Rick Rhoades v. Lorie Davis, Director
852 F.3d 422
5th Cir.2017Background
- Rick Allen Rhoades was convicted in Texas of capital murder for two 1991 homicides and sentenced to death; state direct appeal and state habeas were unsuccessful.
- While jailed on a separate burglary charge, Rhoades confessed to the murders; those confessions included references to other nonviolent property offenses.
- At the sentencing phase, the trial court excluded eleven childhood photos offered as mitigating evidence and allowed testimony that inmates sentenced to life could be eligible for furlough.
- The trial court also granted the State’s motion in limine preventing the defense from telling the jury that a life sentence would make Rhoades parole-eligible after 35 years.
- Rhoades alleged ineffective assistance of trial counsel for failing to object to (a) a prosecutor remark during closing that referenced defense counsel and (b) admission of other-bad-act evidence; he also raised Batson challenges to two peremptory strikes against Black prospective jurors.
- The federal district court denied habeas relief and declined a certificate of appealability (COA); the Fifth Circuit granted COA in part for certain claims.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exclusion of childhood photographs at sentencing | Rhoades: photos were mitigating and relevant to jury’s mercy/mitigation determination | State: photos irrelevant to moral blameworthiness; exclusion reasonable | COA granted — issue debatable; state court was divided and Supreme Court relevance standard unsettled |
| Admission of furlough testimony (State said life inmates eligible for furlough) | Rhoades: testimony was false/misleading; TDCJ policy effectively never granted furloughs to such inmates, undermining sentencing reliability | State: objection not preserved and testimony not misleading; merits rejected | COA granted on both merits and procedural-bar questions; merits debatable given evidence that furloughs were never actually granted |
| Exclusion of parole-eligibility information (35-year rule) | Rhoades: jury should know length before parole eligibility to compare life vs death (extension of Simmons) | State: Simmons limited to life-without-parole; circuit precedent forecloses extension | COA denied — claim foreclosed by Fifth Circuit precedent (Kinnamon) |
| Ineffective assistance for failing to object to prosecutor comment and other-bad-act evidence | Rhoades: counsel’s failure to object violated Strickland and prejudiced sentencing/trial | State: prosecutor comment did not implicate Fifth Amendment; counsel made strategic choice to introduce/‘desensitize’ bad acts to emphasize mitigation; state courts reasonably applied Strickland | COA denied — no substantial showing of Strickland error (both prongs) |
| Batson challenges to two peremptory strikes (Holiday and Randle) | Rhoades: prosecutor’s race-neutral reasons were pretextual; disparate treatment vs white jurors and record inconsistencies | State: offered multiple race-neutral reasons; trial court found no purposeful discrimination | COA granted — record contains evidence making denial debatable for both prospective jurors |
Key Cases Cited
- Lockett v. Ohio, 438 U.S. 586 (constitutional right to present mitigating evidence to sentencer)
- Simmons v. South Carolina, 512 U.S. 154 (when life means no parole, jury must be informed)
- Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (two-part ineffective-assistance standard)
- Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322 (Batson/Ct. of appeals COA standards; implausible justifications may be pretext)
- Miller-El v. Dretke, 545 U.S. 231 (Batson — use of all relevant circumstances at step three)
- Griffin v. California, 380 U.S. 609 (prohibition on prosecutorial comment on defendant's silence)
- Purkett v. Elem, 514 U.S. 765 (State's race-neutral explanation need not justify challenge for cause)
- Cullen v. Pinholster, 563 U.S. 170 (AEDPA deference and standards on ineffective assistance)