Hill v. Ozmint, 03-1.

• Decision Date: 05 August 2003
• Docket Number: No. 03-1.,03-1.
• Citation: 339 F.3d 187
• Parties: David Clayton Hill, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Jon E. Ozmint, Director, South Carolina Department of Corrections; Henry Dargan McMaster, Attorney General, State of South Carolina, Respondents-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit

339 F.3d 187

David Clayton Hill, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Jon E. Ozmint, Director, South Carolina Department of Corrections; Henry Dargan McMaster, Attorney General, State of South Carolina, Respondents-Appellees.

No. 03-1.

United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.

Argued June 5, 2003.

Decided August 5, 2003.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

ARGUED: Jerome Howard Nickerson, Jr., CENTER FOR CAPITAL LITIGATION, Columbia, South Carolina, for Appellant. Donald John Zelenka, Assistant Deputy Attorney General, Columbia, South Carolina, for Appellees. ON BRIEF: Michael O'Connell, STIRLING & O'CONNELL, Charleston, South Carolina, for Appellant. Henry Dargan McMaster, Attorney General, John W. McIntosh, Chief Deputy Attorney General, Columbia, South Carolina, for Appellees.

Before MICHAEL, MOTZ, and KING, Circuit Judges.

Affirmed by published opinion. Judge King wrote the opinion, in which Judge Michael and Judge DIANA GRIBBON Motz joined.

OPINION

KING, Circuit Judge:

In October of 1995, David Hill was sentenced to death for the murder of Major Spencer Guerry, the Deputy Police Chief for the City of Georgetown, South Carolina. After the South Carolina courts denied relief on both direct appeal and collateral review, Hill sought habeas corpus relief in the District of South Carolina. The district court denied relief, and it declined to issue a certificate of appealability ("COA").¹ In this proceeding, however, we have issued a COA on the following habeas corpus claims: (1) that the trial court violated the Constitution in refusing to grant a trial continuance; (2) that the presence of numerous uniformed law officers in the courtroom and courthouse during the trial was unconstitutional; (3) that the district court erred in refusing to conduct an evidentiary hearing or authorize discovery on the presence of officers in the courtroom and courthouse; and (4) that Hill's lawyers were constitutionally ineffective in calling Hill's psychiatrist during the trial's sentencing phase. As explained below, we reject each of these claims, and we affirm the district court's denial of habeas corpus relief.

I.

A.

In the early evening of March 7, 1994, Major Spencer Guerry, Georgetown's thirty-seven year old Deputy Police Chief, ate supper with his wife and children at a Shoney's Restaurant in Georgetown. At approximately 7:00 p.m., Guerry left the restaurant to return to police headquarters. While driving in his police cruiser on High Market Street, Guerry observed a Honda Prelude travelling ahead of him with an expired Colorado license plate. Guerry promptly illuminated his blue flashing lights, and the Honda pulled into a parking lot at the Georgetown Car Wash. Guerry exited his cruiser and approached the Honda, requesting that the driver, David Hill, provide his driver's license and the Honda's registration card. Although unable to produce a license, Hill provided Guerry with identification and the Honda's registration card. Guerry then returned to his police cruiser and radioed Hill's information to headquarters.

While awaiting a response from headquarters, Major Guerry again approached the Honda, instructing Hill to exit the vehicle. At that time, Guerry was shot in the face with Hill's gun. Although he was mortally wounded, Guerry managed to use the radio on his shoulder strap to call for assistance. As indicated on a tape recording made at headquarters, he muttered only a few words, including "6-9" (the code for the dispatcher at headquarters was 6-9-1) and "-eh shot me." Soon after this transmission, emergency personnel arrived on the scene and transported Guerry to the Medical University of South Carolina, where he died several days later.

Prior to the arrival of emergency personnel, Hill fled the scene of the shooting. Driving the Honda, he first went to his home on McDonald Road in Georgetown, where he picked up his girlfriend, Wendy Richardson. Richardson and Hill then went to the nearby home of Hill's parents, Gracie and Arthur Hill. Gracie and Richardson then followed Hill in Gracie's car as Hill drove to Johnson Road in Georgetown, where he abandoned the Honda in a ditch. After returning briefly to his parents' home, Hill departed again, leaving Richardson with his parents.

In the meantime, police investigators had begun to search for Hill and the Honda. Armed with the information that Major Guerry had transmitted to headquarters before being shot, officers searched Hill's house on McDonald Road. Afterward, they went to the home of Hill's parents. By the time they arrived, Hill had abandoned the Honda, returned with Gracie and Richardson, and left again. The officers spoke with both Gracie and Richardson and searched the residence. As they were leaving, they requested that Gracie and Richardson have Hill contact the authorities.

