No. 96-10178

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT

                        

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,

v.

ORLANDO CORDIA HALL,
Defendant-Appellant

Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Texas

                        

INITIAL BRIEF OF APPELLANT

CRIMINAL APPEAL

 

MARCIA A. WIDDER  E  
LA Bar No. 23367   
Michael R. Needle, P.C.  
2401 Pennsylvania Avenue    
Suite 1C-44   
Philadelphia, PA 19130
(215) 236-7420

MICHAEL WARE
TX Bar No. 20864200
111 North Houston
Suite 210
Ft. Worth, TX 76102
(817) 338-4100

R. NEAL WALKER
LA Bar No. 22217
636 Baronne Street
New Orleans, LA 70113
(504) 558-9867

Attorneys for Defendant-Appellant,
Orlando Cordia Hall

 

 

CERTIFICATE OF INTERESTED PERSONS 

The undersigned counsel of record certifies that the following listed persons have an interest in the outcome of this case.  These representations are made in order that the members of this Court may evaluate possible disqualifications or recusal.

District Judge
Honorable Terry R. Means

 

Appellant
Orlando Cordia Hall

 

Present and Past Counsel for Appellant,
Orlando Cordia Hall

Marcia A. Widder (appeal)
R. Neal Walker (appeal)
Michael L. Ware (district court; appeal)
Jeffrey A. Kearney (district court)
Michael P. Heiskell (district court)
Mark G. Daniel (district court)

 

Present and Past Counsel for Appellee,
United States of America

Paul E. Coggins (United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas)
Delonia A. Watson (appeal and district court)
Christopher Curtis (appeal and district court)
Richard Roper (district court)
Paul Macaluso (district court)

 

Marcia A. Widder
LA Bar No. 23367
Michael R. Needle, P.C.
2401 Pennsylvania Ave.
Suite. 1C-44
Philadelphia, PA 19130
(215) 236-7420

Attorney of record for Appellant,
Orlando Cordia Hall

 

 

STATEMENT REGARDING ORAL ARGUMENT 

Oral argument is requested.  This case presents only the second appeal in this Circuit of a sentence of death imposed under the Federal Death Penalty Act of 1994, 18 U.S.C. § 3591 et seq ("FDPA").  It is only the third appeal in this Circuit of a death penalty imposed since the federal death penalty was reinstated in 1984, 21 U.S.C. § 848.  This appeal raises numerous issues of first impression regarding the construction of the FDPA and the interaction of other statutes and rules with that Act.  Additionally, the record is lengthy and many of the issues are fact intensive.  Accordingly, counsel believes that oral argument would be of assistance to the Court.

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

TABLE OF AUTHORITIES

CASES

CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS

FEDERAL STATUTES 

FEDERAL RULES

STATE STATUTES

LAW REVIEW ARTICLES

STATEMENT OF JURISDICTION 

STATEMENT OF THE ISSUES 

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

A.  Proceedings Below
B.  Statement of the Facts

SUMMARY OF THE ARGUMENT

ARGUMENT 

I. THE DISTRICT COURT'S REFUSAL TO ALLOW HALL TO MAKE A STATEMENT OF REMORSE BEFORE THE JURY VIOLATED DUE PROCESS, ERRONEOUSLY DENIED HALL THE RIGHT ACCORDED ALL FEDERAL DEFENDANTS TO ALLOCUTE BEFORE THE SENTENCER, AND WAS AN ABUSE OF DISCRETION UNDER THE EVIDENTIARY STANDARDS GOVERNING THE PENALTY PHASE

 

II. THE DISTRICT COURT VIOLATED HALL'S FIFTH AND EIGHTH AMENDMENT RIGHTS IN CONDITIONING THE ADMISSION OF PSYCHIATRIC TESTIMONY ON HALL'S BEHALF TO HIS SUBMISSION TO A GOVERNMENT PSYCHIATRIC EXAMINATION PRIOR TO CONVICTION WITHOUT IMPOSING ANY LIMITATIONS TO SECURE HALL'S FIFTH AMENDMENT RIGHTS

 

III. THE ADMISSION OF IRRELEVANT, HIGHLY PREJUDICIAL EVIDENCE VIOLATED DUE PROCESS AND THE SIXTH AMENDMENT RIGHT TO AN IMPARTIAL JURY AND WAS AN ABUSE OF THE DISTRICT COURT'S DISCRETION

 

IV. THE ADMISSION OF EVIDENCE OF UNADJUDICATED OFFENSES IN THE PENALTY PHASE AND OF LACK INSTRUCTION THAT THE JURY APPLY SOME BURDEN OF PROOF IN ASSESSING THIS EVIDENCE RENDERED THE DEATH SENTENCE UNRELIABLE

 

V. THE ADMISSION OF NONTESTIMONIAL VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENTS DURING THE PENALTY PHASE VIOLATED THE SIXTH AMENDMENT RIGHT OF CONFRONTATION, DUE PROCESS AND THE FDPA'S EVIDENTIARY STANDARDS

 

VI. HALL WAS DENIED DUE PROCESS OF LAW, AN IMPARTIAL JURY, AND HIS STATUTORY RIGHT TO FREE EXERCISE OF PEREMPTORY CHALLENGES DUE TO THE DISTRICT COURT'S REJECTION OF DEFENSE CAUSE CHALLENGES TO PLAINLY IMPAIRED AND BIASED VENIREPERSONS

 

VII. THE JURY'S FAILURE TO FIND THE MITIGATING FACTOR OF "THE CIRCUMSTANCES SURROUNDING THE DEFENDANT'S UPBRINGING" WAS CLEARLY ERRONEOUS AND REQUIRES THAT THE DEATH SENTENCE BE VACATED

VIII. AGGRAVATING FACTORS SUBMITTED TO HALL'S JURY WERE UNCONSTITUTIONALLY VAGUE, OVERBROAD AND/OR DUPLICATIVE

IX. THE DISTRICT COURT'S DENIAL OF HALL'S MOTIONS FOR CONTINUANCE DENIED HALL HIS RIGHT TO DUE PROCESS AND EFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL UNDER THE FIFTH AND SIXTH AMENDMENTS

