Morales v. Mitchell

• Decision Date: 02 November 2007
• Docket Number: No. 00-3649.,No. 00-3787.,00-3649.,00-3787.
• Citation: 507 F.3d 916
• Parties: Alfred MORALES, Petitioner-Appellee/Cross-Appellant, v. Betty MITCHELL, Warden, Respondent-Appellant/Cross-Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit

507 F.3d 916

Alfred MORALES, Petitioner-Appellee/Cross-Appellant, v. Betty MITCHELL, Warden, Respondent-Appellant/Cross-Appellee.

No. 00-3649.

No. 00-3787.

United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit.

Argued: April 24, 2007.

Decided and Filed: November 2, 2007.

ARGUED: Michael L. Collyer, Office of the Attorney General, Cleveland, Ohio, for Appellant. Laurence E. Komp, Attorney at Law, Manchester, Missouri, for Appellee. ON BRIEF: Michael L. Collyer, Daniel R. Ranke, Office of the Attorney General, Cleveland, Ohio, for Appellant. Laurence E. Komp, Attorney at Law, Manchester, Missouri, Amanda Martinsek, Vorys, Sater, Seymour & Pease, Cleveland, Ohio, for Appellee.

Before: SUHRHEINRICH, MOORE, and CLAY, Circuit Judges.

MOORE, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which CLAY, J., joined. SUHRHEINRICH, J. (pp. 942-52), delivered a separate dissenting opinion.

OPINION

KAREN NELSON MOORE, Circuit Judge.

Petitioner-Appellee/Cross-Appellant Alfred Morales ("Morales") was convicted of kidnapping and aggravated murder in an Ohio state court and sentenced to death. He petitioned the district court for a writ of habeas corpus, arguing, inter alia, that his trial counsel was constitutionally ineffective and that the trial court erroneously struck a potential juror from the panel. The district court granted the petition, in part, vacating Morales's death sentence on the ground that his trial attorney had rendered ineffective assistance of counsel ("IAC") at the penalty phase of the trial. Respondent-Appellant/Cross-Appellee Betty Mitchell ("Mitchell" or "the state") now appeals the district court's issuance of the writ. Morales cross-appeals the district court's denial, in part, of his petition on the grounds that his counsel was not ineffective at the guilt phase of the trial and that the trial court did not err in striking a juror that it found was not death-qualified and lacked an adequate understanding of the proceedings. For the reasons set forth below, we AFFIRM the district court's partial grant of the petition and issuance of the writ.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Factual Background

The undisputed facts underlying Morales's conviction were set forth by the Ohio Supreme Court as follows:

Appellant, Alfred J. Morales, stands five feet, eight inches tall, weighs two hundred twenty pounds, and is an expert in the martial arts. The Trevino family, Mario being the youngest male member, had known appellant for many years prior to the evening of March 2, 1985. Through their acquaintanceship with appellant, the Trevinos were well aware of appellant's skill in the martial arts and of his ability to use a variety of weapons for their intended purposes.

For a time, Jesse Trevino, the victim's older brother, and appellant had been friends. This friendship ended at a previous time when Jesse refused to commit perjury for appellant, thereby depriving appellant of an alibi regarding the theft of a taxicab. As a result of Jesse's refusal, appellant pled guilty to the theft offense and was returned to the Mansfield Reformatory.

While in the Mansfield Reformatory, appellant wrote threatening letters to Toby Trevino, brother of both Jesse and Mario. The letters suggested revenge upon the whole Trevino family, including Yolanda Trevino, sister of Jesse, Toby and Mario, who had previously refused to become appellant's girlfriend. The envelope of one letter contained both a drawing and the letters "D.W.C.S.," "B.W." and "D.O.D." The letters were later shown to mean "Death Will Come Soon," "Beware" and "Demon of Darkness," a name appellant used for himself. The drawing on this envelope depicts a heart pierced by a sword. Toby Trevino's name is printed on the heart and blood is dripping from the tip of the sword. The envelope of the second letter likewise contained a drawing. The second drawing depicts a skull, dripping blood, with a sword passing through it. Beneath the skull is printed the word "DANGER."

On February 19, 1985, appellant was released from the Mansfield Reformatory. During the three-week period between appellant's release and Mario's murder, appellant was observed watching the Trevino home while hiding in the bushes of a house near the Trevinos' residence. During this same time period, appellant stated to a variety of witnesses that he was "going to kill Toby's ass," that "he had some killing to do and that he knew he was going back to where he came from," and that "he had a killing to do, and that he knew he was going back and he didn't care."

On the evening of his death, Mario left home some time after 6:00 p.m. to play video games at a nearby store. After leaving the store, Mario was confronted by appellant who told Mario that he wanted to talk with him regarding the problems between appellant and the Trevino family. Mario accompanied appellant from the store to a secretive location, approximately one and one-half to two miles from the store. It was at this location that appellant murdered Mario.

Following the murder, appellant went to the nearby home of an acquaintance to wash the blood from his hands and apply ice to his knuckles to control the swelling. When appellant left that location, he left behind the towel containing the ice for his knuckles and his bloodstained white shirt. Soon after appellant's departure, the towel and bloodstained shirt were turned over to the authorities.

Later the same evening, appellant was confronted by Jesse and Toby Trevino who, having learned that Mario had been seen in the company of appellant, questioned appellant as to Mario's whereabouts. Appellant responded: "I haven't seen Mario," "I'm not taking the rap for nothing I didn't do, man," and "you know, the next time I go into jail, it's going to be for murder."

Early the next morning, March 3, 1985, Mario's body was discovered. While notifying the Trevinos of Mario's death, the authorities were informed of the threatening letters sent by appellant. Appellant was subsequently arrested and his home searched. The search produced a jacket and shoes which were still wet from having recently been washed.

After being informed of his constitutional rights, appellant therein provided police with both oral and written statements concerning the death of Mario. In both the oral and written statements, appellant admitted that he had confronted the boy at the beverage store, led him to the secluded location and then brutally beat the child, leaving Mario to die.

State v. Morales, 32 Ohio St.3d 252, 513 N.E.2d 267, 269-70 (1987) (ellipses, brackets, and footnotes omitted); see also Morales v. Coyle, 98 F.Supp.2d 849, 855-56 (N.D.Ohio 2000) (adopting the facts as set forth by the Ohio Supreme Court).

B. Procedural History

Following his arrest,

Appellant was . . . indicted for kidnapping in violation of [Ohio Revised Code section ("R.C.")] 2905.01, aggravated murder with prior calculation and design in violation of R.C. 2903.02(A), and aggravated murder in violation of R.C. 2903.02(B) with the specification that the crime was committed while appellant was committing or attempting to commit the offense of kidnapping in violation of R.C. 2905.01. At his arraignment, appellant entered pleas of not guilty to all the offenses charged. These pleas were all subsequently changed to pleas of not guilty by reason of insanity.

State v. Morales, 513 N.E.2d at 270.

Morales's trial began on December 2, 1985. Id. During voir dire, the trial judge and counsel for both parties questioned a juror ("Juror B") regarding his ability to impose the death penalty in the event that the jury found Morales guilty of aggravated murder. At the conclusion of that voir dire, the state moved to exclude Juror B for cause based upon his "lack of basic understanding of what we're here about, and [because] he's also indicated that he could not join in a verdict where the death penalty is a possible sentence." J.A. at 828 (Trial Tr. at 704). The trial court granted the motion over the objection of defense counsel, stating, "It's obvious to the Court that he is unprepared to take on the challenge of this jury, and that he more than a dozen times said he could never accept the death penalty." J.A. at 828-29 (Trial Tr. at 704-05).

The guilt phase of Morales's trial lasted until December 18, 1985. State v. Morales, Nos. 57868, 57869, 1991 WL 8592, at *1 (Ohio Ct.App. Jan. 31, 1991). Morales's defense was premised upon the theory that "in no way on March 2, 1985, could Alfred Morales appreciate the consequences of his acts or refrain from committing those acts, or understand the difference between right and wrong." J.A. at 832 (Trial Tr. at 1014 (defense opening statement)). In support of that theory, defense counsel presented the testimony of five witnesses who testified to Morales's consumption of alcohol on the day of the murder, three witnesses in the field of Native American affairs, and one expert witness in the field of psychology.

The first defense witness, Noel Camaigo ("Camaigo"), testified that, between 7:00 or 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. on the day of the murder, he saw Morales consume "almost two and one half fifths" of Wild Irish Rose wine and three or four forty-ounce bottles of malt liquor. Supp. J.A. at 1013-15 (Trial Tr. at 1394-96). Camaigo stated that "[w]hen I got there I see he be just starting to drink. So as time running along he started getting tipsy there and kept going back to the store. Here, I'd say he was drunk. When he left the house he was drunk." Supp. J.A. at 1015-16 (Trial Tr. at 1396-97). On cross-examination, however, Camaigo admitted that the wine and malt liquor were shared among six people. On redirect, Camaigo estimated that Morales drank "about a fifth and one half, almost two fifths" of wine and beer between 7:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Supp. J.A. at 1041-42 (Trial Tr. at 1420-21).

Mary Ellen Tyler, at whose home Morales consumed the beer and wine, testified that, by the time he left, she could tell from his demeanor that he...