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Jeff J. EMERY
Date of
Execution:
December 8, 1998
Offender:
Jeff Emery #830
Last Statement:
I
just want to tell Catharina I love you. Take care of yourself.
That’s all I have to say.
123 F.3d 213w
United States Court of Appeals,
Fifth Circuit.
Sept. 10, 1997
1
NOTE: THE COURT HAS WITHDRAWN THIS OPINION
Jeff EMERY, Petitioner-Appellant, v.
Gary L. JOHNSON, Director, Texas Department of Criminal
Justice, Institutional Division, Respondent-Appellee.
No. 96-20826.
United States Court
of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.
Sept. 10, 1997.
On Petition for Rehearing April 15, 1998.
Appeal from the United States
District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
Before KING, SMITH and BENAVIDES,
Circuit Judges.
JERRY E. SMITH, Circuit Judge:
I.
A.
One day in 1979, LaShan
Muhlinghaus returned to her apartment and undressed. Unbeknownst to
her, Emery, an accomplished burglar, had entered her apartment using
a stolen pass key. When Muhlinghaus entered the apartment, Emery hid
in her roommate's closet.
Muhlinghaus went into her
roommate's bedroom to return a dress she had borrowed. Emery
attacked Muhlinghaus, stabbing her twenty-five times. After she was
dead, Emery had sexual intercourse with her body. The police did not
find any evidence that Emery stole anything.
Emery returned to the house where
he lived with his wife, Deborah Emery ("Deborah"). After showering
and disposing of his blood-stained knife and clothes, Emery drove to
the scene of the crime with Deborah to observe the police
investigation. Emery confessed his actions to his wife and later to
James Smith, his foster brother, and Marie Michaeloff.
Emery assaulted his wife at least
every other day. Although he usually hit her with his fists, he
occasionally used a metal bar, ashtrays, nicknacks, and lighters. He
also would pound her head on the bathtub. At least once, he hit her
child, who was a toddler, across the room. Finally, in July 1982,
Deborah began divorce proceedings. Five months later, she reported
Emery's crimes to the police.
B.
Emery was convicted of capital
murder during the commission of a burglary, see TEX. PEN.CODE ANN. §
19.03(a)(2) (Vernon 1994), and was sentenced to death in 1986. The
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals reversed because portions of the
trial transcript had been stolen. See Emery v. Texas, 800 S.W.2d 530
(Tex.Crim.App.1990) (en banc).
The state retried Emery and
obtained a second conviction, whereupon the jury sentenced him to
death in 1991. On appeal, Emery unsuccessfully argued, inter alia,
that the jury instructions at the penalty phase were inadequate
because they did not allow the jury to consider all relevant
mitigating evidence. See Emery v. Texas, 881 S.W.2d 702, 711-12 (Tex.Crim.App.1994),
cert. denied, 513 U.S. 1192, 115 S.Ct. 1257, 131 L.Ed.2d 137 (1995).
C.
In 1995, Emery filed his first
state habeas petition, arguing, inter alia, that his right to
testify on his own behalf had been denied and that his counsel
rendered ineffective assistance by opening the door to the admission
of his confession to Deborah and his history of burglary and by not
objecting to the introduction of evidence that he slapped his wife.
The state habeas trial court conducted an evidentiary hearing and
issued various findings of fact.1
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied the habeas petition on
the merits in August 1995.
In November 1995, Emery filed a
second state habeas petition, raising several new issues, including
general challenges to Texas's death penalty scheme and new claims of
ineffective assistance based on counsel's having convinced Emery not
to testify and having not objected to a particular part of the jury
charge. While that petition was pending, Emery filed the instant
federal habeas petition.
Texas follows the rule that a
state prisoner may seek habeas relief in state or federal court, but
not both. Consequently, the Texas courts refuse to consider a habeas
petition while a federal petition is pending. See Ex parte Green,
548 S.W.2d 914, 916 (Tex.Crim.App.1977). In February 1996, the Court
of Criminal Appeals invoked this principle and dismissed Emery's
second state habeas petition. In August 1996, the federal district
court denied Emery relief on all his claims but granted a
certificate of probable cause ("CPC") to appeal. See Emery v.