X. THE DISTRICT COURT ERRED IN DENYING HALL'S REQUEST TO POLL THE JURY REGARDING A PREJUDICIAL NEWS REPORT AND DEBATE BROADCAST DURING PENALTY PHASE DELIBERATIONS

XI. THE DISTRICT COURT ERRED IN DENYING HALL'S MOTION TO SUPPRESS HIS ORAL AND WRITTEN STATEMENTS AS VIOLATIVE OF HIS FIFTH AND SIXTH AMENDMENT RIGHTS AND OF APPLICABLE FEDERAL

CONCLUSION

 

 

TABLE OF AUTHORITIES 

CASES 

Ake v. Oklahoma, 470 U.S. 68 (1985)
Anderson v. United States, 318 U.S. 350 (1943)
Andrews v. Shulsen, 600 F. Supp. 408 (D. Utah 1984), aff'd 802 F.2d 1256 (10th Cir. 1986), cert. denied, 485 U.S. 919 (1988)
Arave v. Creech, 507 U.S. 463 (1993)
Arizona v. Roberson, 486 U.S. 675 (1988)
Arizona v. Rumsey, 467 U.S. 203 (1984)
Ashe v. North Carolina, 586 F.2d 334 (4th Cir. 1978), cert. denied, 441 U.S. 966 (1979)
Ball v. United States, 140 U.S. 118 (1891)
Barclay v. Florida, 463 U.S. 939 (1983)
Berry v. State, 718 S.W.2d 447 (Ark. 1986)
Bivens v. State, 642 N.E.2d 928 (Ind. 1994)
Boardman v. Estelle, 957 F.2d 1523 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 506 U.S. 904 (1992)
Bradford v. State, 873 S.W.2d 15 (Tex.Cr.App. 1993), cert. denied, 513 U.S. 925 (1994)
Brewer v. Williams, 430 U.S. 387 (1977)
Bruton v. United States, 391 U.S. 123 (1968)
Bullington v. Missouri, 451 U.S. 430 (1981)
Caldwell v. Mississippi, 472 U.S. 320 (1985)
California v. Brown, 479 U.S. 538 (1987)
Cartwright v. Maynard, 822 F.2d 1477 (10th Cir. 1987), aff'd 486 U.S. 356 (1988)
Commonwealth v. Richmond, 358 N.E.2d 999 (Mass. 1976)
Commonwealth v. Scaramuzzino, 317 A.2d 225 (Pa. 1974)
Commonwealth v. Thomas, 553 A.2d 918 (Pa. 1989)
Cook v. State, 369 So.2d 1251 (Ala. 1978)
Cumbo v. State. 760 S.W.2d 251 (Tex. Cr. App. 1988)
DeAngelo v. Schiedler, 757 P.2d 1355 (Or. 1988)
Devier v. Zant, 3 F.3d 1445 (11th Cir. 1993), cert. denied, 115 S. Ct. 1125 (1995)
Drake v. Kemp, 762 F.2d 1449 (11th Cir. 1985)(en banc), cert. denied, 478 U.S. 1020 (1986)
Echavarria v. State, 839 P.2d 589 (Nev. 1992)
Eddings v. Oklahoma, 455 U.S. 104 (1982)
Edwards v. Arizona, 451 U.S. 477 (1981)
Edwards v. Scroggy, 849 F.2d 204 (5th Cir. 1998), cert. denied, 489 U.S. 1059 (1989)
Engberg v. Myer, 820 P.2d 70 (Wyo. 1991)
Enmund v. Florida, 458 U.S. 782 (1982)
Espinosa v. Florida, 505 U.S. 1079 (1992)
Estelle v. Smith, 451 U.S. 454 (1981)
Evans v. State, 598 N.E.2d 516 (Ind. 1992)
Gardner v. Florida, 430 U.S. 349 (1977)
Godfrey v. Georgia, 446 U.S. 420 (1980)
Gray v. Lucas, 710 F.2d 1048 (5th Cir. 1983)
Green v. United States, 365 U.S. 301 (1961)
Greene v. Georgia, 117 S. Ct. S. Ct. 578 (1996)
Grooms v. Commonwealth, 756 S.W.2d 131 (Ky. 1988)
Hamilton v. Alabama, 386 U.S. 52 (1961)
Harris v. State, 509 A.2d 120 (Md. 1986)
Hayes v. State, 845 P.2d 890 (Okl.Cr. 1992)
Haywood v. United States, 393 F.2d 780 (5th Cir. 1968)
Herzog v. State, 439 So.2d 1372, 1380 (Fla. 1983)
Hill v. United States, 368 U.S. 424 (1962)
Hitchcock v. Dugger, 481 U.S. 393 (1987)
Holland v. Commonwealth, 703 S.W.2d 876 (Ky. 1985)
Holland v. State, 587 So.2d 848 (Miss. 1991)
Homick v. State, 825 P.2d 600 (Nev. 1992)
Hulsey v. Sargent, 865 F.2d 954 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 923 (1989)
Irvin v. Dowd, 366 U.S. 717 (1961)
Jackson v. State, 451 So.2d 458, 463 (Fla. 1984)
Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (1979)
Jones v. State, 381 So.2d 983 (Miss.), cert. denied 449 U.S. 1003 (1980)
Jones v. State, 738 P.2d 525 (Okl.Crim.App. 1987)
Kirk v. Raymark Industries, Inc., 61 F.3d 147 (3rd Cir. 1995)
Koons v. United States, 116 S. Ct. 2035 (1996)
Kyles v. Whitley, 115 S. Ct. 1555 (1995)
Ladner v. State, 584 So.2d 743 (Miss.), cert. denied, 502 U.S. 1015 (1991)
Lankford v. Idaho, 500 U.S. 110 (1991)
Leatherman v. Tarrant County Narcotics Intelligence and Coordination Unit, 507 U.S.163 (1993)
Ledbetter v. State, 933 P.2d 880 (Ok.Cr.App. 1997)
Lockett v. Ohio, 438 U.S. 586 (1978)
Lowenfield v. Phelps, 484 U.S. 231 (1988)