Approximately fifteen minutes after the investigators departed, Hill returned to his parents' home with his clothes covered in mud. After Gracie informed him that the police had been there and were looking for him, Hill showered and poured Clorox on his hands. He then phoned the police and advised them that the Honda had been stolen. Investigators responded immediately, arresting Hill and transporting him to headquarters.

At headquarters, investigators performed trace metal tests on Hill's hands, revealing that Hill had recently fired a gun. After waiving his Miranda rights, Hill advised investigators that, earlier that afternoon, he had fought with his girlfriend. Afterwards, he had walked from his home to his parents' residence and had fallen asleep while reading a magazine in a nearby shed. Upon awakening, Hill entered his parents' home, where Gracie informed him that the authorities were looking for him. He then called the police. Skeptical of Hill's statements, investigators questioned him regarding the precise timing of these events. Hill then requested a lawyer, and investigators terminated the interview. That evening, investigators found the abandoned Honda. They also visited a nearby Exxon station and recovered a credit card receipt bearing Hill's signature. The receipt was time-stamped at 6:00 p.m. on March 7, 1994 — an hour before the shooting.

On April 20, 1994, Hill was indicted in Georgetown County for the murder of Major Guerry. Pursuant to § 16-3-26 of the South Carolina Code, the State notified Hill's lawyers that it would seek the death penalty. Trial proceedings began on Monday, October 23, 1995, and by Wednesday morning, October 25th, jury selection had been completed. Given the publicity surrounding Guerry's death and Hill's prosecution, the court sequestered the jury for the duration of the trial. During its case-in-chief, the State presented substantial evidence of Hill's guilt, including, inter alia: eyewitness testimony; forensic evidence; and testimony from other witnesses, including Richardson. By noon on Saturday, October 28, 1994 — the fourth day of evidence — the State rested its case, having presented more than forty witnesses.

In his defense, Hill presented the testimony of officers involved with Major Guerry's last radio transmission, as well as the testimony of a trace metal expert. Hill also testified on his own behalf. By the time of trial, his version of the critical events had changed substantially from the statement he made to police on the night of his arrest. Specifically, Hill admitted in his trial testimony that he was in the Honda at the time of Guerry's shooting. He claimed, however, that another person, Johnny Cribb — a friend to whom he owed $16,000 because of a drug deal gone awry — shot Guerry. On the day of the shooting, Hill had travelled to Pawleys Island, South Carolina, to purchase marijuana. While driving back to Georgetown, he picked up Steve Blankenship, an individual with whom Hill and Cribb associated. After entering the Honda, Blankenship threatened Hill with a pistol and forced him to drive to a Ramada Inn near Georgetown. Blankenship also removed Hill's handgun from the Honda's glove box.

At the Ramada Inn, Cribb met Hill and Blankenship, and Blankenship gave Cribb both weapons. Cribb entered the Honda and informed Hill that they had some "unfinished business." At this point, Cribb aimed a weapon at Hill and instructed him to drive to Hill's home on McDonald Road. On the way, Hill and Cribb were pulled over by Major Guerry. During the traffic stop, Cribb, who was hiding in the Honda's back seat, leaned into the front and shot Guerry with Hill's handgun. After the shooting, Hill and Cribb drove to Brick Chimney Road in Georgetown and met Blankenship. Cribb forced Hill to exit the Honda and had him fire a handgun into the woods. Afterward, Cribb left with Blankenship, and Hill returned in the Honda to his own home. He then met Richardson and proceeded with her to his parents' home before abandoning the Honda on Johnson Road.

By approximately 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 28, 1994, Hill had completed his testimony. His next witness was to be Dr. Stephen Cain, an expert from Wisconsin. Due to unforeseen circumstances, however, Dr. Cain was unable to be in Georgetown that afternoon or evening. Given Dr. Cain's unavailability, the defense sought a continuance until Monday morning so that Dr. Cain could testify. After the court denied the continuance, the defense rested its case. Closing arguments in the trial's guilt phase were made on Saturday evening, and the court instructed the jury on Sunday morning. The jury then deliberated for about forty-five minutes on Sunday before finding Hill guilty of murder.

On Monday, October 30, 1995, the trial's sentencing phase began. At that time, the State presented several witnesses, including police officers, Major Guerry's wife, and Richardson. The defense began presenting its evidence Monday afternoon, calling, inter alia, three experts: Dr. Emil Coccaro, Dr. Bernard Albiniak, and Dr. Joseph Burt. Each of these experts testified that Hill suffered from a treatable...