Johnson, 940 F.Supp. 1046, 1065 (S.D.Tex.1996).2
II.
A.
Our analysis of the claims that
Emery raised only in his second state habeas petition is complicated
by the doctrine of procedural default. A federal court may not
consider a state prisoner's constitutional claim if the state courts
based their rejection of that claim on an adequate and independent
state ground. See Martin v. Maxey, 98 F.3d 844, 847 (5th Cir.1996).
It is not always easy, however, to determine whether a state court
decision denying collateral relief is based on state procedural
grounds or, instead, on the court's interpretation of federal law.
The Supreme Court has supplied us with a useful default rule: We
will not apply a procedural default unless the last state court to
consider a particular claim "clearly and expressly" relied on an
independent and adequate state ground. Coleman v. Thompson, 501 U.S.
722, 735, 111 S.Ct. 2546, 2557, 115 L.Ed.2d 640 (1991).
This default rule does not apply,
however, "if the petitioner failed to exhaust state remedies and the
court to which the petitioner would be required to present his
claims in order to meet the exhaustion requirement would now find
the claims procedurally barred." Id. at 735 n. 1, 111 S.Ct. at 2557
n. 1. In such a case, "there is a procedural default for purposes of
federal habeas regardless of the decision of the last state court to
which the petitioner actually presented his claims." Id.
B.
1.
The federal district court
reasoned that Emery's claims were procedurally barred because, if he
tried to exhaust them in a proper manner, they would be barred by
TEX.CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 11.071, § 5(a) (Vernon Supp.1997),
which prohibits the filing of subsequent or untimely habeas
applications, absent cause or actual innocence.3
See Ex parte Davis, 947 S.W.2d 216 (Tex.Crim.App.1996) (en banc) (upholding
the constitutionality of article 11.071). In a habeas context, we
review the district court's determinations of law de novo and its
findings of facts for clear error. See Dison v. Whitley, 20 F.3d
185, 186 (5th Cir.1994).
Because article 11.071 is a new
statute that is largely uninterpreted by state cases, we instead
consider whether we should affirm on the basis of the abuse-of-the-writ
doctrine. We may affirm a judgment on any ground supported by the
record. See Mangaroo v. Nelson, 864 F.2d 1202, 1204 n. 2 (5th
Cir.1989).4
A second habeas petition is an
abuse of the writ if the prisoner urges grounds that could have been,
but were not, raised in his first habeas petition. See Russell v.
Collins, 944 F.2d 202, 205 (5th Cir.1991) (per curiam). Such a
doctrine, which the federal courts recognize, encourages efficient
justice by requiring a prisoner to present all claims for relief at
once. See McCleskey v. Zant, 499 U.S. 467, 493, 111 S.Ct. 1454,
1469-70, 113 L.Ed.2d 517 (1991). The Texas courts have recognized
this doctrine for over twenty years. See, e.g., Ex parte Carr, 511
S.W.2d 523, 525-26 (Tex.Crim.App.1974).
An abuse of the writ can qualify
as a procedural bar. See Murch v. Mottram, 409 U.S. 41, 45-46, 93
S.Ct. 71, 73-74, 34 L.Ed.2d 194 (1972) (per curiam). A procedural
bar is not adequate, however, unless it is applied "strictly or
regularly" to the "vast majority of similar claims." Amos v. Scott,
61 F.3d 333, 339 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 516 U.S. 1005, 116 S.Ct.
557, 133 L.Ed.2d 458 (1995). Historically, Texas courts have failed
to apply the abuse-of-the-writ-doctrine in a strict or regular
manner, and, therefore, we have refused to honor it. See Lowe v.
Scott, 48 F.3d 873, 876 (5th Cir.1995).
This changed in 1994, when the
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals announced the adoption of a strict
abuse-of-the-writ-doctrine, tempered only by an exception for cause.
See Ex parte Barber, 879 S.W.2d 889, 891 n. 1 (Tex.Crim.App.1994)
(en banc) (plurality opinion). Barber represents an adequate
procedural bar for purposes of federal habeas review. See Fearance
v. Scott, 56 F.3d 633, 642 (5th Cir.1995).
