the millions of dollars.
But the denial of funds for phone privileges likely adversely affected his ability to engage in his own defense. Where a pretrial detainee is attempting to gather evidence or work on his or her case by making phone calls from jail, those phone calls are more expensive than those made from home and may not be a protected form of communication. See, e.g. , Bernadette Rabuy & Daniel Kopf, Prison Policy Initiative, Detaining the Poor 6-7 (2016), https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/DetainingThePoor.pdf [http://web.archive.org/web/20180303234357/https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/DetainingThePoor.pdf]; Drew Kukorowski, The Price to Call Home: State-Sanctioned Monopolization in the Prison Phone Industry , Prison Pol'y Initiative (Sept. 11, 2012), https://www.prisonpolicy.org/phones/report.html [https://perma.cc/5VG7-GLNL] (noting in some states, an inmate may have to pay $1 per minute spent on the phone). By denying Krogmann a few extra dollars to use the phone from jail, the State achieved next to nothing in terms of securing payment for restitution but instead imposed a form of pretrial punishment and made it more difficult for Krogmann to defend himself.
Third, "[t]he conventional wisdom is that most trials are won or lost in jury selection." John H. Blume et al., Probing "Life Qualification" Through Expanded Voir Dire ,
A jury consultant may have a particular role to play in a case involving mental illness. Jurors are skeptical of insanity and diminished responsibility defenses-one set of studies showed approximately two-thirds of potential jurors believed pleading insanity was a loophole that allowed guilty people to go free. See Nat'l Jury Project, Criminal Defense: Practice Tools , in 3 Jurywork Systematic Techniques § 22:28, Westlaw (database updated Nov. 2017) [hereinafter Jurywork Systematic Techniques ]. Some authorities recommend a pretrial supplemental jury questionnaire to discern jurors' views and experience with mental illness. E.g. , James J. Gobert et al., *311Jury Selection: The Law, Art and Science of Selecting a Jury § 12:18, Westlaw (database updated Dec. 2017). Further, at the PCR hearing, Krogmann presented evidence on how the jury-selection process would have been impacted had Krogmann been permitted to retain a jury consultant.
Fourth, Krogmann claims that but for the unlawful freeze order, he would have found different or additional counsel. He testified he was unhappy with attorney Brown and was interested in contacting Des Moines attorneys. He had limited phone privileges, however, and did not have access to a Des Moines phone book. It is speculative who Krogmann might have hired as additional or substitute counsel; nonetheless, if he had been released on bail or had uninhibited access to his assets, he surely would have been more able to contact and interview potential defense lawyers.
E. Sixth Amendment and Article I, Section 10 Rights and Structural Error.
1. Positions of the parties. The real fighting issue with respect to Krogmann's claim that his lawyers were ineffective in failing to properly contest the asset-freeze order is the question of prejudice. The prejudice question breaks down into two parts. First, under the circumstances shown here, does Krogmann need to show prejudice? Second, if a showing of prejudice is required, has Krogmann met his burden under the facts of this case?
Krogmann first asserts that he is not required to show prejudice because of the type of claim he presents. Krogmann notes the United States Supreme Court has not always required a showing of actual prejudice where a defendant's constitutional rights have been infringed. See, e.g. , Arizona v. Fulminante ,
Krogmann specifically draws our attention to United States v. Stein (Stein I ),
*312Krogmann alternatively argues, even if he must show prejudice, he has met any prejudice requirement in this case. First, he notes the asset freeze prejudiced him because he could not hire a jury consultant. Krogmann draws our attention to the testimony of his jury expert at the PCR hearing, Marygrace Schaeffer. Schaeffer concluded the lack of identification of alternates made jury selection more problematic, Krogmann's lawyer did too much talking and did not allow jurors to speak freely to identify bias during voir dire, and it was "very unusual" in this type of case not to have any challenges for cause. According to Schaeffer, it was "highly likely" that a different jury would have been impaneled if she had been allowed to participate in jury selection.
