Floyd v. Sec'y, Fla. Dep't of Corr., Case No. 3:09-cv-1017-J-34TEM

• Court: U.S. District Court — Middle District of Florida
• Writing for the Court: MARCIA MORALES HOWARD
• Decision Date: 27 March 2013
• Docket Number: Case No. 3:09-cv-1017-J-34TEM
• Citation: Floyd v. Sec'y, Fla. Dep't of Corr., Case No. 3:09-cv-1017-J-34TEM (M.D. Fla. Mar 27, 2013)
• Parties: MAURICE LAMAR FLOYD, Petitioner, v. SECRETARY, FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, et al., Respondents.

MAURICE LAMAR FLOYD, Petitioner,

v.SECRETARY, FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, et al., Respondents.

Case No. 3:09-cv-1017-J-34TEM

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA JACKSONVILLE DIVISION

DONE AND ORDERED: March 27, 2013

ORDER

I. Status

Petitioner Maurice Lamar Floyd, who is represented by counsel, initiated this action by filing a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (Petition) (Doc. #1) with exhibits (P. Ex.) under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 on October 13, 2009. Floyd challenges a 1999 state court (Putnam County, Florida) judgment of conviction for first degree murder. Respondents have submitted a memorandum in opposition to the Petition. See Respondents' Response to Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (Response) (Doc. #19) with exhibits (Resp. Ex.). Floyd submitted a brief in reply on December 20, 2010. See Floyd'sPreliminary Statement, Standard of Review and Applicable Law (Reply) (Doc. #21). This case is ripe for review.

II. Procedural History

On August 5, 1998, the State of Florida charged Maurice Lamar Floyd with first degree murder (count one), armed burglary of a dwelling (count two) and aggravated assault (count three). Resp. Ex. A-1 at 11-12, Indictment. After jury selection on April 5, 1999, Floyd proceeded to a trial. Resp. Exs. A-8; A-9; A-10, Transcripts of the Jury Trial (Tr.). At the conclusion of the trial, a jury found Floyd guilty of first degree murder, armed burglary of a dwelling, and aggravated assault, as charged in the Indictment. Resp. Ex. A-3 at 497-98, Verdict; Tr. at 1998. The jury, by a vote of eleven to one, recommended that the court impose the death penalty. Resp. Exs. A-3 at 504, Penalty Advisory Recommendation; A-11 at 2179. Following a Spencer¹ hearing, see Resp. Ex. A-12, on May 26, 1999, the court sentenced Floyd to death for the first degree murder, a term of imprisonment of thirty years for the armed burglary of a dwelling, and a term of imprisonment of five years for the aggravated assault, to run concurrently with count two, see Resp. Ex. A-5 at 976-83, 984-89. The Florida Supreme Court, on direct appeal, set forth the facts of the crimes as well as the testimony at trial.

Mary Goss, the victim in this case, was found dead at approximately 11:30 p.m. on July 13, 1998. Police found her body on the ground beside her house located on Bronson Street in Palatka, Florida. The cause of Ms. Goss's death was a single .357 caliber gunshot that entered the left side of her face and proceeded to sever her brain stem, killing her instantaneously. Two days later, on July 15, 1998, police found Floyd, Ms. Goss's son-in-law, hiding in the attic of a house in the Palatka area. Floyd was subsequently charged with the murder of Ms. Goss. ^FN1

FN1. The indictment returned against Floyd was for premeditated murder or felony murder (Count I), armed burglary of a dwelling (Count II), and aggravated assault (Count III).

Testimony adduced at trial indicated that Floyd exhibited very controlling behavior toward his wife, Trelane, ^FN2 who was Ms. Goss's daughter. On July 11, 1998 (extending into the early morning hours of July 12), Trelane had gone with some of her cousins to a supper club to celebrate her birthday. Floyd followed her to the club and spotted her consuming alcohol and dancing. He later approached the group and told Trelane that it would be necessary for her to find another way home, because he was going to take her car, which she had driven to the club. In the past Floyd had expressed his disapproval of Trelane's alcohol consumption.

FN2. When she testified at trial, Trelane was no longer married to Floyd.

When Trelane returned home around 5 a.m. on the morning of July 12, Floyd informed her that he would not permit her to sleep, and he proceeded to increase the volume on the televisions and the radio in their apartment. He also threatened to kill Trelane or someone she loved as a reprisal for her drinking or if she ever attempted to run or hide from him. Shortly thereafter, Trelane felt a gun beingplaced beside her head as she was lying in bed. Floyd pulled the trigger three times, but the weapon did not fire. FN3 Trelane advised Floyd that she was going to seek a divorce and testified at trial that she did not call the police about this incident because she was in a very confused state.

FN3. The record does not indicate whether the gun was loaded at that time. Later in the day on July 12 (one day before Ms. Goss was murdered), Trelane surmised that the gun must have been a .357, because she saw a .357 on the toilet tank in the bathroom when Floyd was showering. She hid the gun behind the bar in their apartment, and testified that she never saw the gun again.

