Rogers v. Dzurenda

CourtDistrict Court, D. Nevada
DecidedSeptember 23, 2019
Docket3:02-cv-00342
StatusUnknown

This text of Rogers v. Dzurenda (Rogers v. Dzurenda) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Nevada primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rogers v. Dzurenda, (D. Nev. 2019).

Opinion

1 2 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 3 DISTRICT OF NEVADA 4

5 MARK ROGERS, Case No. 3:02-cv-00342-GMN-WGC

6 Petitioner,

ORDER 7 v.

8 WILLIAM GITTERE, et al.,

9 Respondents.

11 Introduction 12 This case is a petition for a writ of habeas corpus by Mark Rogers, a Nevada 13 prisoner. The case is before the court with respect to the merits of certain claims 14 remanded by the Court of Appeals for further consideration by this Court. The Court will 15 grant Rogers habeas corpus relief on one of the remanded claims, Rogers’ claim that 16 his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance of counsel with respect to their 17 investigation and presentation of his defense of not guilty by reason of insanity. 18 Background Facts and Procedural History 19 In its September 3, 1985, decision affirming Rogers’ convictions and sentence, 20 the Nevada Supreme Court described, as follows, the facts of the case as revealed by 21 the evidence: 22 On December 3, 1980, Frank and Linda Strode returned from a Thanksgiving trip to their home in an isolated part of Pershing County near 23 Majuba Mountain, where they resided with Frank’s parents, Emery and 1 Mary Strode, and Frank’s sister, Meriam Strode Treadwell. When they entered the parents’ trailer, they found the dead bodies of Emery, Mary 2 and Meriam under a blanket in a bedroom. Emery had been shot three times and stabbed twice with a knife which was left in his chest. A pocket 3 watch discovered in Emery’s shirt pocket had been struck by one of the bullets; the hour hand of the watch was stopped at one o’clock. Mary had 4 been stabbed in the back and shot in the chest. Meriam, whose wrists were bound with an electric cord, died from a single gunshot wound in her 5 back. Emery and Meriam kept daily diaries. The last entry in both diaries was recorded on the morning of December 2, 1980. 6 On December 1, 1980, between 4:30 and 5 p.m., Robert Schott 7 gave defendant a ride from Winnemucca to Imlay. As soon as Rogers climbed into Schott’s truck, he looked nervously in both the back of the 8 truck and the rear view mirror. Defendant introduced himself as John and claimed that he was a musician going to Reno to look for a job. At one 9 point during the drive, defendant blurted out: “You may not believe it but I am a good American. You may not believe it but I'm on your side. I would 10 fight for my country.”

11 On December 2, 1980, between approximately 12:15 and 12:45 p.m., David Hartshorn, a geologist working at the Majuba Hill Mine, 12 observed Rogers standing alongside a road near Majuba Canyon and offered him a ride. During the ride, Hartshorn gave defendant a can of 13 Seven-Up to drink. Defendant stated that “[s]omebody is shooting rockets ... and one of these days it will hit my pyramid and blow me up.” Rogers 14 alighted at the Strode residence with the Seven-Up can in hand.

15 Between 12:30 and 2 p.m. that same day, Ray Horn, a mechanic at a nearby mine, was driving on a county road near Majuba Mountain. As he 16 passed a dark metallic blue truck, a slender young man driving the truck shot at Horn several times. Between 3:30 and 4 p.m., Earl L. Smith, a 17 highway maintenance worker saw Rogers standing on a road between Denio and Winnemucca and provided him a ride because defendant had 18 run out of gasoline. Rogers was later observed traveling at an extremely high rate of speed in a blue truck, which was identified by its license 19 number as the Strodes’ truck.