Emery has not cited any
post-Barber case allowing an abusive writ, and our research has
revealed none. Therefore, we are bound to follow Fearance and to
hold that Emery's violation of Texas's abuse-of-the-writ-doctrine
constitutes an independent and adequate procedural bar to our
consideration of his barred claims.5
2.
A petitioner may overcome a
procedural default by showing cause and prejudice for that default.
See Tucker v. Johnson, No. 97-20101 (5th Cir. July 2, 1997) (on
petition for rehearing). Emery argues that his failure to anticipate
the passage of article 11.071 constitutes cause for his failure to
plead all his grounds for relief in his first habeas petition.
Emery filed his first state habeas
petition in July 1995, over one year after Barber was decided, so he
cannot claim ignorance of his duty to plead all his grounds for
relief during his first petition for collateral review. Therefore,
he has shown no cause for his violation of Texas's abuse of the writ
doctrine.
III.
A.
Emery raises several ineffective-assistance-of-counsel
claims. To establish ineffective assistance, he must demonstrate
both deficient performance by his counsel and prejudice resulting
from that deficiency. See Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668,
687, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 2064, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984).
We compare counsel's performance
to an objective standard of reasonableness, mindful of the strong
presumption of adequacy. We will not find inadequate representation
merely because, with the benefit of hindsight, we disagree with
counsel's strategic choices. See Garland v. Maggio, 717 F.2d 199,
206 (5th Cir.1983) (on petition for rehearing). To establish
prejudice, Emery must demonstrate that counsel's errors "render the
verdict fundamentally unfair or unreliable." Carter v. Johnson, 110
F.3d 1098, 1110 (5th Cir.1997).6
Specifically, he must "show a 'reasonable probability' that the jury
would have otherwise harbored a reasonable doubt concerning guilt."
Id.
B.
1.
Emery's first ineffectiveness
claim concerns his counsel's questioning Deborah about his
confession, thus waiving the marital privilege, see TEX.R.CRIM. EVID.
504(1), and allowing the admission of the confession. Explaining
this claim requires some exploration of its factual background.
Under Texas law, the marital
privilege extends only to confidential communications, not observed
acts. See Sterling v. Texas, 814 S.W.2d 261, 261-62 (Tex.App.--Austin
1991, writ ref'd) (per curiam). Deborah testified that Emery
returned to the house shortly after the murder with a blood-stained
knife and blood-stained underpants and "had blood on his arms,
smeared on his arms and his hands, on his shirt, and his pants, and
some on his work boot." She testified that Emery drove her to the
site of the murder to watch the investigation and that Emery told
James Smith that he had killed a man in Texas and instructed Smith
to request verification from Debbie.
Impeaching this testimony was
vital to Emery's defense of mistaken identity. John Quinn, his
counsel, feared that an effective cross-examination would open the
door to Deborah's testimony about Emery's confession. Furthermore,
at that time, Emery still intended to testify. Quinn feared that
Emery would make statements that would waive the privilege and allow
the admission of the confession.
To be successful, the mistaken-identity
theory required the defense to obtain a high degree of credibility
with the jury. Consequently, one of counsel's strategic priorities
was to be honest and straightforward. Accordingly, Quinn wanted to
introduce, and lessen the impact of, any incriminating evidence that
the prosecution might present.
2.
Emery argues that Quinn was
incorrect in his belief (1) that Emery would testify and (2) that an
effective cross-examination would open the door to the admission of
Emery's confession. It is difficult to determine whether Quinn was
correct in the latter belief. The record reveals that the most
effective portion of the cross-examination was Quinn's careful and
detailed analysis of the inconsistencies among Deborah's various
statements to the police. Whether the Texas Rules of Criminal
Evidence7 would
have required the admission of Deborah's entire statement, including
her report of Emery's confession, is an open question.
We need not resolve this issue of
state evidentiary law. The Sixth Amendment does not guarantee
criminal defendants the right to error-free representation. See
Skillern v. Estelle, 720 F.2d 839, 851 (5th Cir.1983). Standing
alone, counsel's erroneous judgment, if any, about the requirements
of state law does not constitute deficient performance unless it is
so unreasonable that it rebuts the strong presumption that counsel's
performance "falls within the wide range of reasonable professional
assistance." Washington, 466 U.S. at 689, 104 S.Ct. at 2065.
