House v. Balkcom

562 F. Supp. 1111
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Georgia
DecidedApril 15, 1983
DocketCiv. C78-1471
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 562 F. Supp. 1111 (House v. Balkcom) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
House v. Balkcom, 562 F. Supp. 1111 (N.D. Ga. 1983).

Opinion

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. FACTS PERTINENT TO THE INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL CLAIMS

A. Background 1113

B. Counsel's Pretrial Preparation 1116

C. The Trial 1120

D. Sentencing Phase of the Trial 1125

*1113 E. Post Trial Matters 1126

1. The Michael Pitts/Jimmy Fields/Tommy Willoughby Testimony 1126

2. The Ramsey-Patterson Testimony 1127
F. Habeas Proceedings H83

II. FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW WITH RESPECT TO THE INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE CLAIMS

A. Pretrial Investigation and Preparation 1134
1. Interviews with Family Members U35
2. Interviews with Police and Other State Witnesses 1137
3. The Search for Witnesses? 1137
4. Discovery 1138
5. Photographs of House’s Bruises 1138
6. Miscellaneous 1141

B. The Effect of the Atkinses’ Deficient Pretrial Investigation on House's Conviction 1141

C. Trial 1144
D. The Effect of the Atkinses' Failings on House’s Death Sentence 1145

E. The Atkinses’ Failure to File a Motion for a New Trial Based on the Ramsey/Patterson Testimony 1146

III. OTHER CLAIMS ASSERTED BY HOUSE
A. Voluntariness of the Confession 1148
B. The Alleged Guilt Prone Jury 1150
C. Exclusion of 18 to 21 Year Olds from the Jury Pool 1150
IV. SUMMARY H51

ORINDA D. EVANS, District Judge.

I. FACTS PERTINENT TO THE INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL CLAIMS

Because House claims that his trial counsel were ineffective in many respects before, during and after trial, a lengthy statement of the facts is essential.

A. Background

At 1:00 a.m. on April 15, 1973, the dead bodies of Johnny Ray Smith and Robbie Dunn, seven-year old boys, were found in a wooded area off DeFoor Avenue in Atlanta. The discovery followed a search which began when one of the boys’ fathers had ascertained they were gone at about 3:00 p.m. on April 14. (Tr. 110). 1 The police had been called at 6:00 p.m. (Tr. 110). Detective C.E. Landrum and Sergeant Richard L. Fitzgerald of the Atlanta Police Departmeñt were present when the bodies were discovered.

On the morning of April 15, the police picked up Jack House, who lived a couple of blocks from the wooded area, for questioning. House was picked up at approximately 11:30 a.m. at his mother-in-law’s home in Stoekbridge, Georgia, by Sergeant Fitzgerald and Detective C.W. Smegal. They told House they wanted to question him about his whereabouts during the time when a crime had been committed in his neighborhood. According to Sergeant Fitzgerald, House responded he would be more than happy to cooperate, although he knew nothing. (Tr. 286). 2 After the group arrived at the station, House was advised of his rights and at 12:55 p.m. he signed a waiver of rights form indicating he did not want a lawyer. House participated in a lineup. (Tr. 216).

Thereafter House was taken to an interrogation room in the Homicide Office where he was questioned. The questioning began at around 2:30 or 3:00 p.m. and was conducted by Detective D.S. McCoy, who handles investigation of major sex crimes. (Tr. 152-156). 3 Sergeant Fitzgerald was present also. Additionally, House and others testified that during the period of the interrogation, Detective Landrum, Officer D.V. Lee, and possibly other officers, entered and exited the room a number of times.

Neither the trial transcript nor evidence taken at House’s habeas hearings clearly shows at what point he indicated he wanted to confess. At some point photographs were taken. At about 4:00 p.m. blood samples were taken from House at Grady Hospital. (Tr. 359; February 7, 1983 habeas Tr. 50). At about 5:00 p.m. fingernail scrapings were taken by medical personnel at the police department. (Tr. 359). At about 4:30 House’s clothes were turned over to crime lab personnel so they could be *1114 examined for trace evidence (e.g., for hair or fibers matching those of the victims) (Tr. 358-360), and so that a blood spot which appeared between the left hip pocket and waistband of his trousers could be analyzed. (Tr. 445-446, 366, 371). In any event, at 5:55 p.m. House signed a written confession. According to Detectives Smegal and McCoy, who were present at that time, House dictated the confession to a female secretary who typed it up for his signature. (Tr. 135-136). Specifically, Detective Smegal testified:

Q Let me show you what has been marked as State’s Exhibit Number 25. Can you now identify that?
A This is the statement that Jack Carlton House dictated to our secretary in the presence of Detective McCoy and myself.
Q Did the secretary, female assistant there actually typed that out?
A Yes, sir, she did.
Q Who gave her the information to put into that statement?
A Jack Carlton House.

(Tr. 135-136). The text of House’s confession, in its entirety, is as follows:

Fulton County
Atlanta, Georgia
April 15, 1973
1750 Hrs, Sunday
5:50 PM
STATEMENT OF: Jack Carlton House, WM, 25, 1764 DeFoors Ferry Road, NW, Phone: None
I went to the Liquor Store around Noon on Saturday, April 14, 1973; the Liquor Store on Collier Road, and bought a half-pint of Karloff Vodka, costing $1.60. After buying this I had about fifty cents left in my pocket. I went back down Clairmont St. towards DeFoor Avenue; then I cut across some Apartment Yard located on Collier Road. Then I was walking down Clairmont and these two little boys come up and asked me if I was drunk. They were on their bicycles. I had fallen down and then I got up and just kept walking. Then I went up to the Little Store at DeFoor and Mantissa to pay James ... Camel who is the owner of the Store for a pack of cigarettes that I thought I had got from him the day before without paying, but as I got to the Store I remembered that I owed Mr. Bass up at the other store on DeFoor Avenue. Then I went across the street; which is DeFoor and into the woods.

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Related

Truitt v. Jones
614 F. Supp. 1342 (S.D. Georgia, 1985)
Johnson v. Kemp
585 F. Supp. 1496 (S.D. Georgia, 1984)

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562 F. Supp. 1111, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/house-v-balkcom-gand-1983.