Smith v. Zant, 88-8436

• Decision Date: 29 September 1989
• Docket Number: No. 88-8436,88-8436
• Parties: William Alvin SMITH, Petitioner-Appellant, Cross-Appellee, v. Walter ZANT, Warden, Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Center, Respondent-Appellee, Cross-Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit

Page 1407

887 F.2d 1407

William Alvin SMITH, Petitioner-Appellant, Cross-Appellee, v. Walter ZANT, Warden, Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Center, Respondent-Appellee, Cross-Appellant.

No. 88-8436.

United States Court of Appeals Eleventh Circuit.

Sept. 29, 1989.

Rehearing Denied Dec. 4, 1989.

Stephen H. Glickman, Auckerman, Spaeder, Goldstein, Taylor & Kolker, Washington, D.C., Stephen B. Bright, Atlanta, Ga., for petitioner-appellant, cross-appellee.

Dennis R. Dunn, Asst. Atty. Gen., Atlanta, Ga., for respondent-appellee, cross-appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia.

Before RONEY, Chief Judge, TJOFLAT, HILL, FAY, VANCE, KRAVITCH, JOHNSON, HATCHETT, ANDERSON, CLARK, EDMONDSON, and COX, Circuit Judges.

BY THE COURT:

William Alvin Smith, a Georgia prisoner, was convicted of armed robbery and malice murder in connection with the robbery and killing of the owner of a grocery store and service station. Smith was sentenced to death for the offense of murder, and unsuccessfully appealed to the Georgia Supreme Court. Smith v. State, 249 Ga. 228, 290 S.E.2d 43, cert. denied, 459 U.S. 882, 103 S.Ct. 182, 74 L.Ed.2d 148 (1982). He was also denied post-conviction relief from the Georgia state courts. Smith v. Francis, 253 Ga. 782, 325 S.E.2d 362, cert. denied, 474 U.S. 925, 106 S.Ct. 260, 88 L.Ed.2d 266 (1985).

Smith then filed a petition for habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia. The district court, based on essentially undisputed testimony about Smith's mental retardation, found that Smith did not knowingly and intelligently waive his Miranda rights. The court held that the introduction of Smith's confession was harmless error as to his conviction, but that it was not harmless as to his death sentence. Accordingly, the court granted Smith a writ of habeas corpus as to the death sentence, but denied Smith's petition as to the conviction. Smith v. Kemp, 664 F.Supp. 500 (M.D.Ga.1987). Smith appealed from the denial of habeas corpus as to his conviction, and the State cross-appealed 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 heard the appeal and affirmed the district court's order to the extent that it granted the writ of habeas corpus as to Smith's sentence, but reversed the denial of the writ as to Smith's convictions. Smith v. Zant, 855 F.2d 712 (11th Cir.1988). The Court took this case in banc, which resulted in the panel opinion being vacated. Smith v. Zant, 873 F.2d 253 (11th Cir.1989).

The judges of the in banc court are equally divided on the proper disposition of this case. Therefore, the order of the district court is AFFIRMED as a matter of law. See Reshard v. Britt, 839 F.2d 1499 (11th Cir.1988) (in banc ); Henderson v. Fort Worth Indep. School Dist., 584 F.2d 115 (5th Cir.1978) (in banc), cert. denied, 441 U.S. 906, 99 S.Ct. 1996, 60 L.Ed.2d 375 (1979).

TJOFLAT, Circuit Judge, specially concurring:

The equally divided en banc court today affirms the district court's judgment, see ante, by operation of law. See Reshard v. Britt, 839 F.2d 1499 (11th Cir.1988) (en banc); Henderson v. Fort Worth Indep. School Dist., 584 F.2d 115 (5th Cir.1978) (en banc), cert. denied, 441 U.S. 906, 99 S.Ct. 1996, 60 L.Ed.2d 375 (1979). ¹ On the merits, six judges would affirm the issuance of the writ of habeas corpus with respect to petitioner's death sentence but would reverse the district court's refusal to set aside petitioner's conviction. The other six judges, myself included, would affirm the district court's refusal to set aside petitioner's conviction but would reverse the district court's grant of the writ with respect to petitioner's death sentence.

I write separately because I am troubled by two aspects of the district court's disposition of this case: first, its decision on the merits of petitioner's claim that the trial judge erred in admitting his confession into evidence at trial; second, its certifying as final a judgment based on fewer than all of petitioner's numerous claims. In part I of this special concurrence, I review briefly the procedural history of the case. In part II, I demonstrate that the district court's grant of the writ was incorrect on the merits. Part III concerns the fallacy of resolving a habeas corpus case on the basis of a single claim, in the name of judicial economy, while leaving other claims unresolved.