Quinn's judgment that an effective
cross-examination of Deborah would have been impossible without
opening the door to the admission of the confession was reasonable.
Similarly, as explained in more detail infra, Quinn's belief that
Emery would testify and open the door to that confession also was
reasonable. These reasonable judgments, even if ultimately erroneous,
satisfy the standard for effective assistance of counsel.
3.
In any event, Emery has not
demonstrated prejudice. At trial, both Smith and Michaeloff
testified that Emery had confessed to them. Although Emery
originally told Smith that he had stabbed a man, he later identified
Muhlinghaus in a picture. Michaeloff recounted a confession that was
far more detailed and accurate than that reported by Deborah.
In short, Deborah's testimony
about the confession was duplicative of testimony given by Smith and
Michaeloff. Emery cannot demonstrate that a third source of the same
confession would have sufficed to change the result of his trial.8
The lack of prejudice is an alternative ground for denying Emery
relief on this claim.
C.
Emery's second ineffectiveness
claim is akin to the first. Quinn questioned Deborah about Emery's
practice of committing pass key burglaries, opening the door to
Mitchell McGrady's testimony about Emery's stealing quarters and
televisions. Emery argues that, by opening the door to the admission
of this evidence of an extraneous act, Quinn rendered ineffective
assistance.
According to Emery's affidavit, he
intended to testify about his criminal history as a pass key burglar.
His theory was that, as an experienced burglar, he would not have
entered Muhlinghaus's home, as it contained nothing worth stealing.
At the time that Deborah testified, Emery still intended to take the
stand.
As mentioned above, Quinn's trial
strategy required him to maintain credibility by not appearing to
have anything to hide. Furthermore, Quinn reasonably believed that
it was better strategy to vet damaging information himself, rather
than allowing the prosecution to introduce it. It is not our
province, on habeas review, to second-guess counsel's strategic
choices.
Finally, Emery argues that Quinn
was ineffective for not requesting a limiting instruction for this
evidence. We must reject this argument, as the state trial court
stated that it would not have granted such a limiting instruction,
because the defense introduced the evidence. Although Emery argues
that this is an incorrect interpretation of state law, "it is not
the province of a federal habeas court to reexamine state-court
determinations on state-law questions." Estelle v. McGuire, 502 U.S.
62, 67-68, 112 S.Ct. 475, 479-80, 116 L.Ed.2d 385 (1991).
D.
Emery's third ineffectiveness
claim concerns Quinn's failure to object when the prosecution
questioned McGrady about Emery's slapping Deborah. This claim is
easily dismissed.
As we have explained, a successful
defense required impeaching Deborah's testimony. Part of the cross-examination
centered on Deborah's delay in reporting Emery's crime. Deborah
stated that the delay was caused by her fear of Emery. Consequently,
Emery's slapping Deborah was admissible to show the reasonableness
of her fear. Objection to its admission would have been futile, and
failure to assert a meritless objection cannot be grounds for a
finding of deficient performance. See Clark v. Collins, 19 F.3d 959,
966 (5th Cir.1994).
Regarding Quinn's failure to
request a limiting instruction that this evidence not be considered
for general criminal propensity, Emery has not even argued that the
lack of that instruction rendered the trial fundamentally unfair or
unreliable. We conclude that Emery was not prejudiced by this
failure.
IV.
A.
Emery alleges that he was denied
the right to testify at trial. A criminal defendant has a
constitutional right to testify on his own behalf. See Rock v.
Arkansas, 483 U.S. 44, 49-53, 107 S.Ct. 2704, 2707-10, 97 L.Ed.2d 37
(1987). This right can be waived only by the defendant, not by his
counsel. See United States v. Teague, 953 F.2d 1525, 1532 (11th
Cir.1992) (en banc). A waiver of this right must be knowing and
voluntary. See United States v. Blum, 65 F.3d 1436, 1444 (8th
Cir.1995), cert. denied, 516 U.S. 1097, 116 S.Ct. 824, 133 L.Ed.2d
767 (1996).
