Martinez v. Dretke, 03-21228.

Decision Date23 March 2005
Docket NumberNo. 03-21228.,03-21228.
Citation404 F.3d 878
PartiesRaymond DeLeon MARTINEZ, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Doug DRETKE, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division, Respondent-Appellee.
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

Michael B. Charlton, Law Office of Michael B. Charlton, Alvin, TX, Gary Allen Taylor, Austin, TX, for Petitioner-Appellant.

Margaret L. Schmucker, Austin, TX, for Respondent-Appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

Before JONES, BENAVIDES and CLEMENT, Circuit Judges.

EDITH H. JONES, Circuit Judge:

Raymond DeLeon Martinez was convicted of capital murder in Texas state court and sentenced to death. Martinez filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division. The district court denied the petition, and, sua sponte, denied Martinez a certificate of appealability ("COA"). Martinez then filed a Request for the Issuance of a Certificate of Appealability with this court. For the following reasons, Martinez's petition for COA is granted in part and denied in part. However, his request for habeas relief is denied.

I. BACKGROUND

Martinez was tried and convicted in Texas state court of capital murder for the July 13, 1983 murder of Herman Chavis during the course of a robbery.1 SHTr. at 251.2 The following facts were presented to the jury.

On July 13, 1983, Martinez, accompanied by two other men, entered the Long Branch Saloon owned and operated by Herman Chavis, the victim, and his wife, Pauline Chavis Smith. XX Tr. at 212-16, 369-70, 372-73, 414, 530-31.3 Smith recognized the three men from the previous Monday and Tuesday nights, when they came in, purchased beer, took only one sip, and left. Id. at 214-18, 224, 253, 384. On this date, the men ordered three Miller Lite beers and stood at the bar. Id. at 225, 322. Soon thereafter, one of the men locked the front door, produced a revolver, and told everyone to "hit the floor." Id. at 226, 229, 232, 323-25, 328, 378, 381, 600. Martinez also brandished a revolver and threatened a patron. Id. at 600. He then grabbed the barmaid, shoved the revolver into her ribs, and demanded the money from the cash drawer. Id. at 226, 229, 232, 323-25, 328, 378, 381, 600. Martinez was seen reaching into the drawer, although it was later determined that he took no money. Id. at 396, 234. A verbal exchange between Chavis and the men ensued, after which Martinez pointed his gun at Chavis. Id. at 601, 605, 607, 384, 386. Several shots were fired. Id. at 231, 386. Chavis later died of a gunshot wound to the back of the head and a gunshot wound through the back that lodged in his right arm. IXX Tr. at 15, 20-21.

At the punishment phase of Martinez's trial, the state presented evidence of extraneous offenses committed by Martinez, including: the July 11, 1983 robbery/murder at the Don Ramon Lounge; the July 12, 1983 robbery at Elaine's Lounge; the July 15, 1983 murder of his own sister, Julia, and her boyfriend, Guillermo Chavez; and the July 21, 1983 murder of prostitute Tracy Pelkey. XXIV Tr. at 43-45, 113, 145-58; XXV Tr. at 291, 298-300, 330-38; XXVI Tr. at 528-39, 553; XXVI Tr. 677-84, 692-97. The state also presented evidence of Martinez's numerous prior convictions, including: burglary for which he received a two-year prison term in 1964; armed robbery and assault for which he received a twenty-year prison term in 1969; jail-breaking for which he received a five-year prison term in 1969; and theft for which he received a five-year prison term in 1969. SHTr. at 252. The state presented other aspects of Martinez's violent criminal past through several of his family members.

Jerry DeAnda, Martinez's older brother, testified that Martinez (1) belonged to a gang known as the Texas Syndicate; (2) planned to produce drugs for the gang; (3) stabbed a cell-mate during a former prison term; (4) escaped from jail in 1969; (5) stole DeAnda's gun with the intent to kill someone; (6) committed several violent robberies in the Fort Worth area; and (7) robbed and murdered someone in California while stealing chemicals for a crystal methamphetamine laboratory he intended to create for the gang. His sister, Raquel Martinez, testified that (1) the Government delayed Martinez's 1982 release from a fourteen-year prison term because he stabbed another inmate; (2) Martinez wanted to produce and sell drugs for the Texas Syndicate; (3) he twice threatened her with a gun; (4) he stole her car; (5) he attempted to abduct her; and (6) he admitted to committing seventeen robberies in the Fort Worth area.

