Raul Tamez v. Rick Thaler, Director

344 F. App'x 897
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
DecidedSeptember 10, 2009
Docket08-40615
StatusUnpublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 344 F. App'x 897 (Raul Tamez v. Rick Thaler, Director) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Raul Tamez v. Rick Thaler, Director, 344 F. App'x 897 (5th Cir. 2009).

Opinion

PER CURIAM: *

Raul Garza Tamez, Texas prisoner # 718879, was convicted by a jury of murder and sentenced by the jury to life imprisonment. Tamez v. State, 205 S.W.3d 32, 37 (Tex.App.2006). The district court denied Tamez habeas corpus relief pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. The district court granted Tamez a certificate of ap-pealability (COA) on the issues whether the state trial court deprived him of a fair trial by allowing him to be tried in leg restraints and whether counsel was inef *898 fective for failing to object to Tamez being tried in leg restraints.

In addition to arguing the issues as to which the district court granted a COA, Tamez contends that counsel was ineffective for failing to discover and present mitigating evidence; that the state trial court violated his First Amendment rights by allowing evidence of his gang affiliation; that the state trial court erred by removing potential jurors sua sponte; and that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals acted unconstitutionally by denying him an evi-dentiary hearing on his state habeas application. The respondent correctly notes that the district court did not grant a COA on these issues and that Tamez did not move in his appellant’s brief for an expansion of the COA granted by the district court. Tamez did not move before briefing for this court to expand the grant of COA. Tamez requests expansion of the grant of COA in his reply brief; that request is untimely for our consideration. See United States v. Williamson, 183 F.3d 458, 464 n. 11 (5th Cir.1999); United States v. Kimler, 150 F.3d 429, 431 & n. 1 (5th Cir.1998).

Tamez contends that he was deprived of a fair trial because he was kept in both hand and leg restraints during the entire trial. According to Tamez, he was seated at the end of the defense table which was open underneath, allowing his legs to be seen. The state trial court took no precautions before Tamez took the stand to mitigate the prejudice inherent in Tamez’s shackling at trial, such as wrapping the shackles in plastic or directing Tamez to sit when the jury entered the room. in order to avoid the noise created by the movement of the shackles. He alleges that there was an “excessive TDCJ [Texas Department of Criminal Justice] detail shadowing [his] every move,” even inside the courtroom. He further contends that he was prejudiced by being shackled, particularly in light of his defense of self-defense, and argues that the evidence against him was not sufficiently overwhelming to render the state court’s error harmless. He argues that counsel was ineffective for failing to object to the shackling, and he alleges that counsel had a disincentive to object because she was employed by TDCJ and adhered to a TDCJ policy instead of objecting to it.

Tamez alleges in his appellant’s brief that he wore restraints around both his legs and hands during trial. He did not allege in the district court that his hands were restrained during trial. This court does not generally consider habeas arguments raised for the first time on appeal. See Henderson v. Cockrell, 333 F.3d 592, 605 (5th Cir.2003) (declining to address claim raised for the first time in an appellate COA motion).

We cannot determine from the record what factual findings were necessarily decided by implication in Tamez’s state habe-as corpus proceeding. Cf. Valdez v. Cockrell, 274 F.3d 941, 948 n. 11 (5th Cir.2001) (stating that the § 2254(e)(1) presumption of correctness extends to explicit and implicit findings of fact which are necessary to the state court’s conclusions). However, the record does not indicate that Ta-mez’s state habeas claim was denied based on any unreasonable application of law or unreasonable finding of fact. See § 2254(d)(1) & (2).

“The law has long forbidden routine use of visible shackles during the guilt phase [of a trial]; it permits a State to shackle a criminal defendant only in the presence of a special need.” Deck v. Missouri, 544 U.S. 622, 626, 125 S.Ct. 2007, 161 L.Ed.2d 953 (2005). The same is true during the penalty phase in a capital trial. Id. at 632-33,125 S.Ct. 2007. A trial court may, however, require a defendant to wear restraints if the trial court deems it neces *899 sary to protect the court and the courtroom. Id. at 632, 125 S.Ct. 2007. The trial court must take into account the circumstances of the particular case. Id. The Supreme Court recognizes that “[t]here will be cases ... where these perils of shackling are unavoidable.” Id. When determining whether a violation occurred, this court considers any “steps to mitigate any prejudicial influence on the jury.” Chavez v. Cockrell, 310 F.3d 805, 809 (5th Cir.2002).

On collateral review of a state conviction, a federal court will grant habeas relief only when the use of restraints “had a substantial and injurious effect or influence in determining the jury’s verdict.” Hatten v. Quarterman, 570 F.3d 595, 604 (5th Cir.2009) (citations and internal quotation marks omitted). Overwhelming evidence of a defendant’s guilt may be sufficient to render harmless any error in shackling a defendant. Id. Moreover, a jury’s knowledge that a defendant already is a convicted prisoner may be a factor to consider when addressing whether a shackling error is harmless. See Wilkerson v. Whitley, 16 F.3d 64, 68 (5th Cir.), reinstated in relevant part, 28 F.3d 498, 509 (5th Cir.1994) (en banc).

It is undisputed that Tamez was a convicted prisoner on trial for a murder committed in prison and that several other convicted prisoners testified at his trial. Prisoner/witness Oscar Carranza — whose affidavit appears in the state court record — conceded that some of those other prisoner/witnesses properly were wearing restraints.

Any error by the state trial court in having Tamez shackled during trial was harmless. The jury knew that Tamez was a prisoner accused of committing a crime in prison. See Wilkerson, 16 F.3d at 68. Additionally, the evidence against Tamez was overwhelming. He chased his victim and beat him repeatedly in front of numerous eyewitnesses, even beating the victim after he fell. Tamez does not deny that he beat the victim.

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Related

Tamez v. Thaler
176 L. Ed. 2d 127 (Supreme Court, 2010)

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344 F. App'x 897, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/raul-tamez-v-rick-thaler-director-ca5-2009.