Emery did not testify at his first
trial. Because he was convicted there, he was convinced that he
should do everything in the second trial differently. At the
beginning of the trial, he informed his counsel that he wished to
testify.
Emery and Quinn discussed his
testimony several times during the trial. Emery told Quinn radically
different versions of what happened the night of the murder. For
example, at one point, he told Quinn that he had stabbed a black
male using a screwdriver to break into Emery's car, and that was why
he was covered with blood.
Somewhat later, Emery informed
Quinn that he had met Muhlinghaus in a bar and eventually had an
affair with her. He stated that he killed her to prevent her from
exposing the adultery to his wife. When Quinn informed him that the
jury was unlikely to believe that story, Emery suggested returning
to the "screwdriver in the parking lot story." Faced with these
conversations, Quinn reasonably believed that Emery intended to
commit perjury. Because of this, he threatened to leave the
courtroom if Emery insisted on testifying.
In addition, Quinn believed that
Emery would not stand up well to cross-examination, that the jury
would not believe him, and that his testimony would negate the
defense theory of mistaken identity. Quinn's co-counsel agreed with
his assessment of the wisdom of testifying but did not threaten to
leave the courtroom.
The night before Emery would have
testified, his counsel finally managed to convince him not to do so.
At trial the next day, Quinn engaged in a lengthy colloquy with
Emery, explaining to him that he had the right to testify regardless
of counsel's advice. Emery stated on the record that he understood
his rights and that he was voluntarily declining to testify.
B.
The state habeas court made a
factual finding that Emery understood his rights and that Quinn's
threats did not coerce Emery into not testifying. Absent a
procedural defect in the state habeas proceeding, the state court's
factual findings are presumed to be correct unless they are "not
fairly supported by the record." 28 U.S.C.A. § 2254(d)(8) (West
1994). Although Emery makes the bold statement that the record is
devoid of evidence that his decision about testifying was not based
on Quinn's "threat," we note that this factual finding is supported
not only by Quinn's affidavit but by Emery's own statements under
oath.9
Our review of the record reveals a
great deal of evidence that Emery understood his right to testify
and that his decision not to do so was based on Quinn's persuasion
and not his coercion. In addition to the statements of Quinn and
Emery, we note that Quinn's absence during Emery's testimony would
have caused him little harm, as Quinn's co-counsel intended to
remain in the courtroom and perform the defense duties. There also
is considerable evidence in the record that Emery was very strong-willed
and unlikely to allow his decisions to be controlled by pressure
from other persons.
Because we find sufficient support
in the record, we are bound by the state court's factual findings.
Considering that Emery understood his right to testify and that
Quinn's actions did not coerce him into not doing so, Emery's right
to testify was not violated.
V.
Emery makes a half-hearted
argument, based on Penry v. Lynaugh, 492 U.S. 302, 109 S.Ct. 2934,
106 L.Ed.2d 256 (1989), that the Texas sentencing scheme, as applied
through the jury instructions, was unconstitutional because it
prevented the jury from considering evidence of the abuse he
suffered as a child. Instructional error of this sort does not
amount to a constitutional violation "unless there is a reasonable
likelihood that the jury applied the challenged instruction in a way
that prevents the consideration of constitutionally relevant
mitigating evidence." Lackey v. Scott, 28 F.3d 486, 489 (5th
Cir.1994) (quoting Johnson v. Texas, 509 U.S. 350, 367, 113 S.Ct.
2658, 2668-69, 125 L.Ed.2d 290 (1993)) (internal quotation marks
omitted). Furthermore, the mitigating evidence "must demonstrate a 'uniquely
severe permanent handicap[ ] with which the defendant was burdened
through no fault of his own.' " Turner v. Johnson, 106 F.3d 1178,
1189 (5th Cir.1997) (quoting Graham v. Collins, 950 F.2d 1009, 1029
(5th Cir.1992) (en banc), aff'd, 506 U.S. 461, 113 S.Ct. 892, 122
L.Ed.2d 260 (1993)).