Magwood v. Smith, 791 F.2d 1438 (11th Cir. 1986)
Maynard v. Cartwright, 486 U.S. 356 (1988)
McCoy v. North Carolina, 494 U.S. 433 (1990)
McGautha v. California, 402 U.S. 183 (1971)
Milton v. Procunier, 744 F.2d 1091 (5th Cir. 1984), cert. denied, 471 U.S. 1030 (1985)
Minnick v. Mississippi, 498 U.S. 146 (1990)
Morgan v. Illinois,  504 U.S. 719 (1992)
Nibert v. State, 574 So.2d 1059 (Fla. 1990)
Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority v. Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Co. of Virginia, 464 U.S. 30 (1983)
Old Chief v. United States, 117 S. Ct. 644 (1997)
Parker v. Dugger,  498 U.S. 308 (1991)
Parker v. State, 643 So.2d 1032 (Fla. 1994)
Parsons v. Barns, 871 P.2d 516 (Utah), cert. denied, 513 U.S.966 (1994)
Payne v. Tennessee, 501 U.S. 808 (1991)
Pennsylvania v. Ritchie, 480 U.S. 39 (1987)
Penry v. Lynaugh, 492 U.S. 302 (1989)
People v. Borrego, 774 P.2d 854 (Colo. 1989)
People v. Clankie, 530 N.E.2d 448 (Ill. 1988)
People v. Davis, 794 P.2d 189 (Colo 1990), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 1018 (1991)
Pickens v. State, 730 S.W.2d 230 (Ark.), cert. denied, 484 U.S. 917 (1987)
Pope v. State, 345 S.E.2d 831 (Ga. 1986)
Potts v. Zant, 734 F.2d 526 (11th Cir. 1984), cert. denied, 475 U.S. 1068 (1986)
President v. State, 609 P.2d 222 (Okl.Cr.App. 1979)
Presnell v. Georgia, 439 U.S. 333 (1978)
Price v. State, 538 So.2d 486 (Fla.Ct.App. 1989)
Profitt v. Wainwright, 685 F.2d 1227 (11th Cir. 1982), modified, 706 F.2d 311 (11th Cir. 1983), cert. denied, 464 U.S. 1002 & 1003 (1983)
Provence v. State, 337 So.2d 783 (Fla. 1976), cert. denied, 431 U.S. 969 (1977)
Rhodes v. State, 547 So.2d 1201 (Fla. 1989)
Richmond v. Lewis, 506 U.S. 40 (1992)
Ross v. Oklahoma, 487 U.S. 81 (1988) 
Sanders v. State, 585 A.2d 117 (Del. 1990)
Schwab v. Berggren, 143 U.S. 442 (1892)
Sermons v. State, 417 S.E.2d 144 (Ga. 1992)
Shell v. Mississippi, 498 U.S. 1 (1990)
Simmons v. United States, 390 U.S. 377 (1968)
Skipper v. State, 364 S.E.2d 835 (Ga. 1988)
Smith v. Black, 904 F.2d 950 (5th Cir. 1990), cert. granted, vacated, 503 U.S. 930 (1992)
Smith v. State, 819 P.2d 270 (Okl. Crim. App. 1991), cert. denied, 504 U.S. 959 (1992)
State v. Allies, 606 P.2d 1043 (Mont. 1979)
State v. Atwood, 832 P.2d 593 (Ariz. 1992), cert. denied, 506 U.S. 1084 (1993)
State v. Bartholomew, 683 P.2d 1079 (Wash. 1984)(en banc)
State v. Bernard, 608 So. 2d 966 (La. 1992)
State v. Boyd, 532 P.2d 1064 (Kan. 1975)
State v. Brooks, 541 So.2d 801 (La. 1989)
State v. Carter, 888 P.2d 629 (Utah), cert. denied, 116 S. Ct. 163 (1995)
State v. Chapple, 660 P.2d 1208 (Ariz. 1983)
State v. Clark, 772 P.2d 322 (N.M.), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 923 (1989)
State v. Comeaux, 514 So.2d 84 (La. 1987)
State v. Cross,  658 So.2d 683 (La. 1995)
State v. Divers, 681 So.2d 320 (La. 1996), cert. denied, 117 S. Ct. 1461
State v. Hall, 616 So.2d 664 (La.  1993)
State v. Hallal, 557 So.2d 1388 (La.  1990)
State v. Hamlet, 321 S.E.2d 837 (N.C. 1984)
State v. Hunt, 371 N.W.2d 708 (Neb. 1985), overruled on other grounds, 399 N.W.2d 706 (Neb. 1986)
State v. Johnson, 259 S.E.2d 752 (N.C. 1979)
State v. Kirkley, 302 S.E.2d 144 (N.C. 1983)
State v. Loftin, 680 A.2d 677 (N.J.), cert. denied, 116 S. Ct. 949 (1996)
State v. Mak, 718 P.2d 407 (Wash.), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 995 (1986)
State v. McCall, 698 S.W.2d 643 (Tenn.Cr.App. 1985)
State v. McCall, 770 P.2d 1165 (Ariz. 1989), cert. denied, 497 U.S. 1031 (1990)
State v. Metz, 887 P.2d 795 (Or.Ct.App. 1994)
State v. Nolan, 341 So.2d 885 (La. 1977)
State v. Norris, 328 S.E.2d 339 (S.C. 1985)
State v. Ortiz, 639 P.2d 1020 (Ariz. 1981), 456 U.S. 984 (1982)
State v. Quesinberry, 354 S.E.2d 446 (N.C. 1987), cert. denied, 373 S.E.2d 554 (N.C. Oct. 6, 1988)
State v. Robertson, 630 So.2d 1278 (La. 1994)
State v. Ross, 623 So.2d 643 (La. 1993)
State v. Salters, 257 S.E.2d 502 (S.C. 1979)
State v. Sonnier, 402 So. 2d 650 (La. 1980)
