Roberts v. Dretke, 02-51339.

Citation381 F.3d 491
Decision Date16 August 2004
Docket NumberNo. 02-51339.,02-51339.
PartiesDouglas Alan ROBERTS, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Doug DRETKE, Director Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division, Respondent-Appellee.
CourtUnited States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (5th Circuit)

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas.

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Andrew A. Hammel, Law Office of Adrienne Urrutia, San Antonio, TX, H. Melissa Mather (argued), Austin, TX, for Petitioner-Appellant.

Katherine D. Hayes (argued), Austin, TX, for Respondent-Appellee.

Before DAVIS, WIENER, and EMILIO M. GARZA, Circuit Judges.

EMILIO M. GARZA, Circuit Judge:

Douglas Alan Roberts appeals the district court's denial of his petition for habeas relief. He challenges both his Texas state capital murder conviction and his sentence. The district court denied relief on all grounds in Roberts's petition, but granted a COA as to the questions 1) whether the trial court acted reasonably in not sua sponte holding a competency hearing, and 2) whether the federal district court erred in not granting an evidentiary hearing, discovery, and expert assistance in connection with the federal habeas proceedings. We expanded the scope of the COA to include the questions whether Roberts's trial attorney rendered ineffective assistance of counsel by 1) failing to properly develop evidence confirming or refuting that Roberts was mentally ill, and 2) failing to make adequate use of his court-appointed psychiatrist.

We find that the district court correctly concluded that the state habeas court's denial of Roberts's habeas claims was not unreasonable. We further find that the district court did not abuse its discretion by refusing to hold an evidentiary hearing. We thus AFFIRM the district court's ruling.

I

While high on crack-cocaine Roberts killed Jerry Lewis Vasquez. Within a few hours of the killing, after he sobered up, Roberts alerted local police of his crime and confessed to the killing. Roberts was then charged with the murder of Vasquez. Texas appointed Roberts counsel to represent him in his capital trial. Roberts immediately instructed his trial counsel, Steven Pickell, to steer the trial towards the imposition of the death penalty. To no avail, Pickell tried to discourage Roberts from this course. However, consistent with Roberts's instructions, Pickell waived voir dire, chose jury members who favored the death penalty, did not interview family members before trial, called no witnesses during the guilt/innocence phase of the trial, called no witnesses during the punishment phase, did not request a jury instruction on parole laws, and made no argument in favor of a life sentence. Pickell spent a total of fifty hours preparing for Roberts's trial. Consequently, neither the conviction nor the punishment were contested in any meaningful way.

Apparently concerned that Roberts may not have been right of mind, Pickell requested, and Texas granted, funding for a psychiatrist, Dr. Michael Arambula, M.D., to analyze Roberts's mental state. A short time prior to trial, Dr. Arambula interviewed Roberts for two hours. Based on that interview, police reports about Roberts, and the victim's autopsy report Dr. Arambula produced a psychiatric evaluation. In making this evaluation, Dr. Arambula did not review any of Roberts's medical records, including records relating to Roberts's psychiatric hospitalization that occurred after a recent "suicide ideation." Pickell did not collect these records and Dr. Arambula did not request them. Pickell also did not inform Dr. Arambula about a head injury that Roberts suffered as a child. Neither Pickell nor Dr. Arambula spoke to any of Roberts's family members or former treating physicians about his medical and psychiatric history.

Dr. Arambula's report notes that Roberts admitted that he had previously "wanted to commit suicide," but that when asked "Mr. Roberts's denied any past psychiatric history, other than his addiction to crack cocaine," and denied that he currently had suicidal thoughts. It also noted that Roberts showed no signs of "anxiety, hallucinations, or delusions" and that "he denied that he felt sad." And finally it noted that Roberts's explained that he "didn't want to be locked up the rest of his life" and that Roberts blamed his "crack cocaine addiction" for his "taking the life of an innocent bystander."

