Fitzgerald v. Greene

Decision Date13 July 1998
Docket NumberNo. 98-1,98-1
PartiesRonald Lee FITZGERALD, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Fred W. GREENE, Warden, Mecklenburg Correctional Center, Respondent-Appellee.
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit

ARGUED: Melissa Windham Friedman, Roanoke, Virginia, for Appellant. Pamela Anne Rumpz, Assistant Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellee. ON BRIEF: David J. Damico, Damico & Apgar, Roanoke, Virginia, for Appellant. Mark L. Earley, Attorney General of Virginia, Office of the Attorney General, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellee.

Before WIDENER, HAMILTON, and WILLIAMS, Circuit Judges.

WILLIAMS, Circuit Judge:

On January 29, 1994, after a three-day trial, a Virginia jury found Ronald Lee Fitzgerald guilty of murdering Coy White during the commission of a robbery, murdering Hugh Morrison during the commission of a robbery, abducting and raping thirteen year-old Claudia White, abducting and raping Tiffany Lovelace, and breaking and entering into Coy White's residence. At the conclusion of the penalty phase of the trial, the jury recommended that Fitzgerald be sentenced to death for the murders of Coy White and Morrison due to his future dangerousness to the community and the vileness of the crimes. On May 10, 1994, the trial court imposed the death sentence. 1 After exhausting his state appeals, Fitzgerald petitioned the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia for a writ of habeas corpus. The district court denied Fitzgerald's petition. Because Fitzgerald has failed to "ma[ke] a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right," we deny his application for a certificate of appealability and dismiss his appeal. 28 U.S.C.A. § 2253(c) (West Supp.1998).

I.

On January 29, 1993, at approximately 6:00 a.m., thirteen year-old Claudia White was awakened in her Chatham, Virginia, home by a noise. Claudia, who was in her bed, looked up and saw a man wearing a mask over his face, standing in her bedroom doorway and pointing a gun at her. The man directed Claudia to take off her clothes and be quiet. She refused, and the man removed Claudia's underpants and shirt. The man then removed the mask, and Claudia immediately recognized her assailant as Fitzgerald. She had seen Fitzgerald many times because he had dated her cousin, Amanda White. Fitzgerald took Claudia to another room and began to rub her chest. Shortly thereafter, Fitzgerald saw Coy White, Claudia's father, drive into the driveway. When White entered the front door, he saw Fitzgerald and demanded to know what he was doing with his daughter. Fitzgerald told White to get on the floor. As White was doing so, Fitzgerald shot him in the neck, severing White's spinal cord and killing him. Fitzgerald then pointed the gun at Claudia and ordered her to get her father's wallet and car keys. Claudia complied. Fitzgerald allowed Claudia to dress and then transported her in her father's car to a rural area where he raped her. Fitzgerald then gave Claudia his jacket and shirt and locked her in the trunk of the car. Claudia later escaped from the trunk, ran to a nearby house, and called the police.

Meanwhile, at approximately 7:45 a.m. the same morning, Fitzgerald hailed a taxicab driven by Hugh Morrison in which Kathryn Davis was a passenger. Davis testified that after she arrived at her destination, Morrison drove off with Fitzgerald. At about 10:00 a.m. that morning, Douglas Shelton discovered Morrison's body in a nearby creek.

Fitzgerald next appeared at Tiffany Lovelace's home driving a taxicab. Lovelace knew Fitzgerald because he was a friend of her boyfriend, Girard Younger. Fitzgerald told Lovelace that Younger was on his way to her home and that he wished to wait for him. After a while, however, Fitzgerald told Lovelace to go into one of the bedrooms in her home. He followed her into the bedroom and threatened her with the pistol he had concealed. He then directed her to take off her clothes. When she refused, he fired the gun into the floor by her feet. Lovelace questioned Fitzgerald why he was doing these things. He responded that it was because Younger had raped his girlfriend, Amanda White. Lovelace eventually removed her clothes and sat on the bed. Fitzgerald, however, then told her to put her clothes back on and to get into the taxicab. Lovelace refused to leave her children and insisted on taking them with her.

Fitzgerald took Lovelace and her children to a motel in Altavista, Virginia. They arrived at approximately 9:00 a.m. When Fitzgerald, Lovelace, and the children entered the motel room Fitzgerald had rented, Fitzgerald ordered Lovelace into the bathroom where he raped her. Around 11:45 a.m., they left the hotel room. Fitzgerald spotted Sonya and John Covington, guests of the motel, and asked them for a ride. The couple agreed and took Fitzgerald, Lovelace, and her children to Lovelace's home. Lovelace and the children got out of the car, but Fitzgerald asked the Covingtons to take him to the courthouse. When Fitzgerald and the Covingtons arrived at the courthouse, Fitzgerald pointed a gun into his mouth and pulled the trigger. The gun malfunctioned, however, and failed to fire. Sonya jumped out of the car, and John took the gun from Fitzgerald. Shortly thereafter, the police apprehended Fitzgerald.

