Williams v. Blackburn

• Decision Date: 18 June 1981
• Docket Number: No. 81-3159,81-3159
• Parties: Robert Wayne WILLIAMS, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Frank C. BLACKBURN, Warden, Louisiana State Penitentiary, and William J. Guste, Attorney General of the State of Louisiana, Respondents-Appellees. . Unit A
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

Page 1019

649 F.2d 1019

Robert Wayne WILLIAMS, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Frank C. BLACKBURN, Warden, Louisiana State Penitentiary, and William J. Guste, Attorney General of the

State of Louisiana, Respondents-Appellees.

No. 81-3159.

United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

Unit A

June 18, 1981.

Richard E. Shapiro, New Orleans, La., for petitioner-appellant.

Barbara B. Rutledge, Asst. Atty. Gen., New Orleans, La., John Sinquefield, Kay Kirkpatrick, Asst. Dist. Attys., Baton Rouge, La., for respondents-appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana.

Before BROWN and GARZA, Circuit Judges, and BEER, ^* District Judge.

PER CURIAM:

On January 5, 1979, Petitioner Robert Wayne Williams participated in the robbery of a Baton Rouge, Louisiana, grocery store. During the robbery, Williams told the store security guard to give up his pistol. Before the guard did so, Williams shot him in the face at point-blank range with a sawed-off shotgun.

Petitioner was convicted of first-degree murder in Louisiana State District Court. In the penalty phase of his bifurcated trial, the jury recommended the penalty of death after finding the existence of three of the necessary aggravating factors listed by the Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 905.4: (1) that the offender was engaged in armed robbery, (2) that he knowingly created a risk of death or great bodily harm to more than one person, and (3) that the offense was committed in an especially heinous, atrocious or cruel manner.

The conviction and sentence were affirmed by the Supreme Court of Louisiana. State v. Williams, 383 So.2d 369 (La.1980). Certiorari was denied. Williams v. Louisiana, -- U.S. --, 101 S.Ct. 899, 66 L.Ed.2d 828 (1981). The state district judge signed a warrant ordering the imposition of sentence on March 31st. Williams sought habeas corpus in the state courts, but his petitions were denied. He filed this petition in the district court below on March 26th. The court requested and received the entire state trial record which it "carefully and personally read". The petition was denied on March 27th without hearing or oral argument, for the reasons set out in an opinion which is attached hereto as an appendix.

This court stayed Williams' execution on March 28th, and expedited consideration of his appeal. He raises a number of points, several of which allege error in the original trial, and several of which allege error in the manner whereby the federal district court considered and determined this matter. We find each point to be meritless, and, for the reasons stated below and those stated in the district court's opinion, we affirm.

With regard to the state court, Williams asserts that (1) the exclusion of certain jurors at the voir dire phase violated the constitutional rule announced in Witherspoon v. Illinois, 391 U.S. 510, 88 S.Ct. 1770, 20 L.Ed.2d 776 (1968), and Adams v. Texas, 448 U.S. 38, 100 S.Ct. 2521, 65 L.Ed.2d 581 (1980); (2) that there was insufficient Williams argues that the federal court erred by (1) denying the ineffective assistance of counsel claims without affording an evidentiary hearing, (2) in applying the presumption of validity found in 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d) to legal conclusions rather than factual determinations, and (3) in failing to afford "independent consideration" to eight of Williams' constitutional claims. To begin, we note that every assertion of ineffective assistance does not require a hearing; where the district court had the complete record before it, and particularly where it expressly states that a full and searching review was made, we are not required to remand so that the district court would be compelled to go through the motions of a hearing, unless it appears to us that additional evidentiary development was necessary on a specific point. Here, we find nothing which would require a hearing, and hold the district court to have been correct in its rejection of the ineffective assistance points. We further hold that the district court did not err in its deference to legal conclusions made in state court; while a presumption of validity was not required by statute, the court was free to accept conclusions of law if it deemed them correct. Finally, we note that the district court's opinion reveals a careful and meticulous inquiry into the law and facts of this case, and reject any argument that certain of Williams' claims were disregarded.

evidence under the due process clause to support the second and third of the three aggravating circumstances found by the jury; (3) that he was deprived of the effective assistance of counsel at both the guilt and sentencing phases of his trial; and (4) that the Louisiana Supreme Court's system for comparative review of death sentences by judicial district rather than on a state-wide basis is unconstitutional in that it fails to ensure fair and evenhanded imposition. The district court expressly considered and rejected the first three of these claims. We find the reasons given in the court's opinion to be adequate and correct. As to the last point, on the Louisiana comparative review mechanism, we have heard nothing which would even hint at unconstitutionality, and wholly reject the argument.

