Gilberto Garza, Jr. v. Idaho

by Supreme Court of the United States

Note: Where it is feasible, a syllabus (headnote) will be released, as is being done in connection with this case, at the time the opinion is issued. The syllabus constitutes no part of the opinion of the Court but has been prepared by the Reporter of Decisions for the convenience of the reader. See United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co., 200 U. S. 321, 337.

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES

Syllabus

GARZA v. IDAHO
CERTIORARI TO THE SUPREME COURT OF IDAHO
No. 17–1026. Argued October 30, 2018–Decided February 27, 2019

Petitioner Gilberto Garza, Jr., signed two plea agreements, each arising from state criminal charges and each containing a clause stating that Garza waived his right to appeal. Shortly after sentencing, Garza told his trial counsel that he wished to appeal. Instead of filing a notice of appeal, counsel informed Garza that an appeal would be “problematic” given Garza’s appeal waiver. After the time period for Garza to preserve an appeal lapsed, he sought state postconviction relief, alleging that his trial counsel had rendered ineffective assistance by failing to file a notice of appeal despite his repeated requests. The Idaho trial court denied relief, and the Idaho Court of Appeals affirmed. Also affirming, the Idaho Supreme Court held that Garza could not show the requisite deficient performance by counsel and resulting prejudice. In doing so, the court concluded that the presumption of prejudice recognized in Roe v. Flores-Ortega, 528 U. S. 470, when trial counsel fails to file an appeal as instructed does not apply when the defendant has agreed to an appeal waiver.

Held: Flores-Ortega’s presumption of prejudice applies regardless of whether a defendant has signed an appeal waiver. Pp. 3–14.

(a) Under Strickland v. Washington, 466 U. S. 668, a defendant who claims ineffective assistance of counsel must prove (1) “that counsel’s representation fell below an objective standard of reasonableness,” id., at 687–688, and (2) that any such deficiency was “prejudicial to the defense,” id., at 692. However, “prejudice is presumed” in “certain Sixth Amendment contexts,” ibid., such as “when counsel’s constitutionally deficient performance deprives a defendant of an appeal that he otherwise would have taken,” Flores-Ortega, 528 U. S., at 484. Pp. 3–4.

(b) This case hinges on two procedural devices: appeal waivers and notices of appeal. No appeal waiver serves as an absolute bar to all appellate claims. Because a plea agreement is essentially a contract, it does not bar claims outside its scope. And, like any contract, the language of appeal waivers can vary widely, leaving many types of claims unwaived. A waived appellate claim may also proceed if the prosecution forfeits or waives the waiver or if the Government breaches the agreement. Separately, some claims are treated as unwaiveable. Most fundamentally, courts agree that defendants retain the right to challenge whether the waiver itself was knowing and voluntary.

The filing of a notice of appeal is “a purely ministerial task that imposes no great burden on counsel.” Flores-Ortega, 528 U. S., at 474. Filing requirements reflect that appellate claims are likely to be ill defined or unknown at the filing stage. And within the division of labor between defendants and their attorneys, the “ultimate authority” to decide whether to “take an appeal” belongs to the accused. Jones v. Barnes, 463 U. S. 745, 751. Pp. 4–7.

(c) Garza’s attorney rendered deficient performance by not filing a notice of appeal in light of Garza’s clear requests. Given the possibility that a defendant will end up raising claims beyond an appeal waiver’s scope, simply filing a notice of appeal does not necessarily breach a plea agreement. Thus, counsel’s choice to override Garza’s instructions was not a strategic one. In any event, the bare decision whether to appeal is ultimately the defendant’s to make. Pp. 7–8.

(d) Because there is no dispute that Garza wished to appeal, a direct application of Flores-Ortega’s language resolves this case. Flores-Ortega reasoned that because a presumption of prejudice applies whenever “ ‘the accused is denied counsel at a critical stage,’ ” it makes greater sense to presume prejudice when counsel’s deficiency forfeits an “appellate proceeding altogether.” 528 U. S., at 483. Because Garza retained a right to appeal at least some issues despite his waivers, he had a right to a proceeding and was denied that proceeding altogether as a result of counsel’s deficient performance. That he surrendered many claims by signing appeal waivers does not change things. First, the presumption of prejudice does not bend because a particular defendant seems to have had poor prospects. See, e. g., Jae Lee v. United States, 582 U. S. ___, ___. Second, while the defendant in Flores-Ortega did not sign an appeal waiver, he did plead guilty, which “reduces the scope of potentially appealable issues” on its own. 528 U. S., at 480. Pp. 8–10.

(e) Contrary to the argument by Idaho and the U. S. Government, as amicus, that Garza never “had a right” to his appeal and thus that any deficient performance by counsel could not have caused the loss of any such appeal, Garza did retain a right to his appeal; he simply had fewer possible claims than some other appellants. The Government also proposes a rule that would require a defendant to show–on a case-by-case basis–that he would have presented claims that would have been considered by the appellate court on the merits. This Court, however, has already rejected attempts to condition the restoration of a defendant’s appellate rights forfeited by ineffective counsel on proof that the defendant’s appeal had merit. See, e. g., Rodriquez v. United States, 395 U. S. 327, 330. Moreover, it is not the defendant’s role to decide what arguments to press, making it especially improper to impose that role upon the defendant simply because his opportunity to appeal was relinquished by deficient counsel. And because there is no right to counsel in postconviction proceedings and, thus, most applicants proceed pro se, the Government’s proposal would be unfair, ill advised, and unworkable. Pp. 10–14.

162 Idaho 791, 405 P. 3d 576, reversed and remanded.

Sotomayor, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Roberts, C. J., and Ginsburg, Breyer, Kagan, and Kavanaugh, JJ., joined. Thomas, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which Gorsuch, J., joined, and in which Alito, J., joined as to Parts I and II.