Whatever faults may have existed
in the death penalty scheme that Texas maintained prior to 1991, see
TEX.CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN art. 37.071(b) (Vernon 1981 & Supp.1991) (amended
1991) (current version at TEX.CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art.
37.071(b)-(e) (Vernon Supp.1997)),10
the trial court had the benefit of Penry and correctly modified its
instruction to comport with the Supreme Court's decision.
Specifically, the court instructed the jury:
[Y]our answers to the Special Issues, which
determine the punishment to be assessed the defendant by the court,
should be reflective of your finding as to the personal moral
culpability of the defendant in this case.
When you deliberate about the
questions posed in the Special Issues, you are to consider any
mitigating circumstances supported by the evidence presented in both
phases of the trial. A mitigating circumstance may be any aspect of
the defendant's background, character, and record, or circumstances
of the crime, which you believe makes a sentence of death
inappropriate in this case. If you find that there are any
mitigating circumstances, you must decide how much weight they
deserve and give them effect when you answer the special issues. If
you determine, in consideration of this evidence, that a life
sentence, rather than a death sentence, is an appropriate response
to the personal moral culpability of the defendant, you are
instructed to answer the Special Issue under consideration "No".
This instruction allowed the jury
to consider any appropriate mitigating circumstance, including a
history of child abuse, and required the jury not to sentence Emery
to death if a life sentence was appropriate in light of his moral
culpability. The instruction adequately addressed the Court's
concerns about Texas's death penalty scheme by giving the jury the
ability to consider any appropriate mitigating circumstance.
Accordingly, the judgment is
AFFIRMED, and the stay of execution is VACATED.
*****
ON PETITION FOR REHEARING
April 15, 1998
PER CURIAM:
On petition for rehearing, Emery
urges us to reconsider our determination that the claims that he did
not present in his first state habeas application are procedurally
barred by Texas's common-law abuse-of-the-writ doctrine. In support
of his contention that the common-law doctrine does not procedurally
bar federal review of these claims, Emery offers a single published
case, Ex Parte Fierro, 934 S.W.2d 370 (Tex.Crim.App.1996), cert.
denied, --- U.S. ----, 117 S. Ct. 2517, 138 L.Ed.2d 1019 (1997), in
which the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (TCCA) addressed the
merits of a successive habeas application, and a number of
unpublished decisions of the TCCA in which he contends that the
court addressed a habeas petitioner's claims on the merits even
though the claims were presented for the first time in a successive
habeas application.*
We conclude that these cases do not undermine our determination that
Texas's common-law abuse-of-the-writ doctrine constitutes a state
ground adequate to bar federal review of the claims that Emery did
not present in his first state habeas petition.
We note as an initial matter that
Emery contends in his petition for rehearing that, in evaluating the
adequacy of a state procedural rule, "the proper point in time for
determining whether a procedural rule was firmly established and
regularly followed is 'the time of [the] purported procedural
default.' " (quoting Fields v. Calderon, 125 F.3d 757, 760 (9th
Cir.1997) (internal quotation marks omitted), cert. denied, --- U.S.
----, 118 S.Ct. 1826, 140 L.Ed.2d 962 (1998)). We also note that
Emery bears the burden of proving that Texas did not apply the
doctrine with sufficient strictness and regularity during the
relevant time period. See Stokes v. Anderson, 123 F.3d 858, 860 (5th
Cir.1997), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 118 S.Ct. 1091, 140 L.Ed.2d
147 (1998); Martin v. Maxey, 98 F.3d 844, 847 (5th Cir.1996).
Assuming arguendo that Emery's view of the law is correct, we
conclude, for the reasons set forth below, that Texas strictly and
regularly applied its common-law abuse-of-the-writ doctrine at the
time of Emery's procedural default, that is, at the time that he
failed to include all of the claims for which he seeks federal
review in his first state habeas application.
