Valdez v. Ward

• Decision Date: 27 July 2000
• Docket Number: No. 99-6147,99-6147
• Citation: 219 F.3d 1222
• Parties: (10th Cir. 2000) GERARDO VALDEZ, Petitioner-Appellant, v. RON WARD, Warden, Oklahoma State Penitentiary; ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA, Respondents-Appellees,
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Tenth Circuit

Page 1222

219 F.3d 1222 (10th Cir. 2000)

GERARDO VALDEZ, Petitioner-Appellant, v. RON WARD, Warden, Oklahoma State Penitentiary; ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA, Respondents-Appellees,

No. 99-6147

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS TENTH CIRCUIT

July 27, 2000

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma (D.C. No. CIV-97-347-L) [Copyrighted Material Omitted]

[Copyrighted Material Omitted]

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Robert A. Nance of Riggs, Abney, Neal, Turpen, Orbison & Lewis, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for Petitioner-Appellant

Robert L. Whittaker, Assistant Attorney General (W.A. Drew Edmondson, Attorney General of Oklahoma, with him on the brief), State of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for Respondents-Appellees.

Before SEYMOUR, Chief Judge, PORFILIO and EBEL, Circuit Judges.

SEYMOUR, Chief Judge.

Petitioner Geraldo Valdez was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to death. After he unsuccessfully filed a direct appeal and a petition for state post-conviction relief with the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals (OCCA), he sought a writ of habeas corpus in federal district court under 28 U.S.C. 2254. The district court denied the writ. Mr. Valdez appeals, and we affirm.

BACKGROUND

Mr. Valdez is a Mexican immigrant who has lived in Oklahoma for some time. One night in April of 1989, Mr. Valdez met the victim, Juan Barron, at a bar in rural Oklahoma. Mr. Barron was a homosexual who apparently showed a sexual interest in Mr. Valdez. Mr. Valdez, a married heterosexual, rejected Mr. Barron's advances. The testimony at trial revealed that throughout the course of the evening Mr. Valdez consumed approximately fourteen beers.

When the bar closed, Mr. Barron, Mr. Valdez, and his friend, Martin Orduna, went to Mr. Valdez's house. Mr. Valdez began preaching to Mr. Barron out of the Bible, attempting to convince Mr. Barron of the sinfulness of his homosexuality. When Mr. Barron rejected this proselytizing, Mr. Valdez brought out his gun. He began slapping Mr. Barron, telling him he was going to kill him and that according to the Bible homosexuals do not deserve to live. Ordering Mr. Barron to remove his clothes, Mr. Valdez gave him the option of death or castration, and continued to hit and slap him. When Mr. Barron started to fight back, Mr. Valdez shot him twice in the forehead and then hit him in the head with the gun. While Mr. Barron lay on the couch, Mr. Valdez retrieved a knife and cut his throat, finally killing him. Mr. Valdez threatened to kill Mr. Orduna if he told anyone about the murder, and demanded Mr. Orduna's assistance in disposing of the body. The two men carried Mr. Barron, the couch, and the surrounding rug to the backyard, where they set them on fire.

Three months later, the police began investigating Mr. Barron's disappearance. On July 25, officers executed a search warrant for Mr. Valdez's home. Upon entering the house, Deputy Terry Cunningham administered Miranda warnings to Mr. Valdez in English. Mr. Valdez conversed in English with the officers, who believed he understood his rights. Because the officers had already questioned Mr. Orduna, they knew to look for Mr. Barron's remains in the backyard barbecue pit. There they found what appeared to be a bone fragment.

Mr. Valdez agreed to accompany the officers to the local police station. Officer Dan Benson administered another Miranda warning to Mr. Valdez upon their arrival. Throughout the interrogation, Mr. Valdez spoke in English, without the aid of an interpreter, and denied any involvement in Mr. Barron's death. The officers escorted Mr. Valdez back to his home late that evening. While driving back, Deputy Cunningham told Mr. Valdez that he would feel better if he told them the truth. Officer Dan Benson asked Mr. Valdez if he would show them what he had done with the body. When they arrived at Mr. Valdez's home, he showed them where he had burned Mr. Barron's body. Deputy Cunningham read Mr. Valdez his Miranda warnings a third time and asked him if he understood his rights. Mr. Valdez said he did. When Deputy Cunningham asked Mr. Valdez to sign the waiver of rights form, which was written in English, Mr. Valdez asked to read it first. Mr. Valdez then signed the waiver and confessed to killing Mr. Barron. This confession was taped and played for the jury.