On March 3, 1995, Fitzgerald's convictions and sentence were affirmed by the Supreme Court of Virginia. See Fitzgerald v. Commonwealth, 249 Va. 299, 455 S.E.2d 506 (1995), cert. denied, 516 U.S. 1179, 116 S.Ct. 1279, 134 L.Ed.2d 224 (1996). On May 13, 1996, Fitzgerald filed a state habeas action in the Supreme Court of Virginia. The Virginia Court summarily denied the petition without a hearing on October 16, 1996. The Pittsylvania County Circuit Court scheduled January 16, 1997, as Fitzgerald's execution date. The United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia granted a stay of execution and appointed counsel to assist Fitzgerald in filing his federal habeas petition. Fitzgerald filed his habeas petition on March 21, 1997. By order dated November 20, 1997, the district court denied Fitzgerald's motion for an evidentiary hearing and dismissed his petition. Fitzgerald now appeals to this Court.

II.

On appeal, Fitzgerald raises four claims: (1) that he was denied a fair and impartial jury in violation of the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments; (2) that the Commonwealth failed to provide exculpatory information as required by Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963), and its progeny, in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment; (3) that the trial court failed to instruct the jury that he was parole ineligible in violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments; and (4) that he was denied effective assistance of counsel in violation of the Sixth Amendment.

Before we address Fitzgerald's claims, we must determine the applicable standards of review. Because Fitzgerald filed his federal habeas petition after enactment of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA), the AEDPA's more deferential standards of review apply to his claims. The AEDPA provides:

An application for a writ of habeas corpus on behalf of a person in custody pursuant to the judgment of a State court shall not be granted with respect to any claim that was adjudicated on the merits in State court proceedings unless the adjudication of the claim--

(1) resulted in a decision that 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) resulted in a decision that was based on an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented in the State court proceeding.

28 U.S.C.A. § 2254(d) (West Supp.1998). We recently interpreted subsection (1) to prohibit the issuance of the writ unless (a) the state court decision is in "square conflict" with Supreme Court precedent which is controlling as to law and fact or (b) if no such controlling decision exists, "the state court's resolution of a question of pure law rests upon an objectively unreasonable derivation of legal principles from the relevant supreme court precedents, or if its decision rests upon an objectively unreasonable application of established principles to new facts." Green v. French, 143 F.3d 865, (4th Cir. 1998). "In other words, habeas relief is authorized only when the state courts have decided the question by interpreting or applying the relevant precedent in a manner that reasonable jurists would all agree is unreasonable." Id. We now turn to the merits of Fitzgerald's claims.

A.

Fitzgerald contends that James Bradshaw's presence on his jury deprived him of his constitutional right to a fair and impartial jury. Fitzgerald relies upon two bases for his claim. First, he asserts that Bradshaw's failure to disclose certain relevant information during voir dire denied him the opportunity to strike Bradshaw for cause. Second, Fitzgerald contends that even if Bradshaw's voir dire responses were truthful, Bradshaw's statement during sentencing deliberations that he had no sympathy for a rapist demonstrates his bias against Fitzgerald. For the reasons that follow, we decline to grant Fitzgerald relief.

The Sixth Amendment provides that "[i]n all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury." U.S. Const. amend. VI. The right to an impartial jury is applicable to the states via the Fourteenth Amendment. See Irvin v. Dowd, 366 U.S. 717, 722, 81 S.Ct. 1639, 6 L.Ed.2d 751 (1961). The Supreme Court has held that due process requires "a jury capable and willing to decide the case solely on the evidence before it." Smith v. Phillips, 455 U.S. 209, 217, 102 S.Ct. 940, 71 L.Ed.2d 78 (1982).

In cases alleging juror dishonesty during voir dire, we apply the two-part test...

To continue reading

Request your trial
69 cases
  • Nunez v. Lumpkin
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Southern District of Texas
    • August 23, 2022
    ...suggested in Smith, such an extreme remedy should be reserved only for “extreme situations” not amenable to actual bias analysis. Id. at 399-400, n. 44. See also Gray Mississippi, 481 U.S. 648, 668 (1987) (“We have recognized that ‘some constitutional rights [are] so basic to a fair trial t......
  • Porter v. Gilmore
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Virginia
    • August 14, 2020
    ...of deceit where no follow-up question is asked. Porter I , 803 F.3d at 697 (citing Billings , 441 F.3d at 245 ; Fitzgerald v. Greene , 150 F.3d 357, 363–64 (4th Cir. 1998) ). Nevertheless, the Fourth Circuit suggests that it was incumbent upon Juror Treakle to have volunteered all of his ad......
  • Goins v. Angelone
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Virginia
    • June 10, 1999
    ...396, 407 (4th Cir.1998), cert. denied sub nom. Wilson v. Taylor, ___ U.S. ___, 119 S.Ct. 536, 142 L.Ed.2d 441 (1998); Fitzgerald v. Greene, 150 F.3d 357, 367 (4th Cir.1998), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 119 S.Ct. 389, 142 L.Ed.2d 321 (1998). This result is consistent with Justice O'Connor's ......
  • Tucker v. Moore
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — District of South Carolina
    • March 15, 1999
    ...of Green v. French, 143 F.3d 865 (4th Cir.1998), cert. denied ___ U.S. ___, 119 S.Ct. 844, 142 L.Ed.2d 698 (1999), and Fitzgerald v. Greene, 150 F.3d 357 (4th Cir.1998), cert. denied ___ U.S. ___, 119 S.Ct. 389, 142 L.Ed.2d 321 (1998). The Petitioner's objection is that in a death penalty c......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT