Goodwin v. JohnsonGoodwin v. Johnson
- Reporters:
- Before:
- King, Jolly, DeMoss
Petitioner-Appellant Alvin Urial Goodwin III, a Texas death-row inmate, appeals from the district court‘s denial of his application for a writ of habeas corpus, arguing that the lower court‘s finding that he had not invoked his right to counsel before confessing to the crime of which he was convicted is clearly erroneous. He also requests that we revisit an ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim in light of the Supreme Court‘s intervening decision in Williams v. Taylor, 120 S. Ct. 1495 (2000). We decide that the lower court‘s finding is not clearly erroneous and deny Goodwin‘s request to revisit the ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim. As a result, we affirm the judgment of the district court.
I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
This is an appeal from a judgment entered after remand. Petitioner-Appellant Alvin Urial Goodwin III (“Goodwin“) argued in his first appeal that the district court erred in failing to conduct an evidentiary hearing on his claim that admission of his confessions violated the U.S. Constitution as those confessions were obtained
Suspecting they were involved in several burglaries and attempted burglaries, Burlington, Iowa police officers arrested Goodwin and Billy Dan Atkins, Jr. in the early morning hours of Saturday, January 17, 1987 after they were observed approaching numerous parked cars. Goodwin, who was found with a loaded,
According to Goodwin‘s 1994 affidavit, after he was taken to the Burlington police station, he refused to sign a waiver of rights form and to give a statement, and instead, requested an attorney. His affidavit states further that between the time he requested an attorney and the time he was questioned by Texas law enforcement officers on January 21, he was not asked any incriminating questions. Goodwin also states that during that same period, he gave his real name and social security number, and was taken before a judge who informed him of the identity of his court-appointed attorney.
Other evidence corroborates some of Goodwin‘s affidavit. Goodwin was taken before a judge twice between his arrest and his questioning by Texas law enforcement officials. On January 17, 1987, Goodwin appeared before a judge and requested a court-appointed attorney. After setting bond at $25,000, the judge continued the matter until January 20, 1987, at which time he appointed Alan Waples to
Iowa records do not indicate whether Goodwin was questioned by Iowa police between January 17 and January 21. An affidavit from Lt. Walker indicates that if Goodwin refused to sign the form, “no further conversation would have taken place.” Iowa records do indicate that on January 17, Atkins was presented with a rights form at almost the exact time that Goodwin was. Atkins signed his acknowledgment and waiver of rights and was thereafter questioned by Iowa officers regarding the Iowa burglaries. Atkins was again questioned by Iowa officers on January 21, this time with counsel present. By January 21, Iowa officers had twice obtained warrants and searched the residence that Goodwin and Atkins shared.
The morning of January 21, two law enforcement officers from Texas interviewed Goodwin regarding the murder of Douglas Tillerson.1 Goodwin was read his Miranda rights, and he acknowledged that he understood them. Officers described the evidence that they had assembled (e.g., they had found Tillerson‘s body, they had the murder weapon, they had recovered property taken from Tillerson‘s home the night he disappeared) and that they had a capital murder warrant for Atkins. This prompted Goodwin to state that he, Goodwin, was “on death row” because he was the one who had pulled the trigger.
Goodwin was then asked whether he wanted to make a statement, and he responded that he did because he wanted to tell what had happened. Goodwin was again read his rights, at which point he signed the waiver of rights form. Thereafter, Goodwin gave a video-taped confession. Officers read Goodwin his rights one more time at the conclusion of his video-taped statement. Later on January 21, Goodwin was flown back to Texas in the custody of the law enforcement officers.2 The next day, after being brought before a magistrate, Goodwin was again read his rights, and he again agreed to waive those rights. Goodwin then gave a written confession. He subsequently also identified property stolen from Tillerson and the gun used by Atkins during the robbery and the murder.
In Goodwin, we assessed whether the district court properly granted summary judgment to Respondent-Appellee Gary L. Johnson (hereinafter “the State“). See 132 F.3d at 169. We determined, inter alia, that evidence in the record indicated the existence of a genuine issue of material fact with respect to Goodwin‘s Fifth Amendment right-to-counsel claim. See id. at 182 n.15. In remanding for an evidentiary hearing on the question whether Goodwin had invoked his Fifth Amendment right to counsel prior to being interrogated by Texas law enforcement officials, we explicitly stated that the hearing “should not be a wide-ranging fishing expedition, but a brief adversarial hearing concerning a discrete factual issue.” Id. at 185 (internal quotation marks and brackets omitted).
The court below adhered to this directive. After the document indicating
The district court denied Goodwin‘s motion for summary judgment, and ordered a video-taped deposition of Goodwin to take place. After completion of this deposition, the court heard oral argument on the evidence. It ultimately found that Goodwin did not invoke the right to counsel before he confessed to Texas law enforcement officials in Iowa. The court did not rule on the State‘s Rule 9(a) motion, but found that Goodwin‘s delay in raising the issue substantially prejudiced the State‘s ability to establish precisely the sequence of events. Judgment denying Goodwin‘s application for habeas relief was entered October 18, 1999. The district court also granted Goodwin a Certificate of Probable Cause (“CPC“). Goodwin timely appeals.
II. INVOCATION OF THE RIGHT TO COUNSEL
We will not upset the district court‘s findings unless we find clear error. See Blackmon v. Johnson, 145 F.3d 205, 208 (5th Cir. 1998), cert. denied, 526 U.S. 1021 (1999). Goodwin points to six pieces of evidence as supporting his contention that the district court‘s finding that he had not invoked his Fifth Amendment right to counsel is clearly erroneous: (1) his refusal to sign his waiver form;3 (2) the extensive investigation into the Iowa burglaries conducted by Iowa police officers; (3) the interrogation of Atkins after he signed his waiver form; (4) the cessation of Atkins‘s interrogation shortly after he asserted his right to counsel; (5) the absence of any indication that Iowa police officers interrogated Goodwin; and (6) Goodwin‘s affidavit, video-taped deposition, and his chronology of events evidently prepared for his trial attorney, each of which indicates that he requested an attorney. Goodwin asserts that this evidence is uncontroverted and allows for only one conclusion: that he invoked his right to counsel before being interrogated by Texas law enforcement officials.
Because Goodwin‘s claim is based on events that occurred thirteen years ago,
should not lose sight of the fact that it is the habeas applicant who has the burden of proving a constitutional violation, and that no system of justice which gives both society and a defendant their due is aided by attempting to reconstruct or re-evaluate events that took place decades ago, as if it were an archaeological expedition, rather than an exercise in the administration of justice.
Engle v. Sims, 450 U.S. 936, 941-42 (1981) (Rehnquist, J., dissenting from the denial of a petition for certiorari) (internal citations omitted); see also Tyler v. Beto, 391 F.2d 993, 995 (5th Cir. 1968) (noting that a petitioner in a habeas corpus proceeding has the burden of proof to establish sufficient facts to warrant a finding of denial of constitutional rights). We have reviewed and considered the portions of the record relevant to Goodwin‘s Fifth Amendment claim, and cannot say that we are “left with the definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed.” United States v. United States Gypsum Co., 333 U.S. 364, 395 (1948).
In order for Goodwin‘s confessions to be inadmissible, Goodwin had to have affirmatively indicated to Iowa police officers that he did not want to answer their questions without an attorney present.4 See McNeil v. Wisconsin, 501 U.S. 171, 178 (1991) (“The rule of [Edwards v. Arizona, 451 U.S. 477 (1981)] applies only when the suspect ‘ha[s] expressed’ his wish for the particular sort of lawyerly assistance that is the subject of Miranda. It requires, at a minimum, some statement that can reasonably be construed to be an expression of a desire for the assistance of an attorney in dealing with custodial interrogation by the police.” (quoting Edwards, 451 U.S. at 484) (emphasis added in McNeil)). A refusal to sign a waiver form is insufficient to show invocation of one‘s Fifth Amendment right to counsel. See United States v. Chapa-Garza, 62 F.3d 118, 122 (5th Cir. 1995); United States v. McDaniel, 463 F.2d 129, 135 (5th Cir. 1972). “A refusal to sign a waiver may indicate nothing more than a reluctance to put pen to paper under the circumstance of custody.” Id.
Given the circumstances, the reason for Goodwin‘s refusal to sign the waiver form is not apparent. The paragraph he refused to sign contained not only language dealing with making a statement without counsel present, but also language stating that he fully understood what his rights were, that he was ready and willing to answer questions, that he waived his right to remain silent, that he was given no promises or threats, and that no persuasion or coercion had been used against him. The form showed the name Goodwin had given as an alias rather than Goodwin‘s real name. Moreover, Goodwin had been arrested at the same time as Atkins. Given this, he had no incentive to talk with police until he learned whether Atkins was talking with them.
Other evidence is equally ambiguous. Goodwin relies on the fact that Iowa police did not interrogate him for four days, arguing that this demonstrates that Iowa police officers adhered to his invocation of counsel. One of Lt. Walker‘s affidavits indicates that a refusal to sign the form would have led to there being no interrogation. Although this would appear to support Goodwin‘s contention that he had
Goodwin asserts that because Iowa police were actively investigating the burglaries Goodwin and Atkins were suspected of committing, their failure to interrogate Goodwin over a four-day period demonstrates he had invoked his right to counsel. Again, although such a conclusion is possible, it is not mandated by the evidence. At this stage, any number of possible reasons, each perfectly consistent with normal police procedure, can be given for why Goodwin was not interrogated. For example, the record provides the district court with ample support for the conclusion that police were occupied with obtaining physical evidence of Goodwin‘s and Atkins‘s involvement in the burglaries they were suspected of committing.
As Goodwin acknowledges, much of the evidence he relies upon is circumstantial. His own descriptions of the events at the time are the sole forms of direct evidence. Here, it is apparent that the district court made a credibility determination, and concluded that Goodwin‘s statements could not be given much, if any, weight. It was entitled to do so. See Tyler, 391 F.2d at 995 (“Credibility is for the trier of facts and the uncontradicted testimony of a witness does not have to be accepted.” (citing Hawk v. Olson, 326 U.S. 271, 278 (1945))). Under the Federal Rules, we must give “due regard . . . to the opportunity of the trial court to judge of the credibility of the witnesses.”
III. INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL
In addition to reviewing the district court‘s factual findings, Goodwin argues that we should revisit an ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim this panel decided in Goodwin and should order that he be given a new direct appeal. In Goodwin, we relied on controlling circuit precedent and portions of the Supreme Court‘s reasoning in Lockhart v. Fretwell, 506 U.S. 364 (1993), to hold that Goodwin was not entitled to relief on his claim that his counsel on direct appeal was constitutionally ineffective because he had failed to challenge the trial court‘s refusal to modify its Texas Code of Criminal Procedure art. 38.23 instruction in the manner Goodwin requested. See Goodwin, 132 F.3d at 174. According to Goodwin, we may revisit this issue by recognizing the applicability of an exception to the law-of-the-case doctrine.