State v. Strange, 619 So.2d 817 (La. App. 1 Cir. 1993)
State v. Turner, 692 So.2d 612 (La. Ct. App. 1997)
State v. Williams, 550 A.2d 1172 (N.J. 1988)
State v. Young, 853 P.2d 327 (Utah 1993)
State v. Zola, 548 A.2d 1022 (N.J. 1988), cert. denied, 489 U.S. 1022 (1989)
Stringer v. Black, 503 U.S. 222 (1992)
Sumner v. Schuman, 483 U.S. 66 (1987)
Tison v. Arizona, 481 U.S. 137 (1987)
Tobler v. State, 688 P.2d 350 (Okl.Cr.App. 1984)
Tomlinson v. State, 647 P.2d 415 (N.M. 1982)
Ungar v. Sarafite, 376 U.S. 575 (1964)
United States v. Alvarez-Sanchez, 511 U.S. 350 (1994)
United States v. Annigoni, 96 F.3d 1132 (9th Cir. 1996)(en banc)
United States v. Aragon, 962 F.2d 439 (5th Cir. 1992)
United States v. Arnold, 106 F.3d 37 (3rd Cir. 1997)
United States v. Bay, 762 F.2d 1314 (9th Cir. 1985)
United States v. Beasley, 48 F.3d 262 (7th Cir. 1995)
United States v. Beaulieu, 893 F.2d 1177 (10th Cir.), cert. denied, 497 U.S. 1038 (1990)
United States v. Beckford, 962 F. Supp.748 (E.D.Va. 1997)
United States v. Bryant, 991 F.2d 171 (5th. Cir. 1993)
United States v. Cannon, 981 F.2d 785 (5th Cir. 1993)
United States v. Coleman, 997 F.2d 1101, 1104 (5th Cir. 1993), cert. denied, 510 U.S. 1062 & 1077 (1994)
United States v. Cooper, 949 F.2d 737 (5th Cir. 1991), cert. denied, 504 U.S. 975 (1992)
United States v. Copeland, 830 F. Supp. 216 (S.D.N.Y. 1993)
United States v. Courtney, 979 F.2d 45 (5th Cir. 1992)
United States v. Davis, 61 F.3d 291 (5th Cir. 1995)
United States v. Estrada-Trochez, 66 F.3d 733 (5th Cir. 1995)  
United States v. Flores, 63 F.3d 1342 (5th Cir. 1995), cert. denied, 117 S. Ct. 87 (1996)
United States v. Gallo, 763 F.2d 1504 (6th Cir. 1985), cert. denied, 474 U.S. 1068 (1986)
United States v. Haworth, 942 F. Supp. 1406 (D.N.M. 1996)
United States v. Jones (5th Cir. No. 96-10113 c/w 10448)
United States v. King, 664 F.2d 1171 (10th Cir. 1981)
United States v. Laury, 49 F.3d 145 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 116 S. Ct. 162 (1995)
United States v. McCullah, 76 F.3d 1087 (10th Cir. 1996), cert. denied, 117 S. Ct. 1699 (1997)
United States v. McRae, 593 F.2d 700 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 862 (1979)
United States v. McVeigh, 944 F. Supp. 1478 (D.Colo. 1996)
United States v. Mir, 919 F.2d 940 (5th Cir. 1990)
United States v. Moree, 928 F.2d 654 (5th Cir. 1991)
United States v. Mitcheltree, 940 F.2d 1329 (10th Cir. 1991)
United States v. Munoz, 15 F.3d 393 (5th. Cir.), cert. denied, 114 S. Ct. 2149 (1994)
United States v. North, 910 F.2d 843 (D.C.Cir.), modified, 920 F.2d 940 (D.C.Cir. 1990), cert. denied, 500 U.S. 825 & 941 (1991)
United States v. Palacio, 735 F. Supp. 484 (D.Conn. 1990)
United States v. Poston, 902 F.2d 90 (D.C. Cir. 1990)
United States v. Pretlow, 779 F. Supp. 758 (D.N.J. 1991)
United States v. Rodriguez, 993 F.2d 1170 (5th Cir. 1993), cert. denied, 114 S. Ct. 1547 (1994)
United States v. Spagnuolo, 960 F.2d 990 (11th Cir. 1992)
United States v. Taylor, 92 F.3d 1313 (2nd Cir. 1996)
United States v. Tipton, 90 F.3d 861 (4th Cir. 1996), cert. denied, 117 S. Ct. 2414 (1997)
United States v. Verderame, 51 F.3d 249 (11th Cir.1995)
United States v. Vest, 905 F. Supp. 651 (W.D.Mo. 1995)
United States v. Washington, 44 F.3d 1271 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 514 U.S. 2011 (1995)
United States v. Williams, 993 F.2d 451 (5th Cir. 1993)
United States v. Williams, 809 F.2d 1072 (5th Cir.), modified, 828 F.2d (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 484 U.S. 896, 913 & 987 (1987)
United States v. Wilson, 838 F.2d 1081 (9th Cir. 1988)
Wainwright v. Witt, 469 U.S. 412 (1985)
Ward v. Whitley, 21 F.3d 1355 (5th Cir. 1994), cert. denied, 115 S. Ct. 1257 (1995)
Wardius v. Oregon, 412 U.S. 470 (1973)
Williams v. Whitley, 940 F.2d 132 (5th Cir. 1991)
Wilson v. Kemp, 777 F.2d 621 (11th Cir. 1985, cert. denied, 476 U.S. 1153 (1986)
Zant v. Stephens, 462 U.S. 862 (1983)

