Julius v. Johnson, 86-7589
| Decision Date | 09 March 1988 |
| Docket Number | No. 86-7589,86-7589 |
| Citation | 840 F.2d 1533 |
| Parties | Arthur James JULIUS, Petitioner-Appellant, v. W.J. JOHNSON, Warden, Holman Unit, Respondent-Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit |
Thomas M. Goggans, Montgomery, Ala., for petitioner-appellant.
Charles Graddick, Atty. Gen. of Alabama, John Gibbs, Ed Carnes, Asst. Attys. Gen., Montgomery, Ala., for respondent-appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama.
Before VANCE, HATCHETT and CLARK, Circuit Judges.
Arthur James Julius appeals from the district court order denying his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. We affirm.
Julius pled guilty to a murder charge in 1972 and was sentenced to life imprisonment. In 1978, while on a one-day release from prison, Julius allegedly raped and murdered his cousin Susie Sanders. He was tried, found guilty, and sentenced to death. His conviction was reversed, see 407 So.2d 152 (Ala.1981), pursuant to the United States Supreme Court's ruling that Alabama's death penalty statute was unconstitutional. Beck v. Alabama, 447 U.S. 625, 100 S.Ct. 2382, 65 L.Ed.2d 392 (1980). After Beck, the Alabama Supreme Court severed the unconstitutional portion of the statute. Beck v. State, 396 So.2d 645 (Ala.1980). Julius was then retried for the 1978 murder under the modified statute in 1982.
He was again found guilty and sentenced to death.
The evidence presented at trial indicated that Susie Sanders was brutally raped and murdered on January 29, 1978. Her body was discovered in her home by her father, E.O. Sanders. Mr. Sanders testified that when he and the victim's daughter entered the house, they saw Susie's nude body on a couch with her head on the floor and her legs in the air. Trial Transcript Vol. I at 19-20. Furniture had been knocked over and the telephone cord had been pulled from the wall. Forensic examinations indicated traces of semen in the victim's vagina, anus, and mouth. Id. Vol. II at 205. Seminal fluid also covered the length of a plastic banana found near the body. Id. Vol. I at 147. Her body was covered with bruises, abrasions, and "rub burns" indicating that she had been dragged across the carpet. Id. at 197-201, 208. Handfuls of her head hair were found near the body. Id. at 118. An autopsy revealed that the cause of death was manual strangulation, probably inflicted from behind. Id. Vol. II at 205.
The state presented circumstantial evidence that this crime was committed by Susie Sanders' first cousin Arthur Julius, the appellant. Willie Clayton, another cousin of Julius, checked Julius out of the Draper Work Release Center at 11:40 a.m. on January 29, 1978. As they drove to Montgomery, Alabama, Julius asked Clayton when he had last seen Susie Sanders. Trial Transcript Vol. I at 49. Clayton loaned Julius his car at 3:30 p.m. and did not see Julius again until 6:30 p.m.
William Gray, the victim's neighbor, testified that he saw Clayton's car parked outside the victim's house at approximately 5:15 p.m. Trial Transcript Vol. I at 62. Ruth Wheeler, the victim's second cousin, testified that she called Susie on the telephone at approximately 4:00 p.m. on January 29. Susie said she would have to call Ms. Wheeler back because she was talking to her cousin "Bobo." Id. Vol. II at 223. Fanny Sanders, the victim's mother, testified that Susie referred to her cousin Arthur Julius as Bobo. Id. Vol. I at 28.
At 6:30 p.m., Julius returned the car to Clayton, who had been visiting his brother-in-law, Orin Henderson. Henderson testified that Julius had a "fresh" cut under his eye. Trial Transcript Vol. I at 57. Clayton and Julius then drove back to the Draper Work Release Center. After Julius was checked in, he told Draper counselor Everett Rich that he was expecting an emergency telephone call. Id. at 68. Later, Julius told Rich he had received a call and learned that his cousin had been robbed and killed. Id. at 69. Julius said he had been at his cousin's house that day, but that she was all right when he left. Id.
Andrew Boykin, the victim's fiance, testified that he gave Susie approximately $30 on the morning of January 28. Trial Transcript Vol. I at 73. Because Susie was ill, she did not leave the house all weekend. Boykin, a bus driver, was called to work on January 29, and his employer's records indicate he drove a bus from Montgomery to Meridian, Mississippi and did not return until the following morning. John Byers, a former desk officer at Draper, testified that Julius had a little over $30 and a carton of cigarettes when he returned to Draper at 7:40 p.m. on January 29. Id. at 81. According to Willie Clayton, Julius stated at 11:40 that morning that he had only eight cents in his pockets. Id. at 49.