20 On December 5, 1980, Rogers was refused entry into Canada. In conversing with a Canadian police officer, Rogers indicated that he was 21 the King of North America. On January 4, 1981, defendant was arrested in Florida when he was seen riding on the bumper of a car, holding on to a 22 luggage rack. After he was arrested, Rogers told police that God knew him and that we were all a part of mother nature. During fingerprinting, 23 defendant refused to speak and wrote on a piece of paper that he 1 belonged to the government. Later at the jail, defendant claimed that he had killed the Strode family in self-defense. 2 Rogers’ fingerprints were lifted from various items in the Strode 3 residence, including a Seven-Up can and a glass jar found in the bedroom under the blanket with the victims’ bodies. At trial, the defense presented 4 the testimony of several expert witnesses which indicated defendant was a paranoid schizophrenic at the time of evaluation and that defendant’s 5 behavior at the time of the commission of the crimes was consistent with psychotic paranoid delusions, schizophrenia and psychosis and that 6 Rogers could not tell right from wrong or the nature and quality of his acts. One psychologist believed that defendant, who was trained in acting, was 7 faking his symptoms. After finding the defendant guilty of the crimes charged, the jury imposed the death penalty for the three murder 8 convictions, and prison terms for the attempted murder and grand larceny.

9 Rogers v. State, 101 Nev. 457, 461-62, 705 P.2d 664, 667-68 (1985), cert. denied, 476 10 U.S. 1130 (1986). 11 Rogers appealed, and the Nevada Supreme Court affirmed his conviction and 12 sentence on September 3, 1985. Rogers, 101 Nev. 457, 705 P.2d 664 (1985). The 13 United States Supreme Court denied Rogers’ petition for a writ of certiorari. Rogers v. 14 Nevada, 476 U.S. 1130 (1986). 15 On February 26, 1986, Rogers filed a petition for post-conviction relief in the 16 state district court. That court held an evidentiary hearing, at which Rogers testified, 17 and then, on September 29, 1986, denied the petition. Rogers appealed, and on 18 June 20, 1987, the Nevada Supreme Court dismissed the appeal. 19 On October 26, 1987, Rogers filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in this 20 Court, initiating the case of Rogers v. Whitley, 3:87-cv-0505-ECR. Counsel was 21 appointed to represent Rogers. On July 27, 1989, the court stayed that action so that 22 Rogers could exhaust certain claims in state court. 23 1 On October 15, 1990, Rogers filed, in state court, a second petition for post- 2 conviction relief, and on December 24, 1991, that petition was denied. Rogers 3 appealed, and the Nevada Supreme Court dismissed the appeal on May 28, 1993. 4 On December 1, 1993, Rogers filed a second federal habeas corpus action in

5 this Court: Rogers v. Angelone, 3:93-cv-0785-ECR. Rogers’ first federal habeas action 6 was then dismissed. The petition in Rogers’ second federal habeas action was 7 amended and supplemented, and Respondents answered. On March 6, 1997, the Court 8 ordered the action dismissed, without prejudice, in order to permit Rogers to further 9 exhaust claims in state court. 10 On March 24, 1997, Rogers filed, in state district court, a third petition for post- 11 conviction relief. The state district court dismissed that petition, Rogers appealed, and 12 the Nevada Supreme Court affirmed on May 13, 2002. 13 On June 25, 2002, Rogers initiated this, his third, federal habeas action, by filing 14 a “renewed” petition for writ of habeas corpus (ECF No. 11).

15 On November 24, 2004, Rogers moved for a stay of these proceedings, under 16 Rohan ex rel. Gates v. Woodford, 334 F.3d 803 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 540 U.S. 1069 17 (2003), contending that he was not competent to proceed with this action (ECF No. 39). 18 On September 21 and 22, 2005, the court held an evidentiary hearing on that motion 19 (ECF Nos. 60, 61). The Court denied the motion on October 24, 2005 (ECF No. 58) and 20 denied a motion to reconsider on May 18, 2006 (ECF No. 69). 21 On December 14, 2006, Rogers filed a first amended petition (ECF No. 75), and 22 on December 19, 2006, he filed a second amended petition (ECF No. 77), which is the 23 operative petition in the action.

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Rogers v. Dzurenda, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rogers-v-dzurenda-nvd-2019.