In Fearance v. Scott, 56 F.3d 633
(5th Cir.1995), a panel of this court acknowledged that, in the past,
Texas courts had not applied the common-law abuse-of-the-writ
doctrine with sufficient strictness and regularity to render the
doctrine an adequate ground for barring later federal habeas review
of a constitutional claim. See id. at 642 (citing Lowe v. Scott, 48
F.3d 873, 876 (5th Cir.1995)). However, the panel held that, as of
the TCCA's decision in Ex Parte Barber, 879 S.W.2d 889 (Tex.Crim.App.1994),
the common-law abuse-of-the-writ doctrine was applied with
sufficient strictness and regularity to render the doctrine an
adequate state ground. Fearance, 56 F.3d at 642. Fearance thus
stands for the proposition that, at least with respect to the time
period between February 23, 1994, the date that the TCCA decided
Barber, until June 18, 1995, the date that this court decided
Fearance, Texas applied its common-law abuse-of-the-writ doctrine
with sufficient strictness and regularity to render it an adequate
state ground. We are bound to accept this conclusion. See Narvaiz v.
Johnson, 134 F.3d 688, 694 (5th Cir.1998) ("It is more than well-established
that, in this circuit, one panel may not overrule the decision,
right or wrong, of a prior panel in the absence of en banc
reconsideration or superseding decision of the Supreme Court." (internal
quotation marks and brackets omitted)).
Emery filed his first state habeas
application on July 5, 1995, and the TCCA denied relief on August 1,
1995. In his petition for rehearing, Emery cites no cases decided
between the date that this court decided Fearance and the date that
he filed his first habeas application in which the TCCA addresses
the merits of an abusive application. He cites only one such
case--Ex Parte Gibbs, Writ No. 23,624-02 (Tex.Crim.App. July 15,
1995)--decided between the date we decided Fearance and the date
that the TCCA denied relief on his first habeas application. Even if
we assume that, up until the date that the TCCA denied relief on his
first habeas petition, Emery could have amended his application so
as to present the claims for which he now seeks federal review,
thereby avoiding a procedural default, Emery has not demonstrated
that Texas failed to apply its common-law abuse-of-the-writ doctrine
with sufficient strictness and regularity to render it an adequate
state ground as of the time of Emery's procedural default. We have
held that "an occasional act of grace by a state court in excusing
or disregarding a state procedural rule does not render the rule
inadequate." Amos v. Scott, 61 F.3d 333, 342 (5th Cir.1995).**
As such, Emery's presentation of a single case decided between the
date of Fearance and the date the TCCA denied relief on his first
habeas application cannot establish the inadequacy of Texas's common-law
abuse-of-the-writ doctrine during the time period that Emery
contends is germane to the determination of whether federal review
of his claims is barred by an adequate and independent state ground.
Accordingly, we DENY Emery's petition for rehearing.
In Texas, all post-conviction habeas
petitions are decided by the Court of Criminal Appeals. See
TEX.CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art 11.07, § 2(a) (Vernon Supp.1994) (amended
1995) (current version at TEX.CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art 11.07, §
3 (Vernon Supp.1997)). When a habeas petition requires the
resolution of questions of fact, the state trial court that
rendered the conviction performs the fact-finding function. See
id. § 2(c). The decision whether to issue the writ still remains
with the Court of Criminal Appeals
Section 102 of the Antiterrorism and
Effective Death Penalty Act ("AEDPA") of 1996, Pub.L. No.