 

CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS 

U.S. CONST. amend. V
U.S. CONST. amend. VI
U.S. CONST. amend. VIII

 

FEDERAL STATUTES 

18 U.S.C. § 2
18 U.S.C. § 1073
18 U.S.C. § 1201
18 U.S.C. § 3005
18 U.S.C. § 3231
18 U.S.C. § 3501
18 U.S.C. § 3552
18 U.S.C. § 3591(a)
18 U.S.C. § 3592(a)
18 U.S.C. § 3592(c)
18 U.S.C. § 3593
18 U.S.C. § 3593(a)
18 U.S.C. § 3593(c)
18 U.S.C. § 3593(e)
18 U.S.C. § 3595(a)
18 U.S.C. § 3595(b)
18 U.S.C. § 3595(c)
18 U.S.C. § 4241
18 U.S.C. § 4242
21 U.S.C. § 848 iii,
28 U.S.C. § 1291

 

FEDERAL RULES 

Fed.R. Crim.P. 5
Fed.R.A.P. 4
Fed.R.Crim.P. 10
Fed.R.Crim.P. 12.2
Fed.R.Crim.P. 24(b)
Fed.R.Crim.P. 32
Fed.R.Evid. 403

 

STATE STATUTES 

Ga. Code. Ann. § 17-10-30(7)

 

LAW REVIEW ARTICLES 

Paul W. Barrett, Allocution, 9 Mo.L.Rev. 115, 117-18 (1944)

Steven Paul Smith, Unreliable and Prejudicial:  The Use of Extraneous Unadjudicated Offenses in the Penalty Phases of Capital Trials, 93 Col. L. Rev. 1249 (1993)

J. Thomas Sullivan, The Capital Defendant's Right to Make a Personal Plea for Mercy:  Common Law Allocution and Constitutional Mitigation, 15 N.M. L. Rev. 41 (1985)

 

 

I.  STATEMENT OF JURISDICTION 

The district court had jurisdiction of this action pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3231.  The jurisdiction of this Court is invoked pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291, as this is an appeal from a final judgment entered by the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas.  Jurisdiction also lies under 18 U.S.C. § 3595(a).  Notice of appeal was timely given in accordance with Fed.R.A.P. 4(b).

 

 

II.  STATEMENT OF ISSUES PRESENTED FOR REVIEW 

I. Whether the trial court's refusal to allow Hall the right to make a brief statement in allocution before the jury requires reversal of the death sentence.

II. Whether the trial court reversibly erred in conditioning Hall's submission of psychiatric testimony during the penalty phase upon his submission to a mental health examination by government experts prior to the guilt phase.

III. Whether the trial court erred in admitting irrelevant, highly prejudicial evidence in the guilt and penalty phases.

IV. Whether admission of evidence of unadjudicated offenses in the penalty phase without any instruction to apply some burden of proof to the evidence rendered the death sentence unreliable.

V. Whether the trial court erred in admitting nontestimonial victim impact statements in the penalty phase.

VI. Whether the trial court erroneously rejected meritorious cause challenges.

VII. Whether the jury's failure to find that "the circumstances surrounding the defendant's upbringing" were a mitigating factor was clearly erroneous.

VIII. Whether aggravating factors submitted to the jury were unconstitutionally vague, overbroad and/or duplicative.

IX. Whether the trial court abused its discretion in denying Hall's motions for a continuance.

X. Whether the trial court erred in refusing to poll the jury about a prejudicial news report broadcast during penalty deliberations.

XI. Whether the district court erred in admitting Hall's incriminating oral and written statements.

 

 

III.  STATEMENT OF THE CASE 

Note:  References to the record and supplemental record on appeal are made as "R. [volume #]:[page #]" and "S.R. [page #]" respectively.  References to record excerpts are made as "R.E. Tab [#]." Government exhibits introduced at trial, and court exhibits contained in the record, are referred to as "G.E. [#]" and "C.E. [#], respectively.  A few documents not part of this record are appended as exhibits hereto.

A. PROCEEDINGS BELOW

On October 26, 1994, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a criminal complaint charging Bruce Webster, Orlando Hall, Steven Beckley and Demetrius Hall with kidnapping and aiding and abetting, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1201(a)(1) and 2.  R. 1:1.  On November 4, 1994, a six-count superseding indictment was returned, charging Webster, Hall, Demetrius Hall, Beckley, and Marvin Holloway with kidnapping in which a death occurred, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1201(a)(1) and 2 (Count 1), and various noncapital charges. R. 1:37-45; R.E. Tab 2.  The government, on February 23, 1995, filed notice of its intention to seek the death penalty against Hall under the Federal Death Penalty Act of 1994, 18 U.S.C. § 3591 et seq ("FDPA").1  R. 1:82-87; R.E. Tab 3.

On March 9, 1995, Hall's attorneys, Michael Heiskell and Mark Daniel, withdrew as counsel.  On March 31, 1995, Michael Ware and Jeffrey Kearney were appointed as Hall's new counsel.  On August 10, 1995, the district court denied the first of Hall's motions for a continuance.  See Docket Sheet; R.E. Tab 1.  Subsequent requests for a continuance made orally during the trial were also denied.2  See id.

Trial commenced on October 2, 1995.  A jury was empanelled following voir dire conducted from October 2-19, 1995.  See Docket Sheet, R.E. Tab 1.  From October 24-31, 1995, Hall was tried by the jury before Hon. Terry R. Means.  Id.  On October 31, 1995, the jury found Hall guilty on counts 1, 2, 3 and 6.  R. 6:1332-33; R.E. Tab 4.  From November 1-3, 1995, the same jury that decided guilt/innocence heard testimony and argument in the penalty phase.  See Docket Sheet, R.E. Tab 1.  On November 6, 1995, the jury returned a verdict of death on Count 1.  See Special Findings Form.  R. 6:1377-1389; R.E. Tab 5.

A timely motion for a new trial was denied on December 8, 1995.  R. 6:1458.  After the district court entered judgment on February 21, 1996, R. 6:1469-72; R.E. Tab 6,3 Hall filed a timely Notice of Appeal of the conviction and sentence on each count, R. 6:1467-68; R.E. Tab  7, and the appeal docketed as number 96-10178 in this Court followed.

B. STATEMENT OF THE FACTS

Guilt/Innocence Phase:  The evidence presented at the guilt/ innocence phase of the trial, largely through the testimony of Demetrius Hall, Beckley and Holloway,4 indicated the following:

Hall and Holloway, together with Webster, operated a local marijuana selling business in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, out of Holloway's home.  They bought marijuana in varying amounts in the Dallas/Fort Worth area with the assistance of Beckley, who lived in Irving, Texas.  The marijuana was then transported, usually by Beckley, to Arkansas and kept at Holloway's home.  R. 26:152, 27:100-27; 29:16-28.

On September 21, 1994, Holloway drove Hall from Pine Bluff to Little Rock, Arkansas, so that Hall could fly to the Dallas/Fort Worth area.  There, Hall met his brother, Demetrius Hall, and Beckley.  That same day, the three were swindled out of $5,000 by two drug dealers, Stanfield Vitales and Neil Rene, who are brothers of the victim, Lisa Rene.  R. 28:73, 75.  The Halls and Beckley decided to locate Vitales and Rene and force them to return the money.  R. 27: 130-53.  Hall contacted Holloway in Arkansas and asked him to send Webster down to help because "he knew how to handle things like this."  R. 26:153.