Under the law-of-the-case doctrine, “an appellate court‘s decision of a legal issue, whether explicitly or by necessary implication, establishes the law of the case and must be followed in all subsequent proceedings in the same case.” Carnival Leisure Indus., Ltd. v. Aubin, 53 F.3d 716, 718-19 (5th Cir. 1995). Because Goodwin requests that we reconsider our own decision, application of this doctrine is discretionary. See Perillo v. Johnson, 205 F.3d 775, 780-81 (5th Cir. 2000). In general, the doctrine will be applied, and a request
Goodwin argues that the second exception applies here. He contends that the Supreme Court‘s decision in Williams v. Taylor, 120 S. Ct. 1495 (2000), effectively rejected the analysis we conducted in Goodwin, and that application of the proper analysis would result in our reaching a different conclusion.5 As a result, Goodwin further asserts that failure to revisit his ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim “would work a manifest injustice.” Agostini v. Felton, 521 U.S. 203, 236 (1997) (internal quotation marks omitted). Given the procedural posture of this case, however, we must first assess whether our ability to reconsider Goodwin‘s ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim is foreclosed by the language of the
Our decision in Goodwin vacated only that portion of the district court‘s judgment that dealt with Goodwin‘s Fifth Amendment right-to-counsel claim and otherwise affirmed that judgment. See Goodwin, 132 F.3d at 192. Goodwin is before us because the district court, on remand, again denied his application for a writ of habeas corpus but also granted a CPC. Under the Supreme Court‘s opinion in Slack v. McDaniel, if a petitioner initiates an appeal after the effective date of AEDPA, the right to appeal is governed by the provisions of that law. See 120 S. Ct. 1595, 1598 (2000). Goodwin filed his notice of appeal on October 8, 1999. The effect of Slack is that despite the district court‘s grant of a CPC, we have before us an appeal that is governed by
The operation of
To consider Goodwin‘s ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim, we must identify a means of asserting jurisdiction over it. An individual seeking to avoid the effects of an appellate court‘s prior decision may bring to that court a motion to recall its mandate. See 18 JAMES WM. MOORE, MOORE‘S FEDERAL PRACTICE § 134.23[3], at 134-60 (3d ed. 2000); 16 CHARLES ALAN WRIGHT, ET AL. FEDERAL PRACTICE & PROCEDURE: JURISDICTION 2D § 3938, at 719 (1992). Due to the circumstances of this case and the nature of Goodwin‘s request, we consider that request as such a motion.
The Supreme Court has recognized that courts of appeals have an inherent power to recall their mandates, the exercise of which is subject to review for abuse of discretion. See Calderon v. Thompson, 523 U.S. 538, 549 (1998). The issue before the Thompson Court was whether the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit abused its discretion in recalling its mandate denying habeas relief to a
The Court noted that “[i]n a
The Thompson Court determined that the Ninth Circuit acted sua sponte on the basis of the petitioner‘s first application for habeas relief and thus that the court was not faced with a successive petition. See id. As a result, the Court had occasion to elucidate the habeas principles applicable to an appeals court‘s decision whether to recall its mandate under the circumstances before it. Among those principles was the respect accorded to the State‘s interest in the finality of convictions. See id. at 555-56. Concerning itself with cases where “a court of appeals recalls its
The question before us is whether we should grant Goodwin‘s motion in order to revisit an issue we have already considered on the merits, given the existence of a Supreme Court ruling that arguably rejects the analysis we conducted.9 Unlike Thompson, we do not face a situation in which we previously have disposed of all claims a petitioner raised in his first application. We find that this difference, however, is not sufficient to render the Supreme Court‘s Thompson reasoning wholly inapplicable to our response to Goodwin‘s motion. We note that but for the issue we remanded to the district court, Goodwin would be required to file a successive petition in order for his ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim to be revisited. Unless Goodwin satisfied the requirements of
We note as well that although the State‘s interest in the finality of convictions may not have acquired the “added moral dimension” that comes when federal proceedings have “run their course,” Thompson, 523 U.S. at 556, that interest is not insubstantial. Given our limited remand in Goodwin, the State was entitled to consider Goodwin‘s other claims settled by us, and to view his Fifth Amendment right-to-counsel claim as the sole basis available for obtaining habeas relief. By recalling our mandate under the circumstances presented by this case, we reduce significantly the value of limitations Congress has imposed on the ability of prisoners to have claims subjected to multiple reviews by federal courts.
Because the same general concerns are implicated here as where all of a petitioner‘s claims have been disposed of, we find that, given the nature and procedural posture of Goodwin‘s request, we must adhere to Thompson‘s directive that a federal court of appeals “recall[] its mandate to revisit the merits of an earlier decision denying habeas corpus relief to a state
IV. CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the judgment of the district court. All outstanding motions are denied.