Montgomery v. Uchtman
| Decision Date | 20 October 2005 |
| Docket Number | No. 03-4201.,03-4201. |
| Citation | 426 F.3d 905 |
| Parties | Ulece MONTGOMERY, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Alan M. UCHTMAN, Warden, Respondent-Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit |
Robert T. Markowski, Jenner & Block, Chicago, IL, Ryan S. Stippich (argued), Reinhart, Boerner, Van Deuren, Milwaukee, WI, for Petitioner-Appellant.
Marie Quinlivan Czech (argued), Office of the Cook County State's Attorney, Chicago, IL, for Respondent-Appellee.
Before BAUER, RIPPLE, and KANNE, Circuit Judges.
This habeas corpus appeal arises from Ulece Montgomery's conviction in June 1983 for the murders of two elderly women and his subsequent death sentence. Montgomery argues that the trial and sentencing violated due process and that he received ineffective assistance of counsel. He also contends that his waivers of his right to a jury at trial and sentencing were not knowing and voluntary. The district court rejected his claims and denied his petition; so do we.
On April 25, 1981, Montgomery beat and strangled to death 72-year-old Pearl Briggs and 68-year-old Betty Tyson. After beating each woman unconscious and possibly after they were dead, Montgomery raped them. After his apprehension, he gave a detailed confession of these crimes.
Miss Briggs owned two buildings in Robbins, Illinois. She lived in one with her sister, Mrs. Tyson, and rented the adjacent building to Montgomery's girlfriend. At the time of the attacks, Montgomery had been living with his girlfriend in the house for approximately two months. On the evening of April 25, 1981, Montgomery walked to Miss Briggs' house to pick up a couch. Miss Briggs took him to the basement of her building, where the couch was located. There, Montgomery knocked Miss Briggs unconscious, removed her clothes, and raped her. She died of strangulation. Montgomery's fingerprint was found on the lens of her glasses, his jacket was spattered with blood that matched her blood type but not his, and a hair consistent with his hair was found under her fingernail.
Montgomery then walked upstairs to Miss Briggs' apartment. When Mrs. Tyson opened the door, he pushed her down, removed her stockings, and wrapped them around her neck. When she was no longer conscious, he raped her. Mrs. Tyson died of strangulation. Montgomery's palm print was found on a camera case on a couch near Mrs. Tyson's head, and a hair consistent with her hair was found on his T-shirt.
A police investigator who came to the house that evening noticed Montgomery standing outside, acting suspiciously. He saw that Montgomery's hands were scraped and that he had blood on his pants. The investigator approached Montgomery, who agreed to go with the investigator to the police station. At the station, Montgomery gave hair samples, fingerprints, and palm prints; he also allowed the police to test his clothing.
Montgomery was subsequently charged with the murders of Miss Briggs and Mrs. Tyson. He originally chose to be tried by a jury, but, on March 15, 1983, Montgomery overheard a prospective juror say that he could convict Montgomery just by looking at him. During that day, defense attorney John McNamara contacted Judge Samuels to schedule a conference. When the prosecution refused to participate, Judge Samuels ruled that there could be no meeting without the participation of both parties. That evening, Montgomery attempted to commit suicide in his cell. As a result, Judge Samuels declared a mistrial.
Three months later, Montgomery was declared fit to stand trial. On June 10, 1983, three days before trial, defense attorneys McNamara and Michael Morrissey met with Judge Samuels in his chambers. In addition, two assistant state's attorneys were present, neither of whom were assigned to Montgomery's case. McNamara and Morrissey told the judge that Montgomery was going to elect a stipulated bench trial instead of a jury trial and that he was going to waive a jury for sentencing. As they were talking, Assistant State's Attorney Scott Arthur, the lead prosecutor in the case, entered chambers. Arthur became furious and accused McNamara, Morrissey, and Judge Samuels of trying to "back door" him. R. at 855. Judge Samuels assured Arthur that nothing improper had occurred and invited him to join the meeting. Arthur refused and ordered the other two prosecutors to leave with him, which they did. McNamara and Morrissey followed them out.
On June 13, 1983, Montgomery waived his right to a jury trial and proceeded to a stipulated bench trial. Judge Samuels found him guilty of the two murders. Montgomery also chose to waive a jury for purposes of a death penalty hearing. In the first stage of the hearing, the parties stipulated to the introduction of the evidence presented at trial. Judge Samuels then made findings that rendered Montgomery eligible for the death penalty.