On September 24, 1994, Holloway drove Webster to the airport in Little Rock and Webster flew to the Dallas/Fort Worth area.  That evening, the four went to an apartment located at the Polo Runs Apartments in Arlington, Texas, where they had determined that Vitalis and Rene lived.  Hall and Webster were armed with guns procurred by Beckley, and Demetrius Hall carried a small baseball bat.  When the occupant of the apartment would not open the door, Demetrius Hall and Webster went around to the side.  Demetrius Hall broke the patio glass door with the bat and Webster went into the apartment and dragged Lisa Rene out to the car.  Hall and Beckley had already run to the car when they heard the sound of glass breaking.  Webster forced Lisa Rene into the car and the five drove off.  R. 26:160-72, 27:156-72.

That same evening, Webster, Demetrius Hall and Beckley drove Lisa Rene to Pine Bluff, Arkansas, where they obtained money from Holloway to get a hotel room. R. 26:181-89. Hall remained in Irving and flew to Little Rock the next day.  Holloway picked him up and drove him to the hotel where Lisa Rene was being held by the others.  The next day they moved to another hotel using money received from Holloway.  R. 26:206.

Throughout the abduction, each of the defendants sexually assaulted Lisa Rene.  R. 27:166-67, 170-73; 175-79.

Early in the morning of October 26, 1994, Webster, Beckley and Hall took Lisa Rene to a site in Byrd Lake Park where a grave had been dug.5  All three struck her on the head and shoulders with a shovel (between five and fifteen times), most likely rendering her unconscious.  R. 27:193-98; 29:139, 144.  Webster put her in the grave, re-moved her clothes, gagged her and poured gasoline over her body.  R. 27:199-202.  She was buried in a four foot deep grave where she died.

Beckley, Demetrius Hall and Webster were subsequently arrested.  On September 30, 1994, Hall surrendered to the Pine Bluff authorities in the presence of his attorney.  R. 27:15-16.  On advice of counsel, he did not give a statement at the time, but indicated that he would talk with the agents after he was transported to Texas.  R. 27:20.  On October 5, 1994, following his transfer to Arlington County Jail, he gave a written statement to FBI and Arlington County agents in which he substantially implicated himself in the kidnapping and murder.  R. 27:35-59; G.E. 88.  Hall was twenty-three years old at the time of the offense.  R. 1:11.

The Penalty Phase:  At the penalty phase, the government introduced additional evidence and/or argument in support of the mental state elements required by 18 U.S.C. § 3591(a) and six aggravating factors for which it had given notice.6  The defense presented uncontroverted evidence that Hall had grown up in an abusive environment in which his father constantly and brutally beat his mother from before his birth until his parents divorced when Hall was about 15 years old.  R. 32:113-17; 138-39.  The defense also presented evidence of Hall's good relationship with his four children, R. 31:100-01, 32:140, and his remorse over his role in the abduction and murder.  R. 32:141-42.

The district court charged the jury on the following mitigating factors: (1) equally culpable co-defendants would not be punished by death, 18 U.S.C. § 3592(a)(4); (2) Hall's age at the time of the offense; (3) the "circumstances surrounding defendant's upbringing;" (4) Hall's acceptance of responsibility for his role in the offense; (5) Hall's remorse; and (6) any other aspect of Hall's character or background which calls for a sentence less than death.7

After deliberating, the jury returned a sentence of death.  See Special Findings Form, R. 6:1377-89; R.E. Tab 5.  The jury unanimously found two of the required mental state elements.  The jury also found the statutory aggravating factors that the death occurred during the commission of a kidnapping and that the killing was especially heinous, cruel or depraved, and the nonstatutory aggravating factors of future dangerousness and the "effect" on the victim's family.  The determination of mitigating factors were as follows:  Nine jurors found that one or more equally culpable defendants would not receive the death penalty; the mitigating factors of the defendant's age, upbringing, and "any other aspect calling for a sentence less than death" received the support of one juror.  See id. R. 6:1377-89.

 

 

IV.  SUMMARY OF THE ARGUMENT

The district court's rulings in this capital case arbitrarily precluded the defense from presenting relevant mitigating information in the penalty phase--denying Hall the right of allocution before the jury (Issue I) and precluding the introduction of psychiatric testimony on his behalf (Issue II).  At the same time, the court allowed the government virtually free rein to present excessively gruesome photographs and a video tape (Issue III) and hearsay victim impact statements (Issue V).  The court, moreover, allowed the jury to consider questionable evidence of unadjudicated offenses without applying any standard of proof to the evidence of such conduct (Issue IV).

The district court's improper rulings on cause challenges compounded these errors.  The district court rejected meritorious cause challenges of jurors who were unable to fairly consider mitigating evidence and/or whose pro-death penalty positions rendered them incapable of giving adequate consideration to a sentence of life without the possibility of release (Issue VI).

These rulings contributed to the jury's erroneous rejection of uncontroverted, credible evidence of Hall's turbulent childhood (Issue VII).  Moreover, the court improperly submitted aggravating factors that were constitutionally overbroad and vague and that impermissibly duplicated each other and the charged offense (Issue VIII).

Finally, the district court's denial of defense motions for a continuance (while granting a continuance to Hall's co-defendant) (Issue IX) and to poll the jury regarding a prejudicial news report broadcast during penalty deliberations (Issue X), and failure to suppress Hall's uncounseled, post-indictment statements (Issue XI) require that the conviction and/or death sentence be vacated.

 

 

V.  ARGUMENT

I. THE DISTRICT COURT'S REFUSAL TO ALLOW HALL TO MAKE A STATEMENT OF REMORSE BEFORE THE JURY VIOLATED DUE PROCESS, ERRONEOUSLY DENIED HALL THE RIGHT ACCORDED ALL FEDERAL DEFENDANTS TO ALLOCUTE BEFORE THE SENTENCER, AND WAS AN ABUSE OF DISCRETION UNDER THE EVIDENTIARY STANDARDS GOVERNING THE PENALTY PHASE

A.  Background

The district court granted the government a wide berth in its presentation of information in the penalty phase of the trial -- even admitting hearsay victim impact statements written by individuals who did not testify.  See 4:32:36-37; G.E. 110A & 110C; R.E. Tab 15.  The district court did not, however, extend the same liberal standard when ruling on the admissibility of mitigating information Hall sought to introduce.  In particular, the district court refused to allow Hall to make a brief plea for forgiveness and mercy before the jury charged with determining whether he lived or died.