104-132, 110 Stat. 1214, 1217-18 (1996), amended 28 U.S.C. §
2253 to require a "certificate of appealability" before a final
order in a habeas proceeding can be appealed. Because Emery
filed his habeas petition in 1995, well before the effective
date of the AEDPA, this new requirement does not apply to him,
and the grant of a CPC is sufficient to vest jurisdiction in
this court. See Shute v. Texas, 117 F.3d 233, 236 n. 1 (5th
Cir.1997) (on rehearing). Similarly, the new standards of review
contained in § 104 of the AEDPA, 110 Stat. at 1218-19, do not
apply to this petition. See Green v. Johnson, 116 F.3d 1115,
1119-20 (5th Cir.1997)
Article 11.071 applies only to capital cases,
but TEX.CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 11.07, § 4 (Vernon
Supp.1997), adopts the same rule for non-capital felony
convictions
If the state does not plead procedural
default in the district court, it is waived. See United States
v. Marcello, 876 F.2d 1147, 1153 (5th Cir.1989). We have
recognized a limited exception to this rule when one state
implicitly waives the default of a different state's procedural
rule. See Trest v. Whitley, 94 F.3d 1005, 1007-09 & n. 2 (5th
Cir.1996), cert. granted sub nom. Trest v. Cain, --- U.S. ----,
117 S.Ct. 1842, 137 L.Ed.2d 1046 (1997). Although the district
court did not rely on the abuse-of-the-writ doctrine in finding
a procedural default, the state urged this ground both on appeal
and before the district court
Emery filed a motion to certify to the Court
of Criminal Appeals certain questions concerning the
interpretation and application of article 11.071. Because our
decision does not rely on that article, we deny this motion as
moot
Although Murphy v. Johnson, 110 F.3d 10 (5th
Cir.1997) and Carter were influenced by our erroneous view of
the applicability of the AEDPA to cases pending when the act
became effective, they remain precedent to the extent that they
" 'do[ ] not conflict with Lindh 's conclusion that the chapter
153 amendments do not apply retroactively.' " Tucker, 115 F.3d
276, 280 n. 4 (quoting Green, 116 F.3d at 1120 n. 2). See Lindh
v. Murphy, --- U.S. ----, 117 S.Ct. 2059, 138 L.Ed.2d 481 (1997)
See TEX.R.CRIM. EVID. 106 ("When a writing or
recorded statement or part thereof is introduced by a party, an
adverse party may at that time introduce any other part or any
other writing or recorded statement which ought in fairness to
be considered contemporaneously with it."); TEX.R.CRIM. EVID.
107 ("When part of an act, declaration, conversation, writing or
recorded statement is given in evidence by one party, the whole
on the same subject may be inquired into by the other....")
Cf. Romero v. Lynaugh, 884 F.2d 871, 879 (5th
Cir.1989) (holding that a prisoner failed to establish prejudice
from the admission of cumulative evidence)
Emery also argues that the state habeas
court's factual finding should be disregarded because "[i]t
ignores the perjury sponsored by trial counsel at trial." Emery
suggests that Quinn suborned perjury by asking Emery whether
anyone had coerced him into not testifying, knowing that he
would say he had not been coerced. Of course, Emery's argument
assumes its conclusion. If, as the state habeas court found,
Quinn did not coerce Emery into testifying, Quinn did not suborn
(and Emery did not commit) perjury
Texas modified its death penalty procedures
to comply with Penry 's teachings. See TEX.CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN.
art 37.071 (Vernon Supp.1997). Although the relevant amendment
became effective September 1, 1991, and the charge on punishment
was given November 26, 1991, the amendment applied only to
offenses committed before the effective date of the act. See Act
of June 16, 1991, 72d Leg., R.S., ch. 838, § 5, 1991 Tex. Sess.
Law Serv. 2898, 2901 (Vernon)
Emery cites the following cases: Ex Parte
Banks, Writ No. 13,568-03 (Tex.Crim.App. Jan. 10, 1996); Ex
Parte Gibbs, Writ No. 23,624-02 (Tex.Crim.App. July 15, 1995);
Ex Parte Burdine, Writ No. 16,725-06 (Tex.Crim.App. Apr. 6,
1995); Ex Parte Goodwin, Writ No. 25,290-02 (Tex.Crim.App. Jan.
27, 1995); Ex Parte Mata, Writ No. 8,937-02 (Tex.Crim.App. Jan.
27, 1995); Ex Parte Marquez, Writ No. 17,898-03 (Tex.Crim.App.
Jan. 13, 1995). In all of these cases, the Texas Court of
Criminal Appeals summarily denied relief. We assume without
deciding that such summary disposition constituted a resolution
of the cases solely on the merits
Additionally, because the Gibbs opinion
merely consists of a one-page order summarily denying relief, it
is unclear whether that case even involved claims similar to the
ones that Emery seeks to have us review. "Because [Emery] has
not demonstrated that the TCCA [did] not strictly or regularly
apply the [abuse-of-the-writ doctrine] to claims identical or
similar to his ... claim[s], we are convinced that the rule is
an adequate state-law ground," at least with respect to the time
period to which Emery urges us to look in evaluating the
strictness and regularity of the rule's application. Amos, 61
F.3d at 340-41