I.

Petitioner, William Alvin Smith, was convicted in the Superior Court of Oglethorpe County, Georgia, of armed robbery and malice murder and was sentenced to death for the latter offense. On direct appeal, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. Smith v. State, 249 Ga. 228, 290 S.E.2d 43, cert. denied, 459 U.S. 882, 103 S.Ct. 182, 74 L.Ed.2d 148 (1982). Petitioner unsuccessfully sought habeas corpus relief in the state courts. Smith v. Francis, 253 Ga. 782, 325 S.E.2d 362, cert. denied, 474 U.S. 925, 106 S.Ct. 260, 88 L.Ed.2d 266 (1985). He then filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, raising essentially the same claims as in the state habeas proceeding and seeking relief both from his conviction and from his death sentence. Petitioner alleged, inter alia, that he had received ineffective assistance of counsel and that the trial judge erred in admitting his confession into evidence at trial.

After an evidentiary hearing, the district court concluded that the confession should not have been admitted because petitioner was retarded and did not knowingly and intelligently waive his Miranda rights. ² Smith v. Kemp, 664 F.Supp. 500 (M.D.Ga.1987). The court granted the writ with respect to petitioner's sentence, finding that the confession might have played a role in the jury's decision to sentence petitioner to death. Id. at 506-07. The court denied petitioner relief from his conviction, however, holding that the admission of the confession was "harmless error" given the overwhelming evidence of guilt. Id. at 506.

The district court expressly based its decision on "one count contained in Petitioner's petition," stating that "[t]he ground on which the court has decided to grant Smith's habeas [petition] concerns his waiver of rights under Miranda v. Arizona." Id. at 501 (citation omitted). After the district court handed down its decision, the State requested the court to alter and amend its judgment and to address petitioner's remaining claims in the interest of judicial economy and finality. The district court declined, stating that determination of the remaining claims might never be required, so judicial economy would be better served by reserving decision until such time as necessary. The State then filed a notice of appeal from the district court's order granting the writ of habeas corpus. Petitioner cross-appealed from the district court's ruling that he was not entitled to relief with respect to his conviction. A panel of this court dismissed the appeal and cross-appeal for lack of jurisdiction. Smith v. Kemp, 849 F.2d 481, 483 (11th Cir.1988) (per curiam). Because the district court had not adjudicated all of petitioner's claims, its order was not a final judgment from which the parties could appeal as of right under 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1291 (1982). Nor had the district court determined that there was no just reason for delay and directed entry of judgment, pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 54(b), ³ on the single count it had decided. Finally, jurisdiction was unavailable on the basis of 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), and 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). In those cases, this court entertained appeals by the State because the district courts' dispositive orders granting the writs "gave the petitioner all [the relief] he could hope to achieve by the litigation." Blake, 758 F.2d at 525. By contrast, petitioner in the current case obtained relief only from his death sentence, whereas he sought relief from both his sentence and his conviction. The district court did not resolve the remaining claims that challenged petitioner's conviction and that would, if resolved in his favor, afford him additional, and complete, relief. The panel therefore dismissed the appeal and cross-appeal, suggesting that the parties request the district court to make proper Rule 54(b) certification and direct entry of judgment on the "Miranda claim" in order to permit the appeals. Smith, 849 F.2d at 483-84.

At petitioner's request, the district court then amended its original order granting (and denying) the writ of habeas corpus. Pursuant to Rule 54(b), it expressly determined that there was no just reason for delay and ordered entry of final judgment granting petitioner habeas corpus relief (with respect to his sentence) on what it characterized as petitioner's "Miranda claim." Petitioner then appealed the district court's denial of relief with respect to his conviction, and the State cross-appealed from the grant of the writ with respect to petitioner's sentence. The same panel that refused to hear the prior attempted appeals then proceeded to consider the merits of these appeals.

II.

In granting relief merely on the basis of its conclusion that petitioner's retardation rendered him incapable of making a knowing and intelligent waiver of his Miranda rights ⁴ and that his confession was therefore invalid, the district court did not squarely confront the real issue: whether the trial judge committed constitutional error in admitting the confession into evidence.

A.

In his petition for a writ of habeas corpus, Smith contended that...