Therefore, we affirm the judgment of the district court. The stay previously issued by this court will remain in effect until June 30th, expiring on that day. We further serve notice that no motion for rehearing will be entertained, and order the clerk to issue our mandate immediately.

AFFIRMED.

APPENDIX

SUPPLEMENTAL OPINION AND WRITTEN REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

Robert Wayne Williams was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to death by a jury in the Nineteenth Judicial District Court for the Parish of East Baton Rouge, Louisiana. His conviction and sentence were affirmed by the Louisiana Supreme Court. State v. Williams, 383 So.2d 369 (La.1980). Petitioner was granted a stay of execution pending his appeal to the United States Supreme Court. The United States Supreme Court denied petitioner's writ of certiorari, Williams v. Louisiana, -- U.S. --, 101 S.Ct. 899, 66 L.Ed.2d 828 (1981), and his petition for rehearing. Williams v. Louisiana, -- U.S. --, 101 S.Ct. 1493, 67 L.Ed.2d 622 (1981). Following the United States Supreme Court's refusal to hear petitioner's appeal, the state trial judge signed a warrant of execution ordering petitioner to be put to death on Tuesday, March 31, 1981, between the hours of 12:00 o'clock, midnight and 3:00 o'clock A.M. Thereafter, petitioner filed an application for a stay of execution and an application for a writ of habeas corpus in the Nineteenth Judicial District Court. For written reasons assigned on March 24, 1981, the state district court denied petitioner's application for a stay of execution and also denied petitioner's application for a writ of habeas corpus. The Louisiana Supreme Court denied petitioner's application for a stay of execution and review of application for post-conviction relief on March 26, 1981. Petitioner then filed suit in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana seeking a stay of execution and an application for writ of habeas corpus. Thus, petitioner has exhausted his available state court remedies.

Petitioner contends that his federally protected rights were violated in the following manner:

(1) Three prospective jurors were erroneously excused for cause in violation of Witherspoon v. Illinois, 391 U.S. 510, 88 S.Ct. 1770, 20 L.Ed.2d 776 (1968) and Adams v. Texas, 448 U.S. 38, 100 S.Ct. 2521, 65 L.Ed.2d 581 (1980).

(2) Petitioner was deprived of the effective assistance of counsel at his sentencing hearing.

(3) Petitioner's death sentence violates the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because there was insufficient evidence to support the jury's finding that (a) the offender knowingly created a risk of death or great bodily harm to more than one person; and (b) the offense was committed in an especially heinous, atrocious or cruel manner.

(4) The jury's finding that the offense was committed in an especially heinous, atrocious or cruel manner was in violation of the decision rendered in Godfrey v. Georgia, 446 U.S. 420, 100 S.Ct. 1759, 64 L.Ed.2d 398 (1980).

(5) The Louisiana Supreme Court violated petitioner's constitutional rights under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments when it only reviewed the evidentiary sufficiency of one of the three aggravating circumstances found by the jury.

(6) The trial court erred in failing to provide the jury with limiting instructions on the statutory aggravating circumstances.

(7) The Louisiana Supreme Court has adopted inconsistent standards of appellate review thereby increasing the likelihood of arbitrary and capricious sentencing in death cases.

(8) The Louisiana Supreme Court erred in reviewing other first degree murder cases only in the district in which the sentence was imposed rather than reviewing first degree murder cases on a statewide basis.

(9) The death sentence imposed upon petitioner was disproportionate and excessive under Louisiana law and the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States.

(10) The trial court erroneously instructed the jury concerning the mitigating circumstances and the role of such circumstances in determining a death sentence.

(11) The Louisiana death penalty statute is unconstitutional under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States.

(12) The trial court erred in allowing the state to present evidence of an armed robbery at petitioner's trial on the charge of first degree murder.

(13) Petitioner was denied effective assistance of counsel when his attorneys failed to suppress a taped confession and other inculpatory statements.

There is no need for an evidentiary hearing in this case. The state court record is attached.

In reviewing a state prisoner's ...