The state also relied on forensic evidence. A toxicologist testified that hair found in Julius' underwear on January 29 had the same characteristics as the victim's head hair and that the hair could not have come from Julius. Trial Transcript Vol. I at 151-54. The same witness testified that various fibers found on Julius' body and clothing were the same as fibers found in the victim's house. Id. at 175.
Finally, the state detailed inconsistencies in Julius' prior explanations of his activities on January 29. When Julius returned to Draper on January 29, he told Everett Rich that he had been at his cousin's house earlier that day. In a statement made shortly after his arrest, however, Julius denied that he saw Susie Sanders on January 29. Julius said that after he borrowed Clayton's car at 3:00 p.m., he met a girl Julius' only defense witness was Joanne Minnefield, who testified that she had never heard Julius referred to as Bobo. On cross-examination, however, Minnefield conceded that she had only seen Julius and Susie Sanders together twice. After Minnefield testified, the state was permitted to call one more witness, Jessie Bullard. He testified that he met Julius at the victim's home. Although he could not recall the exact nickname Susie used to describe Julius, he said "it was Jabbo, Bobo, Lobo or something." Id. at 265.
near his uncle's house. After he had sex with the girl, he said he brought her back to where they had met. He then got some gas for the car and went to the governor's mansion to see a friend who worked there. He went back to his uncle's house and then went to pick up Clayton for the ride back to Draper. Trial Transcript Vol. I at 100-01. This statement differs somewhat from Julius' testimony at his first trial. The transcript of this testimony was read into the record at the second trial. Julius testified that he drove to his uncle's house at 3:30 p.m. and stayed there for approximately 30 minutes. He then left his uncle's house and headed for a nearby restaurant. On the way, he said he stopped to call his aunt (the victim's mother) Fanny Sanders to ask for money. She supposedly suggested that they meet to have sex, as they allegedly had done several times in the past, in a nearby motel. She did not have time to go to the motel, so they had sex in Clayton's car. Trial Transcript Vol. II at 246. Julius claims Fanny Sanders scratched his eye during their sexual encounter while attempting to remove his glasses. Id. at 252. Julius testified that Fanny Sanders gave him a carton of cigarettes and $50 in cash, some of which he spent on gasoline. Id. at 257.
The jury was persuaded by the circumstantial evidence and found Julius guilty of: (1) murder committed by a defendant while under a sentence of life imprisonment, Ala.Code Sec. 13-11-2(6); and (2) murder by a defendant who has been convicted of any other murder in the twenty years preceding the crime, Ala.Code Sec. 13-11-2(13). 1 The trial court, accepting the jury's recommendation for the death sentence and after reviewing a presentencing report, found the following aggravating factors:
(1) The capital felony was committed by the defendant while under a sentence of imprisonment [Ala.Code Sec. 13-11-6(1) ];
(2) The defendant was previously convicted of another felony involving the use or threat of violence to the person [Ala.Code Sec. 13-11-6(2) ]; and
(3) The capital felony was especially heinous, atrocious, and cruel [Ala.Code Sec. 13-11-6(8) ].
The only mitigating circumstance was that Julius was 32 years old at the time of the crime. See Ala.Code Sec. 13-11-7(7). The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals (455 So.2d 975 (1983)) and the Alabama Supreme Court (455 So.2d 984 (1984)) affirmed.
Julius, proceeding pro se, came to the district court seeking his release and monetary damages on the ground that he was deprived of his purported right to act as co-counsel at trial. This claim was rejected and we affirmed. Julius v. Johnson, 755 F.2d 1403 (11th Cir.1985). The state stipulated it would not assert abuse of the writ as a defense against a second habeas petition. Id. at 1404.
Julius then obtained counsel and sought collateral relief from his conviction and sentence in a state coram nobis proceeding. After an evidentiary hearing, the trial court denied relief and issued a thorough opinion. Several of Julius' claims were rejected on their merits and several were deemed to be barred by Julius' failure to raise them at trial or on direct appeal. On Julius sought habeas corpus relief in the district court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Sec. 2254. The district court, relying heavily upon the state court's opinion in the coram nobis proceeding, 2 rejected Julius' claims and denied the writ. This appeal followed.
April 7, 1986, the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed without opinion. The Alabama Supreme Court denied certiorari on September 26, 1986.
On appeal, Julius presents ten claims for relief: (1) ineffective assistance of trial counsel; (2) ineffective assistance of appellate counsel; (3) erroneous jury instructions regarding the lesser included offense of manslaughter; (4) double counting of aggravating circumstances in the guilt and penalty phases of the...
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