At the conclusion of the government's penalty phase case-in-chief, the defense moved the district court to permit Hall to exercise his right of allocution before the jury.  R. 32:45-50, R.E. Tab 8.   The district court denied the motion, holding that Fed.R.Crim.P. 32 does not apply in capital sentencing proceedings and apparently accepting the government's argument that there is no common law right of allocution.  R. 32:49-50, R.E. Tab 8.  The defense later submitted an offer of proof, R. 6:1445; R.E. Tab 9, indicating that Hall had been prepared to give the following statement:

I want to apologize to my family and ask them to forgive me, and I hope somehow they can forgive me.  I want to apologize to Lisa Rene's family and ask them to forgive me, even though I know that there is no possible way they can forgive me and I understand that.  I want to ask God to forgive me, however, I question in my own mind whether even God can forgive me.

The trial court's refusal to permit Hall to present this statement in mitigation of punishment, while allowing the government to present in aggravation like information, was fundamentally unfair and violated due process.  The court's ruling, moreover, erroneously deprived Hall of the right afforded every federal defendant convicted of a noncapital crime to make a statement in allocution before the sentencer and was an abuse of discretion under the liberal evidentiary standards set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3593(c).  This grave procedural error requires that the sentence of death be vacated.8

B. Argument

1. The court's failure to accord Hall the same right to present non-testimonial statements in mitigation that it granted the government in presenting aggravating information violated due process.

The trial court refused to permit Hall to stand before the jury to make a statement in mitigation of punishment, while admitting comparable nontestimonial statements offered by the government in aggravation.  There is no relevant distinction between the information both sides sought to introduce -- both the victim impact statements and Hall's proposed allocution were statements not subject to cross-examination offered to aid the jury in reaching its sentencing determination.9  The district court's failure to accord equal treatment to the defense was fundamentally unfair and violated due process.

It is elemental that due process "speak[s] to the balance of forces between the accused and his accuser."  Wardius v. Oregon, 412 U.S. 470, 744 (1973).  Courts have thus been "particularly suspicious of state trial rules which provide nonreciprocal benefits to the State when the lack of reciprocity interferes with the defendant's ability to secure a fair trial."  Id. at 474 n.6.  Consequently, in Wardius, the Supreme Court held that "the Due Process Clause ... forbids enforcement of alibi rules unless reciprocal discovery rights are given to criminal defendants."  Id. at 472.  In reversing the petitioner's conviction because Oregon's notice-of-alibi rule failed to provide such rights, the Court observed:

[I]n the absence of a strong showing of state interests to the contrary, discovery must be a two-way street.  The State may not insist that trial be run as a "search for truth" so far as defense witnesses are concerned while maintaining "poker game" secrecy for its own witnesses.  It is fundamentally unfair to require a defendant to divulge the details of his own case while at the same time subjecting him to the hazard of surprise concerning refutation of the very pieces of evidence which he disclosed to the State.

Id. at 475-76.

Similarly, in United States v. Bay, 762 F.2d 1314 (9th Cir. 1985), the Ninth Circuit determined that the trial judge had erred in concluding that the defendant's proposed display of tattoos on his hands to impeach eyewitness testimony would constitute testimony requiring the defendant to take the stand.  The court noted that such evidence "has been repeatedly held [to be nontestimonial] in cases in which the government seeks to compel a defendant to show various types of physical characteristics to the jury" and that "[i]f this can be compelled by the government when it is to the government's advantage, surely the defendant can make the same showing without taking the stand."  Id. at 1315.

Here, the district court refused to apply the same standard in ruling on the admissibility of comparable information proffered by the government and Hall.  Its failure to do so precluded Hall from making a plea for mercy before the sentencing jury, while permitting the government to submit statements by Lisa Rene's family and friends to support imposition of a death sentence.  Such disparate treatment violated due process and requires that the sentence of death be vacated.

2. The court erred in concluding Hall had no right of allocution.

The district court rested its decision on the conclusion that Hall had no right of allocution.  As a matter of common, statutory and constitutional law, this ruling was erroneous.10

The common law right of allocution, now codified at Fed.R.Crim.P. 32(c)(3)(C),11originated specifically to allow those convicted of cap-ital offenses the means to inform the sentencer of any legal infirmity precluding the imposition of the death sentence.  See, e.g., Schwab v. Berggren, 143 U.S. 442, 447 (1892); Ball v. United States, 140 U.S. 118, 129-130 (1891).  The right "refers to a convicted defendant's opportunity to speak before sentencing, although historically the 'allocution' referred specifically to the judge's solemn question to the prisoner at the bar whether the prisoner knew any reason why judgment should not be pronounced upon her."  DeAngelo v. Schiedler, 757 P.2d 1355, 1356 n. 1 (Ore. 1988).

"While the common law may have strictly limited the doctrine to the right of the accused to interpose any legal bar to pronouncement and execution of sentence, allocution has evolved as a legal concept relating to the accused's right to make a personal plea for mitigation of punishment."   J. Thomas Sullivan, The Capital Defendant's Right to Make a Personal Plea for Mercy:  Common Law Allocution and Constitutional Mitigation, 15 N.M. L. Rev. 41, 56-57 (1985).  See also Paul W. Barrett, Allocution, 9 Mo.L.Rev. 115, 117-18 (1944).

In noncapital cases, allocution has remained a vibrant and absolute right of a federal criminal defendant once convicted and facing the sentencing authority, denial of which requires that the sentence be vacated and the case remanded for resentencing.  See, e.g., United States v. Washington, 44 F.3d 1271, 1276 (5th Cir. 1993), cert. denied, 514 U.S. 1132 (1995).  As the Supreme Court stated in Green v. United States, 365 U.S. 301, 304 (1961), in addressing the continued vitality of that right as codified at Fed.R.Crim.P. 32(a)(now Fed.R. Crim.P. 32(c)(3)(C)): "None of the[] modern innovations [in criminal procedure] lessens the need for the defendant, personally, to have the opportunity to present to the court his plea in mitigation.  The most persuasive counsel may not be able to speak for a defendant as the defendant might, with halting eloquence, speak for himself."