Second, Krogmann asserts he would have posted bail had he been allowed access to his money. Had he been free on bond, he would have had unfettered access to his lawyers, his family, and mental health professionals. Additionally, neither the letters Krogmann sent to his family, which the State utilized at sentencing, nor the 474 pages of written communication between Krogmann and his counsel would have been generated.
Third, Krogmann emphasizes if he had access to his considerable funds, he would have assembled "the best defense team." He would have hired a new lawyer, or perhaps multiple lawyers, and multiple mental health experts to aid him in dealing with his diminished responsibility defense. He claims his PCR mental health expert, Dr. Greenfield, offered better testimony than his criminal trial mental health expert, Dr. Gallagher.
Fourth, Krogmann contends he was prejudiced because the prosecution had access to his counsel's billing statements, his defense strategies, and his requests for investigation and trial preparation expenses. He claims his counsel spent more time fighting to get paid than on the actual criminal case.
The State responds by arguing the traditional prejudice analysis of Strickland is fully applicable in this case. See
The State recognizes that in some circumstances-for example where counsel has been completely denied, where counsel fails to subject the prosecution's case to meaningful adversarial testing, or where circumstances justify a presumption of prejudice, such as where counsel has an actual conflict of interest in representing multiple defendants-structural error is present and no showing of Strickland prejudice is required. See Lado , 804 N.W.2d at 252 ; State v. Feregrino ,
The State argues the only time funds for the defense were denied was the request for a jury consultant. Citing authority from Texas and Alabama, the State maintains a jury consultant is not a "basic" tool of defense. See MacEwan v. State ,
*313Busby v. State ,
As to the inability to post bond because of the asset freeze, the State argues Krogmann's attorneys were not hampered by Krogmann's incarceration. The State contends, if anything, Krogmann's incarceration may have helped the defense because his lawyers knew where he was at all times.
2. Different approaches to prejudice: distinguishing between ineffective assistance of counsel and the Sixth Amendment and article I, section 10 right of the accused to be master of his own defense. The United States Supreme Court decided Strickland and Cronic on the same day, both of which suggest the approach to prejudice in the context of ineffective-assistance claims is diametric. This is true whether Strickland and Cronic are considered in tandem or in isolation. These cases tend to establish the parameters of the debate about the proper standard of prejudice for mistakes of trial counsel.
In Strickland , the Court declared that for most attorney errors, a defendant who demonstrates counsel breached a duty must also show prejudice in order to be entitled to relief. 466 U.S. at 693, 104 S.Ct. at 2067. In order to meet the required showing of prejudice, a defendant must show "a reasonable probability that, but for counsel's unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different." Id. at 694, 104 S.Ct. at 2068.
In Cronic , the Court made it clear that in some circumstances, an accused is not required to show Strickland prejudice. 466 U.S. at 658-60, 104 S.Ct. at 2046-47. Situations where a showing of prejudice is not required for ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claims generally manifest as what have been labeled "structural errors." See, e.g. , Lado , 804 N.W.2d at 252. A structural error or defect has been said to arise when the flaw "affect[s] the framework within which the trial proceeds." Fulminante ,
Moreover, there is a line of Sixth Amendment cases establishing a presumption of prejudice for violations of the accused's right to be master of the defense, which is a right separate and distinct from the right to effective assistance of counsel. These cases do not raise questions about what counsel did or did not do to aid the defense. The constitutional concern in these cases is whether the accused was allowed to be master of the defense. And when the accused was not, that violation was presumptively prejudicial.
In Faretta v. California , the Supreme Court emphasized the ability of the defendant to be master of the defense. See
The Supreme Court has recently built on Faretta 's and McKaskle 's principles in United States v. Gonzalez-Lopez ,
The Court stressed the importance of not confusing "the right to counsel of choice-which is the right to a particular lawyer regardless of comparative effectiveness-with the right to effective counsel-which imposes a baseline requirement of competence on whatever lawyer is chosen or appointed."
Most recently, in McCoy v. Louisiana , the Court again emphasized the defendant's right to be master of the defense. --- U.S. ----, ----,
The majority then concluded the defendant did not need to show prejudice to obtain redress for the constitutional deprivation.