The state also presented evidence, through a clinical psychologist, that a hypothetical person who committed the crimes allegedly perpetrated by Martinez would be likely to commit future criminal acts of violence, and that a person found to have deliberately committed these acts would warrant a finding of future dangerousness. The state also presented evidence that although Martinez had been found not guilty by reason of insanity and committed to Rusk State Hospital in 1967, he was found sane on October 21, 1968 and subsequently released. Several witnesses described Martinez as easily provoked and hot-tempered.

Through cross-examination and the presentation of its own witnesses, defense counsel4 elicited the following testimony. Martinez's older brother, DeAnda, testified that their mother suffered from mental illness, for which she was hospitalized during their childhood. Id. at 893. He also testified that Martinez was committed to a state mental institution for a time. Id. at 894. Kathryn Cox, a former prison minister with the Salvation Army, testified that Martinez's acts constituted a self-destructive cry for help, and that she found him eager to learn, regretful for his past acts, and amenable to rehabilitation. She also testified that he was suicidal. Two Harris County Sheriff's Deputies, one former and one current, testified that they had interacted with Martinez several dozen times without incident. Defense counsel also elicited testimony that Martinez suffered from malnourishment while at Rusk State Hospital, was brutalized by prison guards while in care of the Texas Youth Commission, and was committed for a period of time to Wichita Falls State Mental Hospital.

Cross examination elicited some adverse information from Martinez's family members, including that they were not aware that Martinez had been diagnosed with any mental disorders during his commissions to state mental institutions. Rather, they testified that Martinez was very intelligent and had no mental health problems. Martinez's sister, Raquel Martinez, also testified that Martinez, in fact, had committed himself to mental institutions for the purpose of receiving free food and shelter.

At punishment, defense counsel also offered into evidence records from Wichita Falls State Mental Hospital demonstrating that: Martinez's mother was treated at San Antonio State Hospital for mental health issues; Martinez was a fearful and weak child who suffered from some form of epilepsy that went medically untreated because his father thought his "spells" were derived from "spirits"; Martinez began drinking at thirteen years of age; and that Martinez was hostile, violent, lost control and committed acts that he later regretted. The Wichita Falls State Mental Hospital records confirmed that Martinez's admissions to the hospital were voluntary, and indicated that he left the facility without permission at least twice. Additionally, records from the Texas Department of Corrections indicated that Martinez earned a GED while incarcerated.

On the evidence presented, the jury found beyond a reasonable doubt that: (1) Martinez's conduct caused the death of Chavis, and was deliberately committed with the reasonable expectation that Chavis's death would result; (2) there was a probability that Martinez would commit future criminal acts of violence that would constitute a threat to society; and (3) Martinez's conduct in killing Chavis was an unreasonable response to any provocation by Chavis. The court then sentenced Martinez to death.

Martinez unsuccessfully appealed to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Martinez v. State, 867 S.W.2d 30 (Tex.Crim.App.1993), reh'g denied, (October 20, 1993) and then sought certiorari from the Supreme Court, which denied his petition. Martinez v. Texas, 512 U.S. 1246, 114 S.Ct. 2765, 129 L.Ed.2d 879 (1994). Martinez filed a state application for a writ of habeas corpus on April 24, 1997, asserting ineffective assistance of counsel. During the state habeas proceedings, Martinez requested funds and an evidentiary hearing to develop his claim. The state court denied both requests. Upon review of Martinez's habeas writ, the State's answer, affidavits of Martinez's counsel, and the State's proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law,5 the state habeas court denied Martinez's writ, finding that he had not been deprived of effective assistance of counsel. The Court of Criminal Appeals upheld the state court's habeas determination on August 18, 1999.

Martinez filed a timely § 2254 petition for a writ of habeas corpus in federal district court. In 2001, Martinez filed an amended writ incorporating the affidavits of Dr. Stephen K. Martin, a neuropsychologist; Dr. Paula Lundberg-Love, a psychologist specializing in psychopharmacology; and Michael W. Jewell, a fellow inmate. On February 6, 2003, the district court held an evidentiary hearing on the following issues: (1) whether Martinez was mentally ill at the time of his offense; (2) whether his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to present an insanity defense; and (3) whether there was cause for any procedural default of these claims.6 At the hearing, Martinez submitted evidence that he has a family history of mental...

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