During the second stage of the sentencing hearing, the parties presented evidence in aggravation and mitigation. The State introduced evidence that included the following. In 1966, when Montgomery was 9 years old, he stuck a Coke bottle onto the penis of his 3-year-old brother, Darryl, which required medical personnel to remove. In 1969, when Montgomery was 12 years old, he attempted to rape his 11-year-old sister, Rene. In 1970, when he was 13 years old, he raped his 5-year-old half-brother, Eugene. In 1976, when Montgomery was 19 years old, he on two occasions raped his 11-year-old half-sister, Jean, who became pregnant and had an abortion. Montgomery was convicted of contributing to the sexual delinquency of a minor. Montgomery also had two other prior convictions, both for possession of a stolen motor vehicle.
In mitigation, Montgomery's relatives testified that he was very drunk immediately after the murders. They also testified about the deprived conditions in their home during his childhood and his parents' alcoholism. Dr. Steven Porter testified that Montgomery was acting under extreme emotional disturbance at the time of the murders because of the amount of alcohol he had consumed. Dr. Albert Stipes did not agree that Montgomery had acted under extreme emotional disturbance, but he diagnosed Montgomery as having "alcohol dependency and antisocial personality disorder with stimulant abuse." People v. Montgomery, 192 Ill.2d 642, 249 Ill.Dec. 587, 736 N.E.2d 1025, 1031 (2000).
Judge Samuels found that Montgomery was not acting under extreme emotional disturbance when he committed the murders. He also noted that Montgomery's intoxication was voluntary and that he had a history of preying on the weak and elderly. As a result, Judge Samuels determined that there were no mitigating factors sufficient to preclude imposition of a death sentence.
On April 4, 1986, the Illinois Supreme Court affirmed Montgomery's convictions and sentences. Certiorari was denied on February 23, 1987.
On December 14, 1987, Montgomery filed a post-conviction petition in the circuit court of Cook County. He claimed, for the first time, that Judge Samuels was biased because defense counsel had ex parte meetings with him in which he allegedly promised that he would not impose the death penalty if Montgomery waived his right to a jury for both trial and sentencing. The circuit court denied the petition. Montgomery appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court, arguing that he had not had a full and fair opportunity to cross-examine Judge Samuels. The court remanded with directions to reopen the hearing to allow Montgomery to fully cross-examine all of the witnesses.
Pursuant to Montgomery's request for a change of venue, a new hearing on Montgomery's claims of judicial misconduct and ineffective assistance of counsel was conducted in October and November 1996 by Judge Michael Weber of the Fourth Judicial District in Jasper County, Illinois. At this hearing, Judge Samuels testified that he had not made an ex parte offer to sentence Montgomery to natural life. He further stated that if he had ever met with defense attorneys McNamara or Morrissey ex parte, the only topic they would have discussed was scheduling.
Defense attorneys McNamara and Morrissey testified that they had met with Judge Samuels on three occasions. McNamara testified as to the first of these meetings. In April 1983, he met with Judge Samuels ex parte to discuss scheduling. After McNamara described the evidence he expected the State to introduce, Judge Samuels suggested pleading Montgomery guilty. McNamara expressed concern about making a blind plea in a capital case, to which Judge Samuels allegedly replied: "As far as that's concerned, why don't you look at my record." R. at 838.
Defense counsel Morrissey testified as to the second meeting. In April 1983, he met with Judge Samuels ex parte to discuss scheduling. Morrissey told the judge that Montgomery would be electing a jury trial, and Judge Samuels replied that Montgomery should plead guilty and that he would impose a life sentence, again referring to his track record. Both defense counsel testified as to the June 10, 1983 meeting with Judge Samuels, which was also attended by two assistant state's attorneys and ended when Assistant State's Attorney Arthur arrived.
After weighing the evidence, Judge Weber determined that the claimed ex parte communication from Judge Samuels promising a life sentence in exchange for a jury waiver "simply did not exist." Montgomery, 249 Ill.Dec. 587, 736 N.E.2d at 1037. In so ruling, he found that Judge Samuels was credible and that defense attorneys McNamara and Morrissey were not. He also found that it would be "totally . . . out of character" for Judge Samuels to hold an ex parte meeting after he had previously rejected a plea conference because the State would not participate. Id. Thus, Judge Weber denied the post-conviction petition.
On June 15, 2000, the Illinois Supreme Court...
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