3. Asset forfeiture cases addressing the ability of the defendant to be master of the defense. The United States Supreme Court has considered the impact of asset forfeitures on the ability of defendants to be represented by counsel of choice in three cases. In Caplin & Drysdale, Chartered v. United States and United States v. Monsanto , the Supreme Court considered whether the pretrial forfeitures of assets in the defendants' possession were constitutionally permissible where the defendants desired to use those assets to pay their attorneys. Caplin & Drysdale, Chartered v. United States ,
In the lead case of Caplin & Drysdale , the Court first determined the relevant federal statutes authorized the pretrial forfeiture of assets in the criminal defendant's possession. 491 U.S. at 622-23, 109 S.Ct. at 2650-51. After determining the statutes authorized the particular forfeiture, the majority examined the constitutionality of the forfeiture under the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment and the right to counsel of choice as protected by the Sixth Amendment. Id. at 623-24, 109 S.Ct. at 2651.
In upholding the forfeiture as constitutional, the majority recognized that under Wheat v. United States , a person without funds is not entitled to counsel of choice. Id. at 624, 109 S.Ct. at 2651-52 (citing Wheat v. United States ,
*316Id. at 625, 109 S.Ct. at 2652. Further, the Court theorized that attorneys might be willing to undertake representation hoping their fees would be paid in the event of an acquittal or from funds the defendant may obtain in the future. Id.
Additionally, the majority reasoned the "taint theory" has long been recognized. Id. at 627, 109 S.Ct. at 2653. Under the taint theory, title to property obtained by unlawful means automatically vests with the government and the property is thus subject to forfeiture when in the possession of the defendant. Id. After conducting a balancing test, the Court concluded the "strong governmental interest in obtaining full recovery of all forfeitable assets" overrode "any Sixth Amendment interest in permitting criminals to use assets adjudged forfeitable to pay for their defense." Id. at 629-31, 109 S.Ct. at 2654-55.
Justice Blackmun, joined by Justices Brennan, Marshall, and Stevens, dissented. Id. at 635, 109 S.Ct. at 2657 (Blackmun, J., dissenting). According to Justice Blackmun, "it is unseemly and unjust for the Government to beggar those it prosecutes in order to disable their defense at trial." Id. Justice Blackmun asserted the majority
has lost track of the distinct role of the right to counsel of choice in protecting the integrity of the judicial process, a role that makes "the right to be represented by privately retained counsel ... the primary, preferred component of the basic right" protected by the Sixth Amendment.
Id. at 645, 109 S. Ct. at 2672-73 (omission in original) (quoting United States v. Harvey ,
But perhaps most troubling, according to Justice Blackmun, "is the fact that forfeiture statutes place the Government in the position to exercise an intolerable degree of power over any private attorney who takes on the task of representing a defendant in a forfeiture case." Id . at 650, 109 S.Ct. at 2675. Justice Blackmun feared "[t]he Government will be ever tempted to use the forfeiture weapon against a defense attorney who is particularly talented or aggressive on the client's behalf-the attorney who is better than what, in the Government's view, the defendant deserves." Id.
Most recently, the Supreme Court decided Luis v. United States , 578 U.S. ----,
Additionally, an important related case is Stein . In Stein , the government indicted employees of KPMG, then one of the *317world's largest accounting firms. Stein I ,
The Southern District of New York first concluded the government's efforts violated the defendants' due process rights to fairness in criminal proceedings.
Additionally, the court found the government's efforts violated the right-to-counsel provision of the Sixth Amendment because the Sixth Amendment protects the right "to use one's own funds to mount the defense that one wishes to present." Id. at 365-66. On the issue of whether the defendants must show prejudice to obtain relief from the right-to-counsel violation, the court concluded no showing of prejudice was required. Id. at 369. Relying on Gonzalez-Lopez from the Supreme Court, the Stein I court declared the violation is complete when the defendant is deprived of the use of funds that he or she is entitled to use for defense. Id. (citing Gonzalez-Lopez ,
On appeal, the Second Circuit agreed the defendants were deprived of their Sixth Amendment right to counsel.
these defendants can easily demonstrate interference in their relationships with counsel and impairment of their ability to mount a defense based on [the district court's] non-erroneous findings that the post-indictment termination of fees "caused them to restrict the activities of their counsel," and thus to limit the scope of their pre-trial investigation and preparation.
