Smith v. Kemp, 87-8741
| Decision Date | 13 June 1988 |
| Docket Number | No. 87-8741,87-8741 |
| Citation | 849 F.2d 481 |
| Parties | William Alvin SMITH, Petitioner-Appellee, Cross-Appellant, v. Ralph KEMP, Warden, Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Center, Respondent-Appellant, Cross-Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit |
Michael J. Bowers, Atty. Gen. of Ga., William B. Hill, Jr., Sr. and Dennis R. Dunn, Asst. Attys. Gen. of Ga., Atlanta, Ga., for respondent-appellant, cross-appellee.
J. Robert Daniel, Macon, Ga., Stephen H. Glickman, Zuckerman, Spaeder, Goldstein, Taylor & Kolker, Washington, D.C., Stephen B. Bright, Atlanta, Ga., for petitioner-appellee, cross-appellant.
Appeals from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia.
Before KRAVITCH, HATCHETT and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges.
William Alvin Smith, a Georgia prisoner, was convicted of malice murder and armed robbery and was sentenced to death for the offense of murder. After unsuccessfully pursuing his appeal 1 and post-conviction remedies 2 in the Georgia state courts, Smith filed a petition for habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia. Smith's petition alleged numerous grounds for relief from his convictions and his sentence, including, inter alia, the introduction of a post-arrest statement obtained in violation of the fourth, fifth, sixth, and fourteenth amendments; ineffective assistance of counsel at the guilt/innocence and sentencing phases of his trial; denial of an impartial jury by the improper exclusion of a juror with "mixed emotions" about the death penalty; and denial of an impartial jury because of juror acquaintance with the victim.
In a memorandum opinion, the district court addressed Smith's claim that the admission of his confession violated Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966), because Smith had not knowingly and intelligently waived the rights articulated in that case. The district court held that Smith had not validly waived his Miranda rights. The court further concluded that the introduction of Smith's statement was harmless error as to his convictions but was not harmless as to his sentence of death. Accordingly, the district court granted the writ of habeas corpus as to the sentence of death subject to the state conducting a new sentencing proceeding. 664 F.Supp. 500.
The district court did not address any of Smith's other claims for relief, although several claims challenging the convictions and sentence remained unabandoned. The state filed a motion styled "Motion to Alter and Amend Judgment," requesting that the district court reach Smith's remaining claims. The district court denied the state's motion, stating that "judicial economy will be better served by withholding a decision on Petitioner's other claims until such time when a decision may be necessary." The state then filed a notice of appeal from the district court's order granting the writ of habeas corpus. Smith cross-appealed from the district court's conclusion that the introduction of Smith's statement was harmless error as to his convictions.
The district court's order was not a final judgment from which the parties could appeal as of right under 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1291. Under Fed.R.Civ.P. 54(b), "[w]hen more than one claim for relief is present in an action, ... the [district] court may direct the entry of a final judgment as to one or more but fewer than all of the claims or parties only upon an express determination that there is no just reason for delay and upon an express direction for the entry of judgment." Here, however, the district court did not expressly determine that there was no just reason for delay and did not expressly direct the entry of judgment. "Absent these two actions, any order adjudicating fewer than all the claims or the rights and liabilities of fewer than all parties in a suit is not a final judgment...." In re Yarn Processing Patent Validity Litigation, 680 F.2d 1338, 1339 (11th Cir.1982) (per curiam).
The state suggests that we may have jurisdiction under Blake v. Kemp, 758 F.2d 523 (11th Cir.), cert. denied, 474 U.S. 998, 106 S.Ct. 374, 88 L.Ed.2d 367 (1985), and Wilson v. Kemp, 777 F.2d 621 (11th Cir.1985), cert. denied, 476 U.S. 1153, 106 S.Ct. 2258, 90 L.Ed.2d 703 (1986). In those cases, both involving the death penalty, this court held that the state could appeal a district court order granting the writ of habeas corpus, even though the district court had not addressed all the claims raised by the petitioner, because the district court's order "gave the petitioner all he could hope to achieve by the litigation." Blake, 758 F.2d at 525. In Blake, for example, the petitioner prevailed in the district court on his claim that he had been deprived of a fundamentally fair trial at the guilt phase by the state's failure to provide his taped confession to a court-appointed psychiatrist. Id. at 532. Blake also prevailed in the...
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Smith v. Zant, 88-8436
...from the grant of the writ as to Smith's sentence. A panel of this Court dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction. Smith v. Kemp, 849 F.2d 481 (11th Cir.1988). The parties then sought, and the district court granted, certification under Fed.R.Civ.P. 54(b). A panel of this court then he......
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Smith v. Zant
...(per curiam). This court accordingly concluded that it lacked jurisdiction over the appeal and cross-appeal. Smith v. Kemp, 849 F.2d 481 (11th Cir.1988) (per curiam). After dismissal of the appeals, the parties expeditiously sought, and the district court expeditiously granted, certificatio......
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...then the three requirements of Rule 54(b) must be satisfied before the order can be appealed under section 1291. See Smith v. Kemp, 849 F.2d 481, 483 (11th Cir.1988); 3 cf. In re Yarn Processing, 80 F.2d at 1339 (compliance with Rule 54(b), if applicable, is a prerequisite to jurisdiction u......