Mr. Valdez was arraigned the morning of July 26 and counsel was appointed for him. Later that day while Mr. Valdez was still in custody, Special Agent A. J. Irwin of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service interviewed Mr. Valdez without his counsel present. Agent Irwin had previously interviewed Mr. Orduna and Alfonso Borjas, a friend of Mr. Valdez who was present at the bar on the evening of the murder, in an effort to aid the state police in their investigation. As with these other interviews, Agent Irwin's interview with Mr. Valdez was conducted entirely in Spanish. At the outset, Agent Irwin identified himself and emphasized he was only there to establish Mr. Valdez's alienage and immigration status. He then administered the Miranda warnings to Mr. Valdez in Spanish.

After describing his immigration status to Agent Irwin, Mr. Valdez stated "that he wanted to converse with a Spanish speaking law enforcement official concerning the matter for which he was incarcerated." Rec., Supp. Ex. 2, Report by Agent A.J. Irwin at 10. Agent Irwin told Mr. Valdez he did not have to offer information about the homicide and said he was satisfied with Mr. Valdez's immigration status. Mr. Valdez still insisted on telling his story and proceeded to explain what happened on the night he killed Mr. Barron.

At trial, Mr. Valdez admitted the crime and the events leading up to it, but he asserted an insanity defense based on what his appellate counsel describes as his "religious delusions." Mr. Valdez testified that he believes homosexuality is a sin according to the Bible and he wanted to help Mr. Barron understand the error of his ways. He testified he became angry and killed Mr. Barron after he refused to listen to the Bible's message. He also testified he might kill another person if placed in the same situation. Agent Irwin testified that Mr. Valdez told him on July 26 "he was not insane and he did not intend to use an insanity plea or defense." Rec., vol. IV at 73. Agent Irwin also testified that Mr. Valdez showed no remorse for killing Mr. Barron.

After hearing the evidence, the jury convicted Mr. Valdez of first degree murder. Following the sentencing phase of the trial, the jury found three aggravating circumstances: Mr. Valdez posed a continuing threat to society; the crime was especially heinous, atrocious or cruel; and Mr. Valdez created a great risk of death to more than one person during the commission of the crime. The jury sentenced him to death. The OCCA upheld Mr. Valdez's conviction and sentence on direct appeal and denied post-conviction relief. See Valdez, 900 P.2d 363 (Okla. Crim. App. 1995); Valdez v. State, 933 P.2d 931 (Okla. Crim. App. 1997). Mr. Valdez thereafter filed for a writ of habeas corpus in federal district court. The district court denied the writ and Mr. Valdez appeals that denial.

On appeal, Mr. Valdez makes six claims of constitutional error: (1) his statements made on July 25 and 26 were obtained in violation of his Fifth Amendment rights; (2) the July 26 interrogation violated his Sixth Amendment right to counsel; (3) the State failed to prove he was sane beyond a reasonable doubt; (4) he was incompetent to stand trial; (5) the trial court's failure to instruct the jury on second degree murder violated his due process rights; and (6) his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance. The district court granted Mr. Valdez a certificate of appealability on all of these issues. See 28 U.S.C. 2253(c).

STANDARDS OF REVIEW

Mr. Valdez filed the present habeas petition on July 3, 1997. The provisions of section 2254 as they were amended by the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA), Pub. L. No. 104-132, 110 Stat. 1214 (1996), therefore apply to our review. Under AEDPA, section 2254(d) provides that a writ of habeas corpus may not be issued with respect to any claim adjudicated on the merits in state court unless that adjudication:

(1) . . . was contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established Federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court of the United States; or

(2) . . . was based on an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented in the State court proceeding.

2254(d)(1)-(2). Section 2254(e)(1) further requires a habeas court to presume that factual determinations made by the state court are correct, and places the burden on the petitioner to rebut that presumption by clear and convincing evidence. See 2254(e)(1).

The Supreme Court recently construed the review standard set forth in subsection (d)(1). See Williams v. Taylor, 120 S. Ct. 1495 (2000). When applying subsection (d)(1), the Court stated the threshold question is whether the petitioner seeks to apply a rule of law that was "clearly established" by the Supreme Court at the time the conviction became final.¹ See id. at 1511 (Stevens, J., writing for the Court). If so, we must proceed to a bifurcated inquiry. See id. at 1519 (O'Connor, J., writing for the Court) (subsection (d)(1) "defines two categories of cases in which a state prisoner may obtain federal habeas relief with respect to a claim adjudicated on the merits in state court"). We first determine whether the state court's decision was contrary to clearly established Federal law. The "contrary to" clause of subsection (d)(1) is fulfilled where the state court applied a rule that was "diametrically different [from], opposite in character or nature, or mutually opposed" to a maxim of law as stated by the Supreme Court. Id. The "contrary to" clause is also satisfied...