Based on these observations, Dr. Arambula's stated in his report that "I cannot conclude that Mr. Roberts suffers from any significant degree of depression ... or for that matter any other psychiatric disturbance." He further stated that "[t]he most salient issue in Douglas Roberts's history is his addiction to crack cocaine." And after first acknowledging that "Depression can sometimes affect a person's judgment and decision-making so severely that [he] wish[es] for premature death," he concluded that "I cannot find that depression exists to such a degree that its presence would coerce Mr. Roberts into seeking the death penalty."

Based on this report and his own observations, Pickell concluded that Roberts was competent to stand trial and to make decisions regarding trial strategy, including decisions explicitly designed to ensure the imposition of the death penalty. He also concluded that it was unnecessary to request a competency hearing. The trial judge never saw Dr. Arambula's report, but based on his own observations of Roberts he decided that there was no reason to hold a competency hearing. Roberts was subsequently convicted and sentenced to death.

In both his direct appeal and state habeas application Roberts challenged his conviction and sentence. Among other claims, Roberts brought a Pate claim arguing that the trial judge should have ordered a competency hearing, and several Strickland claims arguing that Pickell provided ineffective assistance of counsel by not investigating Roberts's medical history and by adhering to Roberts's decisions regarding trial strategy. The state courts denied relief, concluding that both the trial judge and Pickell reasonably relied on their own observations of Roberts, and in the case of Pickell on Dr. Arambula's report, in deciding that a competency hearing was unnecessary and that Roberts was competent to direct his trial strategy towards a death sentence.

The state habeas court did, however, find that Dr. Arambula's medical conclusions about Roberts's mental health were based on an incomplete understanding of Roberts's medical and psychiatric history. It found that Pickell "did not make available to Dr. Arambula the previous medical records of the defendant as part of Dr. Arambula's examination and analysis, nor did he advise Dr. Arambula of a previous head injury suffered by the defendant." Those medical records were compiled a year before the murder while Roberts was in a psychiatric facility after threatening suicide. It is also clear from the record, and specifically Dr. Arambula's report, that the doctor did not speak to any of Roberts's family members or former physicians regarding Roberts's medical, psychiatric, or social history.

During the state habeas proceedings, counsel was once again appointed for Roberts. His counsel, David Sergi, made multiple requests for funding to investigate Roberts's case. His first request was funded, and his second request was partially funded, and partially denied. After his initial investigation into Roberts's file and medical history, and after his second funding request, Sergi determined that he needed both expert testimony regarding Robert's mental health and a full mental health examination of Roberts to adequately present Roberts's habeas claims. Sergi made an oral inquiry to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals regarding the possibility of the necessary further funding. Sergi was informed that he had met the funding cap set for Roberts's case and no further funding would be forthcoming. He then decided to make no further requests for assistance.

On Roberts's behalf, Sergi made a request to the state habeas trial judge to hold an evidentiary hearing. At such a hearing, he claims he would have challenged Pickell's conclusions concerning Roberts's mental health and his decisions regarding trial strategy. Further, he would have challenged Dr. Arambula's diagnosis of Robert's mental health at the time of trial. The state habeas court refused to hold a hearing and adopted in full Texas's recitation of the facts. Based on those facts, it then denied habeas relief on all claims.

Roberts then brought the present federal habeas petition. Counsel was again appointed for Roberts. His new counsel requested funding for a mental health examination and requested an evidentiary hearing and a period of discovery. All of these requests were denied by the district court. The district court concluded that Roberts had not diligently developed the factual record in state court and was thus not entitled to discovery, funding for a mental health examination or an evidentiary hearing. It concluded that Roberts's state habeas counsel's oral request for funding for a mental health examination and his request for an evidentiary hearing did not constitute due diligence in developing the factual record. The district court did, however, grant Roberts a COA on his request for an evidentiary hearing.

On the substance of Roberts claims, the district court held that the state habeas court erred in denying Roberts's Pate claim, and concluded that the trial court should have ordered a competency hearing. It, however, further concluded that although the state habeas court's ruling was incorrect, it was not unreasonable. As to Roberts's ineffective assistance of counsel claims, it held that Roberts could not establish prejudice during the guilt/innocence phase of the trial because the evidence of his guilt was overwhelming. It further held that as to the punishment phase of Roberts's trial,...

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