4. Application of Sixth Amendment and article I, section 10 structural error principles to this case. At the outset, it is important, as the Court emphasized in Gonzalez-Lopez , to distinguish between claims of ineffective assistance of counsel and other claims based on the Sixth Amendment (and article I, section 10 of the Iowa Constitution ) right to counsel, such as the right to conduct one's own defense. See
As indicated in Stein I and II , Krogmann is entitled to be in control of his own defense effort. See Stein II ,
The government, of course, has every right to administer strong blows against a defendant within the confines of the adversary system. Cf., e.g. , Cronic , 466 U.S. at 655, 104 S.Ct. at 2044-45 (" '[T]ruth,' Lord Eldon said, 'is best discovered by powerful statements on both sides of the question.' " (Alteration in original.) (quoting Irving R. Kaufman, Does the Judge Have a Right to Qualified Counsel? ,
That did not happen here. Not only did the State develop its own trial strategy, it crossed over to limit Krogmann's ability to defend himself in several ways. First, by freezing his assets, the State unjustifiably made it harder for Krogmann to spend his money on his defense by requiring him to obtain judicial approval of expenditures, which were closely monitored by the State, the victim, and the court.
It is true the record does not establish Krogmann actually requested to hire different counsel and the district court denied that request. But the asset freeze had a chilling effect on any such thoughts Krogmann may have had. Indeed, counsel fees for his criminal defense were limited by one of the probate's court orders. Further, with respect to the personal injury case Smith filed against Krogmann, the probate court made it clear it would not allow doubling up of counsel. Any thoughts Krogmann might have developed to hire other, more expensive counsel would have been inhibited by the asset-freeze approval process.
Second, the State succeeded in "passively hampering [Krogmann's] efforts" by acquiescing to Smith's objection to Krogmann's request to mortgage his property for bail money. See Stein I ,
And that is not all. The State successfully objected to a request for $500 per month for phone calls and amenities while Krogmann was incarcerated. As the request would total a few thousand dollars at most out of an asset total of over $3 million, the purpose of objecting to these amenities seems primarily punitive and designed to prevent Krogmann from engaging in extensive consultations with his family and others while incarcerated. Objectively, the inability to engage in extensive communications would have impaired his ability to seek out other lawyers or vet experts.
Finally, Krogmann was prevented from hiring a jury consultant with his own funds at an estimated maximum cost of $8000. The State had no business making an objection to this kind of expenditure. Once again, the $8000 cost would have had virtually no impact on the total assets available to satisfy what turned out to be a modest restitution order.
Further, the use of jury consultants is well-established in criminal cases. Some lawyers like them; others don't. And it is probably true that most defendants cannot afford them.
*321The denial of funds for a jury consultant in this case is not a minor issue. Questions involving mental health defenses pose particular challenges for a defendant. See 3 Jurywork Systematic Techniques § 22:28. The testimony at the PCR hearing demonstrated jury consultants, while unable to guarantee a particular outcome, can be very useful to defense lawyers and help the defendant achieve an impartial, unbiased jury.
The bottom line is clear: the State in this case was playing on both sides of the line of scrimmage. It not only structured its own case, but it unjustifiably crossed the line and prevented Krogmann from mounting the kind of defense he otherwise would have been able to. See Stein II ,
A case involving an unlawful, total freeze of the criminal defendant's assets that impairs the defendant's ability to be the master of his or her own defense is ordinarily the kind of case where prejudice should be presumed. See, e.g. , McCoy , --- U.S. at ----,
F. Issue of Prejudice in PCR Proceedings Where Mistakes of Trial Counsel Produced Structural Error at Trial. It is true, of course, that this case is presented in a PCR proceeding. The question thus arises as to whether, in a case involving an unpreserved structural error at trial that is challenged via an ineffective-assistance claim in PCR, a showing of Strickland prejudice is required in the PCR proceedings.