On July 13, the day Ms. Goss was murdered, Trelane and Floyd had a heated argument on a Palatka street not far from their apartment. Trelane had stopped her car in the street to speak with a friend. Her three-year-old goddaughter was also in the vehicle. Floyd was in his car behind Trelane and he insisted that Trelane take her goddaughter home, calling Trelane a "whore." Fearful for the safety of both herself and her goddaughter, Trelane decided to seek protection in a sheriff's office. Floyd followed and proceeded to ram his car into the back of Trelane's vehicle.

A high speed chase ensued, during which Trelane sounded the horn on her automobile to warn both oncoming traffic and pedestrians who might be in harm's way. The tires on both cars squealed as they slid into the parking lot at the sheriff's office. Trelane exited her car and screamed for help. Hearing both the sounds of squealing tires and Trelane's plaintive cries, Deputy Dean Kelly responded from his desk inside the sheriff's office. Deputy Kelly was the only armed officer in the vicinity as the events unfolded at approximately 7:30 p.m. that evening. Trelane hurriedly reported toDeputy Kelly that Floyd had rammed her car and that she was fearful for her safety. The deputy saw Floyd moving rapidly toward them as they spoke, and he held out his hand to prevent Floyd from accosting Trelane. He then advised Floyd that he was going to be placed into investigative custody until it could be determined exactly what had transpired. Deputy Kelly instructed Floyd to turn around and to place his hands behind his back. Floyd extended his hands in the air and backed up, insisting that he had done nothing wrong and that he merely wanted to talk to his wife. After the deputy repeated his order for Floyd to submit to custody, Floyd fled the scene. Deputy Kelly began pursuit for a few moments but then halted, fearful of leaving Trelane and her goddaughter defenseless if Floyd decided to double back to attempt to harm them. The subsequent efforts of a K-9 unit and other officers to apprehend Floyd on the evening of July 13 were fruitless.

After giving a statement to sheriff's office personnel, Trelane called her mother, Ms. Goss, from a pay phone at the sheriff's office. Trelane testified that she "told her [mother] what was going on" regarding the incident at the sheriff's office. Ms. Goss informed Trelane that Trelane's three children were at Ms. Goss's house. FN4 After hearing what had transpired earlier on the street and at the sheriff's office between Trelane and Floyd, Ms. Goss said of Floyd, "I won't let him get my grandchildren." Ms. Goss was also aware that the twenty-one-year-old Floyd was then on probation for previous violations of the law.

FN4. Earlier on July 13, Floyd had transported Trelane's three children to be with their grandmother, Ms. Goss.

During the trial, several witnesses described the subsequent events that led to the death of Ms. Goss. J.J. Jones, the oldest of Trelane's three children, testified ^FN5 that on July 13,1998, the day that Ms. Goss was killed, Floyd took him and his two younger siblings to the home of their grandmother, Ms. Goss. J.J. also stated that after he had fallen asleep that evening, Ms. Goss awakened him and instructed him to go to the home of her neighbor, Jeanette Figuero, and to call the police from there. Before he exited Ms. Goss's home, J.J. noted that she was clearly upset. As J.J. was moving toward Jeanette Figuero's home, he noticed that Floyd was "squeezing [Ms. Goss] behind the door" at the front of Ms. Goss's home. Moments later he saw Ms. Goss running outside. J.J. stated that he also observed Floyd standing on Ms. Goss's front porch and firing a gun three times. J.J.'s two siblings, LaJade Evans and Alex Evans, were directly behind him, as Ms. Goss had awakened them also. J.J. testified that he never saw Floyd leave the victim's porch, and that the last thing he observed before pounding on Jeanette Figuero's door for help was his grandmother, Ms. Goss, lying on her back. J.J. eventually led the police to the spot where he thought his grandmother's body would be. As one of the officers directed a flashlight beam on the ground, the light revealed Ms. Goss's lifeless body. Ms. Goss was clad only in a nightgown and was not wearing any undergarments. ^FN6

FN5. J.J. Jones was eight years old when he testified. The trial judge engaged in witness-qualification procedures to ensure that J.J. was capable of understanding the proceedings and that he understood his responsibility to testify truthfully. After the trial judge indicated that he was prepared to have J.J. sworn as a witness, the defense voiced no objection.

FN6. Ms. Goss's husband, Clifford Goss, testified that his wife never received guests in her home unless she was fully dressed. He said that she would never have company insideher home if she was not wearing undergarments.

LaJade Evans, J.J. Jones' younger sister, testified ^FN7 that she followed J.J. to Ms. Figuero's home to seek help. LaJade saw Floyd on the victim's porch, shooting a gun at the victim. LaJade said Floyd fired two shots from the porch, and that she heard one more shot fired in the direction of the victim. She added that she saw Floyd running toward the victim's home but that he did not go inside

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