The district court's conclusion that neither Rule 32 nor the common law right of allocution applies in the context of capital sentencing was in error.  First, Leatherman v. Tarrant County Narcotics Intelligence and Coordination Unit, 507 U.S. 163, 168 (1993).  Cf. People v. Borrego, 774 P.2d 854, 856 (Colo. 1989)(rejecting argument that because allocution was not mentioned in state's capital sentencing procedures, the statutory right of allocution did not apply, and noting that "a defendant's right to allocution is even more pronounced when facing the possibility of a death sentence...."); State v. Young, 853 P.2d 327, 371 (Utah 1993)(Opinion of Justice Durham)(observing that the State had conceded that Utah's general right of allocution required court to allow capital defendant to speak to the jury).12

Moreover, regardless of the applicability of Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority v. Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Co. of Virginia, 464 U.S. 30, 35 (1983)(citation omitted).  Cf. Harris v. State, 509 A.2d 120, 124-25 (Md. 1986)(ruling that the silence of the Maryland Rules as to the right of allocution in a capital case meant that "the right of allocution in capital cases reverted to the common law of Maryland.").  Indeed, it would be absurd to conclude that a common law right that evolved specifically to mitigate against the harshness of capital sentencing has been preserved solely for defend-ants who face less severe punishment simply because the right has been statutorily preserved only as a general rule of criminal sentencing.13

The trial court's affirmative denial of Hall's right of allocution, moreover, is of constitutional dimension.  Other courts have held that the denial of a defendant's request to allocute violates United States v. Moree, 928 F.2d 654, 656 (5th Cir. 1991)("[W]e have consistently held that a defendant's rights to be present and to allocute at sentencing, which are of constitutional dimension, extend to resentencing proceedings.").14

Further, the Eighth Amendment mandates that a capital defendant be permitted to present and the sentencer be permitted to consider any evidence in mitigation of punishment.  See, e.g., Penry v. Lynaugh, 492 U.S. 302, 319 (1989);

The trial court was technically correct in instructing the jury that allocution is not evidence.  The right to allocute is no more than the defendant's "right to stand before the jury and ask in his own voice that he be spared."  State v. Zola, 112 N.J. 384, 409, 548 A.2d 1022, 1045 (1988).  Allocution is not a fact to be proved or disproved.  However, in the sentencing phase of a capital case, the jury is not limited to consideration of matters technically defined as evidence.  In making the profoundly moral decision of whether to impose a sentence of death, it must consider all the facts and circumstances of the crime, the defendant's background and character and any mitigating factors raised by the defendant.  Plainly, the jury's deliberations are not limited to assessing technical evidence.

People v. Davis, 794 P.2d 159, 192 (Colo. 1990)(emphasis added); see Penry, supra 492 U.S. at 319 ("the sentence imposed at the penalty stage should reflect a reasoned moral response to the defendant's background, character and crime.")(emphasis original); State v. Loftin, 680 A.2d 677, 710 (N.J.)(observing in capital case that "the purpose of allocution is twofold.  First, it reflects our commonly-held belief that our civilization should afford every defendant an opportunity to ask for mercy.  Second, it permits a defendant to impress a jury with his or her feelings of remorse.")(citation omitted), cert. denied, 116 S. Ct. 949 (1996).  The trial court's refusal to allow Hall to allocute thus contravenes the Eighth Amendment's clear command that a capital defendant must be allowed to submit any factor in mitigation for the sentencer's consideration.15

3. Under the FDPA's evidentiary standards, the court abused its discretion in denying Hall the right to make a statement to the jury

18 U.S.C. § 3593(c) establishes a liberal standard for admission of "information" in the penalty phase, providing, in pertinent part:

[I]nformation may be presented as to any matter relevant to the sentence, including any mitigating or aggravating factor permitted or required to be considered under section 3592....  The defendant may present any information relevant to a mitigating factor.  The government may present any information relevant to an aggravating factor for which notice has been provided under subsection (a).  Information is admissible regardless of its admissibility under the rules governing admission of evidence at criminal trials except that information may be excluded if its probative value is outweighed by the danger of creating unfair prejudice, confusing the issues, or misleading the jury.

Hall's proffered allocution constituted information relevant to the mitigating factors of remorse and acceptance of responsibility.  Nothing about the statement created any risk of unfair prejudice to the government, confusion of the issues or misleading of the jury.  Certainly, Hall's proposed statement was no more likely to prejudice, confuse or mislead than were the victim impact statements offered by the government.  The court thus abused its discretion in refusing to permit Hall to make a brief statement in allocution to the jury.

4. The district court's refusal to allow Hall to present a statement in mitigation requires that the death sentence be vacated.

The denial of Hall's request for allocution requires reversal of his sentence.  In this Circuit, the denial of a noncapital defendant's right of allocution is automatic ground for reversal.  See United States v. Washington, 44 F.3d 1271, 1276 (5th Cir. 1993) cert. denied, 514 U.S. 1132 (1995); Haywood v. United States, 393 F.2d 780, 782 (5th Cir. 1968)(per curiam).  The same rule should apply in capital cases -- at least where, as here, the defendant requests and is denied the right to allocute before the jury.

Moreover, assuming arguendo that this error is appropriately scrutinized under harmless error analysis, the district court's denial of allocution cannot be deemed harmless.  "What effect the exercise of the right of allocution might have on the subjective process of sentencing can never be known with such certainty that a reviewing court can conclude there was no prejudice in its absence."  Commonwealth v. Thomas, 553 A.2d 918, 919 (Pa. 1989).  In this case, every member of the jury was unpersuaded that the mitigating factors of remorse and acceptance of responsibility, were proved by a preponderance of the evidence.  See Special Findings Form.  R. 6:1382, R.E. Tab 5.  Hall's personal statement to the jury spoke directly to these issues and would have provided the jurors invaluable insight into Hall's state of mind.  As Justice Durham observed,16in stressing the import