A recent United States Supreme Court case on whether Strickland prejudice is required in PCR proceedings where the underlying error was structural in nature is Weaver . In Weaver , during the petitioner's trial on state criminal charges, "the courtroom was occupied by potential jurors and closed to the public for two days of the jury selection process." 582 U.S. at ----,
Five years later, Weaver filed a motion for a new trial in state court, claiming his attorney provided ineffective assistance of counsel under the Sixth Amendment by failing to object to the courtroom closure.
The Court began its analysis of structural error by noting there are at least three different rationales for structural error.
A second rationale for characterizing an error as structural is when "the effects of the error are simply too hard to measure."
A third rationale for structural error involves "error [that] always results in fundamental unfairness."
The Court noted it treats an unconstitutional courtroom closure as a structural error "[i]n the direct review context."
either a reasonable probability of a different outcome in his or her case or, as the Court has assumed for these purposes, to show that the particular public-trial violation was so serious as to render his or her trial fundamentally unfair.
In Weaver , the Supreme Court emphasized the prejudice requirement "derives both from the nature of the error and the difference between a public-trial violation preserved and then raised on direct review and a public-trial violation raised as an ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim."
Justice Breyer, joined by Justice Kagan, dissented.
Weaver on its face is limited solely to postconviction claims alleging ineffective assistance for failure to assert a right to a public trial.
In Commonwealth v. Diaz , a Pennsylvania court held Weaver did not apply to a PCR case where criminal defense counsel did not understand the defendant needed a translator at his first day of trial.
*324--- Pa. ----,
[b]ecause the rights at issue in this case involve Appellee's inability to comprehend the criminal proceedings and not the right to keep the courtroom open during voir dire , the rights at issue are wholly and strikingly different from those in Weaver .
On the other hand, in Newton v. State , the Maryland high court considered a case involving structural error presented in a PCR proceeding.
Most recently, in McCoy , the Supreme Court, on review of a postconviction proceeding, did not require a showing of Strickland prejudice when the defendant's trial counsel infringed the defendant's Sixth Amendment right to be master of his own defense. --- U.S. at ----,
Because a client's autonomy, not counsel's competence, is in issue, we do not apply our ineffective-assistance-of-counsel jurisprudence ... to McCoy's claim. To gain redress for attorney error, a defendant ordinarily must show prejudice. Here, however, the violation of McCoy's protected autonomy right was complete when the court allowed counsel to usurp control of an issue within McCoy's sole prerogative.
Notwithstanding Weaver and based on analogy to McCoy , we think prejudice should be presumed in a postconviction-relief proceeding for the type of structural error presented in this case. Krogmann has been harmed twice: once by the government when it took unlawful steps to freeze his assets, and once by his lawyers who failed to properly preserve the issue in the district court. The Sixth Amendment and article I, section 10 rights that were unlawfully truncated by the State in this case are not minor or inconsequential. Unlike in Weaver , the constitutional error here affected the entire proceeding and not just two days of pretrial jury voir dire. See 582 U.S. at ----,
IV. Krogmann's Other Ineffective-Assistance, Prosecutorial-Misconduct, and Consecutive-Sentences Claims.
Because we conclude Krogmann is entitled to a new trial with full, lawful access to his assets in preparing his defense, we do not address his other claims of ineffective assistance or prosecutorial misconduct. However, because the issue of whether consecutive sentences for attempted murder and willful injury violates the Double Jeopardy Clause and the merger doctrine may arise upon retrial, we briefly address the issue here.
Krogmann claims his consecutive sentences for attempted murder and willful injury violate the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment and the merger doctrine. He contends willful injury is a lesser included offense of attempted murder because, under the facts of his case, he could not have committed attempted murder without also committing willful injury as the actus reus component of each crime is the same and the mens rea required for attempted murder satisfies the mens rea requirement for willful injury. He acknowledges his argument is contrary to our holding in State v. Clarke ,
We disagree. To determine whether one offense is a lesser included offense of another, such that imposition of consecutive sentences for both offenses would violate double jeopardy and the merger doctrine, we apply the legal elements test. State v. Braggs ,
[U]nder the legal test the lesser offense is necessarily included in the greater offense if it is impossible to commit the greater offense without also committing the lesser offense. If the lesser offense contains an element not required for the greater offense, the lesser cannot be included in the greater.
Thus, because Krogmann's argument would require us to focus on the particular facts of his case as opposed to the statutory elements for attempted murder and willful injury, his argument does not have merit. Moreover, we find nothing in Krogmann's arguments, our recent caselaw, or the court of appeals decision to suggest that Clarke is no longer good law. We decline to overrule Clarke 's holding that the "[a]pplication of the legal elements test plainly demonstrates that willful injury is not a lesser-included offense of attempted murder."
*326V. Conclusion.
The asset freeze in this case was unlawful and Krogmann's counsel's failure to properly challenge the freeze breached an essential duty. The consequences of the asset freeze violated Krogmann's constitutional right to be master of his defense, which is a structural error. Under the circumstances giving rise to this type of structural error in this case, we presume prejudice from Krogmann's counsel's breach. Accordingly, we conclude Krogmann is entitled to a new trial with full, lawful access to his assets to use in preparing, presenting, and handling his defense.
Should his new trial result in convictions for attempted murder and willful injury, the sentencing court may exercise its discretion in determining whether to impose concurrent or consecutive sentences under the applicable law.
We vacate the decision of the court of appeals, except with respect to the consecutive-sentences issue, which we affirm. We reverse the judgment of the district court and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
DECISION OF COURT OF APPEALS AFFIRMED IN PART AND VACATED IN PART; DISTRICT COURT JUDGMENT REVERSED AND CASE REMANDED WITH INSTRUCTIONS.
All justices concur except Mansfield and Waterman, JJ., who dissent.
Krogmann's August 3, 2009 request for $20,000 to pay counsel was not granted until September 17, 2009.
For example, the probate court approved reimbursing Krogmann's son $393.84 for clothing purchased for Krogmann to wear at trial.
By that time, Krogmann had retained attorney Mark Brown as criminal defense counsel. Nadler, Krogmann's initial criminal defense counsel, withdrew on June 22.
Krogmann's conservator had previously filed a request for additional funds for attorney fees and criminal defense expenses, which the probate court granted on September 18.
At trial, Assistant Attorney General James Kivi conducted the State's prosecution, including presenting opening and closing statements and conducting all direct and cross-examination. Upon County Attorney Bernau's request, Kivi was brought in to help with the case.
While Krogmann cites both the due process and right-to-counsel provisions of the Iowa and the United States Constitutions, he does not develop a different standard for ineffective assistance under the Iowa Constitution. We thus apply the prevailing federal standard, reserving, of course, the right to apply that standard in a fashion different from federal precedent. See State v. Short ,
Some of the notable cases where jury consultants were utilized are O.J. Simpson's criminal trial, see Marc Davis & Kevin Davis, Pretrial Pros , A.B.A. J., Jan. 2015, at 31, 32; Bill Cosby's criminal trial, see Manuel Roig-Franzia, Bill Cosby's Jury Consultants, Revealed , Wash. Post (May 24, 2017), https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2017/05/24/bill-cosbys-jury-consultants-revealed/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.474f1aab6514; and the Salt Lake City Olympics bribery case, as indicated in Marygrace Schaeffer's report.
In his concurrence in Martinez , Justice Scalia noted, "Our system of laws generally presumes that the criminal defendant, after being fully informed, knows his own best interests and does not need them dictated by the State."
The Thompson Memorandum stated in pertinent part that the willingness of a corporate employer to pay such expenses would be a factor in determining whether the firm itself should be indicted. Stein I ,
The Second Circuit did not address the district court's Fifth Amendment due process ruling because it resolved the case on Sixth Amendment right-to-counsel grounds. Stein II ,
Notably, the Stein proceedings, unlike the case before us, were still in the pretrial stage. See Stein II ,
We note this case does not involve an indigent defendant's request for or right to a jury consultant, and therefore, we do not address or resolve legal questions that might arise in this context.
Tellingly, for example, at the bond reduction hearing, County Attorney Bernau pointed to the fact that Krogmann had admitted to shooting Smith as a reason for increasing the bond amount even though Bernau also acknowledged "we do live in a society where a person is innocent until proven guilty."
Dissenting Opinion
I respectfully dissent. The asset freeze was improper. But it didn't prevent Robert Krogmann from hiring the counsel of his choice, paying his counsel's bills, and mounting a vigorous trial defense. There was no structural error, and no reason exists for Krogmann to receive a second trial.
On March 13, 2009, Krogmann arrived at his former girlfriend's home with a handgun. He used the gun to shoot her three times. The first bullet entered his ex-girlfriend's stomach, the second her arm, and the third her spine. Before initially shooting his victim, Krogmann told her, "[I]f he couldn't have me, no one was going to have me and ... we were both going to die together that day." After firing the first two shots, Krogmann dismissed his victim's pleas with the statement that "he wasn't going to go to jail for attempted murder." Krogmann then proceeded to fire the third shot that entered her spine.
Fortunately, Krogmann's former girlfriend survived her ordeal. Unsurprisingly, Krogmann was later convicted of attempted murder and willful injury causing serious injury.
I. No Prejudice.
Krogmann now hypothesizes that if it hadn't been for the asset freeze, he would have had a better outcome at trial. I think not. Notwithstanding the asset freeze, Krogmann was able to replace his original defense attorney with someone else he preferred, he was able to pay all of his counsel's bills (which totaled approximately $67,000), and he was able to retain an expert psychiatrist who testified at trial.
As Krogmann's defense counsel put it, except for a jury consultant, "[A]ny item I asked for, funds for attorney fees or this or that, experts, it seemed, from memory, to have been fully granted." Krogmann's defense counsel confirmed that he "never felt restricted or restrained from asking for funds for [Krogmann's] defense." He added that the asset freeze "did not seem to affect what [he] was doing for [Krogmann], but for [the jury consultant]."
Especially given the strength of the State's case against Krogmann, I do not *327believe there was any prejudice here. See State v. Coleman ,
Krogmann maintains that without the asset freeze, he would have been able to hire the jury consultant, to consider hiring additional counsel, to post bond, to retain an additional mental health expert, and to make more phone calls "to family and additional lawyers."
Both the district court and the court of appeals examined these arguments and decided none of these things would have made a difference. I agree. As the court of appeals put it, "Without belaboring the facts, we conclude there is no reasonable probability of a different outcome...."
Consider, for example, the report of the additional psychiatrist retained by Krogmann for the postconviction-relief hearing. Krogmann's theory is that, but for the asset freeze, this expert could have testified as an additional expert at the time of trial. Yet all this expert could say was, "There is a possibility that at the time of the crime [Krogmann] may have had a brief psychotic episode as well as being severely depressed." (Emphasis added.) I fail to see how such equivocal testimony would have been of much help to Krogmann at trial.
Krogmann's arguments that he would have a better result if he had hired a jury consultant or if he had posted bail are even more speculative. Most individuals charged with attempted murder are incarcerated before trial and do not have the benefit of a consultant to assist with jury selection. Yet if Krogmann's logic is correct, these individuals are being denied constitutional rights because their trial defense is being impaired. Have we now made bail in Iowa a Sixth Amendment as well as an Eighth Amendment right?
II. No Structural Error.
Not wishing to push the prejudice point too far, the majority instead determines that the asset freeze was a structural error entitling the defendant to automatic reversal of his convictions. Here too, I have a different view.
At the outset, I pose a question: If the asset freeze was so egregious as to amount to a structural error, why did we not grant Krogmann's interlocutory appeal from the asset freeze on May 26, 2009? Our court was asked to step in and did not do so. An interlocutory appeal would have been the normal way to fix a structural error like this if it would have tainted the ensuing trial. Cf. Luis v. United States , 578 U.S. ----, ----,
In fact, there was no structural error. The majority conflates (1) the right to select the retained counsel of one's choice with (2) a nebulous right to spend money however and whenever one chooses on one's defense. The United States Supreme Court has found denial of the former right to be a structural error. See
*328Luis sets forth the outer limits of what amounts to a structural error in this area. In Luis , the United States Supreme Court held over the dissent of three justices that a freeze of untainted assets constituted a structural error when it affected a defendant's ability to obtain the counsel of her choice . 578 U.S. at ----,
Thus, in Luis , the government and the defendant had stipulated that the asset freeze would prevent the defendant "from using her own untainted funds, i.e., funds not connected with the crime, to hire counsel to defend her in her criminal case."
This case is quite different. Unlike Luis, Krogmann was not in any way prevented from hiring-or paying-the counsel of his choice. At most, the record shows that the asset freeze prevented Krogmann from hiring a jury consultant, posting bond, and making as many calls from jail as he wanted to make.
The majority opinion cites no authority-not even a law review article-for the proposition that what occurred here amounts to a structural error.
The best the majority can muster is the same case Krogmann cited to us: United States v. Stein ,
Notably, on appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit later held that any structural error was limited to those defendants who were actually deprived of their "right to counsel of choice." Stein ,
The line drawn by the Second Circuit is consistent with Supreme Court precedent. In Caplin & Drysdale , the Supreme Court indicated that "[w]hatever the full extent of the Sixth Amendment's protection of one's right to retain counsel of his choosing, that protection does not go beyond 'the individual's right to spend his own money to obtain the advice and assistance of ... counsel.' " 491 U.S. at 626, 109 S.Ct. at 2652 (omission in original) (quoting *329Walters v. Nat'l Ass'n of Radiation Survivors ,
Furthermore, the Second Circuit in Stein expressly declined to address the following situation:
The defendant proceeds to trial with his or her chosen attorney, and the attorney is forced to limit the scope of his or her efforts due to the defendant's financial constraints. The defendant is convicted based on overwhelming evidence of his or her guilt.
Stein ,
And even at that, "Stein tested the outer limits of the Sixth Amendment's protection." United States v. Fattah ,
The majority quotes United States v. Rosen ,
In effect, the majority conjures a new fundamental, structural right to be free from impediments on spending money that neither the Federal nor the Iowa Constitution recognize. The cases cited by the majority for this supposed "right" involve only the designation of who would represent the defendant-i.e., either a chosen counsel or the defendant himself or herself, see United States v. Gonzalez-Lopez ,
*330The majority disregards our own precedent on structural error. In Lado v. State , we discussed the concept at some length.
We have recognized structural error occurs when: (1) counsel is completely denied, actually or constructively, at a crucial stage of the proceeding; (2) where counsel does not place the prosecution's case against meaningful adversarial testing; or (3) where surrounding circumstances justify a presumption of ineffectiveness, such as where counsel has an actual conflict of interest in jointly representing multiple defendants.
None of these scenarios arose here. In fact, as the court of appeals pointed out, "[t]he record reveals that Krogmann hired not one but three attorneys of his own choosing-one in the pretrial phase, a second in the pretrial and trial phases, and a third for his direct appeal." See also State v. Mulatillo ,
I would affirm the decisions of the district court and the court of appeals denying Krogmann's application for postconviction relief.
Waterman, J., joins this dissent.
The majority labels the district court opinion Stein I and the court of appeals opinion Stein II . But the controlling opinion is that of the court of appeals-i.e., "Stein II ."
The majority's discussion of the United States Supreme Court's recent decision in McCoy shows how far afield the majority is reaching for precedent. McCoy held that it was structural error for trial counsel to admit a client's guilt over the client's objection. Id . at ----,
Nothing like that right is involved here. The majority seizes on the Supreme Court's use of the word "autonomy" and argues that this case also involves "autonomy" rights. But that is only true at a very high level of generality, at a level where almost any constitutional error deprives the defendant of "autonomy." (Indeed, most of the Bill of Rights has to do with autonomy.) For example, if the defendant is wrongfully denied the opportunity to call a defense witness, or cross-examine a witness for the State, to some extent the defendant is no longer "master of the defense." Yet we would not say those errors are structural.
I agree with the majority's resolution of the consecutive-sentences issue.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Robert KROGMANN, Appellant, v. STATE of Iowa, Appellee.
- Cited By
- 66 cases
- Status
- Published