Source: http://openjurist.org/107/f3d/1465/houchin-v-w-zavaras
Timestamp: 2015-11-30 01:26:00
Document Index: 445093836

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 2254', '§ 1291', '§ 2253', '§ 2254', '§ 2255', '§ 2253']

107 F3d 1465 Houchin v. W Zavaras | OpenJurist
107 F. 3d 1465 - Houchin v. W Zavaras HomeFederal Reporter, Third Series107 F.3d
107 F3d 1465 Houchin v. W Zavaras 107 F.3d 1465
97 CJ C.A.R. 336
William C. HOUCHIN, Jr., Petitioner-Appellant,v.Aristedes W. ZAVARAS, Director, Colorado Department ofCorrections, Respondent-Appellee.
No. 96-1187.
Jean E. Dubofsky of Jean E. Dubofsky, P.C., Boulder, CO, for Petitioner-Appellant.
Gale A. Norton, Attorney General, and Wendy J. Ritz, Assistant Attorney General, Denver, CO, for Respondent-Appellee.
Petitioner William C. Houchin, Jr. appeals from an order of the district court denying his petition for habeas corpus relief filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. See Houchin v. Zavaras, 919 F.Supp. 1480 (D.Colo.1996) (Houchin I ). We exercise jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and affirm.1
In March 1984, Mr. Houchin was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder for killing his father- and mother-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Naureth. He was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences without parole.
Mr. Houchin had been living in the basement apartment in the Naureths' home, located in Pueblo, Colorado, with his wife Linda, the Naureth's daughter. On the night before the murders, Linda informed Mr. Houchin that she wanted a divorce. Mr. Houchin left the Naureth home, but returned the next day when Linda and her mother were out. Mr. Naureth was working on his truck in the garage. Mr. Houchin went to the garage with his gun, where he apparently struggled with Mr. Naureth. Mr. Naureth was shot twice and Mr. Houchin was shot once in the arm. Mr. Houchin then went to the basement apartment, changed his shirt and bound his wound, picked up a rifle, returned to the garage, and again shot Mr. Naureth, this time in the head at close range.
Mr. Houchin then destroyed furnishings in the house and killed the family dog. When Linda and Mrs. Naureth returned home, Mr. Houchin was still in the house with a revolver and a rifle. Mrs. Naureth attempted to flee through the garage, as Linda attempted to restrain Mr. Houchin. Mr. Houchin shoved Linda against the wall and she ran out of the house and across the street for help. Mr. Houchin returned to the garage and fired two shots from his single-action revolver, one of which hit Mrs. Naureth. She died later at the hospital.
Mr. Houchin then left. The next morning, Mr. Houchin was found asleep on the seat of his pickup truck in LaVeta, Colorado, near his parents' home. He was bleeding from a gunshot wound to his left arm and one of the arresting officers noticed the odor of alcohol on his breath. He appeared unconscious while being transported to the hospital and, initially, at the hospital. He regained consciousness in a manner which caused the treating physician's assistant to state that he was unable to rule out malingering as a cause for Mr. Houchin's comatose state. Tests performed at the hospital that morning showed that Mr. Houchin had a blood alcohol level of .232 and a urine alcohol level of .359.
The public defender's office initially represented Mr. Houchin. Later, Mr. Houchin's father retained as private counsel Thomas H. Heaton, a Massachusetts attorney whom the father had met in the course of a real estate transaction. Mr. Heaton secured local co-counsel, Terry Perlet.
Following his conviction, Mr. Houchin appealed. The Colorado Court of Appeals granted a limited remand to permit the district court to consider, under Colo. R.Crim. P. 35(c), Mr. Houchin's claim that he had received ineffective assistance of counsel in violation of the United States and Colorado Constitutions. The trial court determined that both counsel were ineffective in some respects but that their overall performance did not amount to constitutionally ineffective assistance. The Colorado Court of Appeals affirmed but determined that counsels' overall performance was below the level of reasonably competent assistance to which Mr. Houchin was constitutionally entitled. However, the court held that the outcome of the trial would not have differed had counsels' performance been competent. The Colorado Supreme Court denied certiorari.
Mr. Houchin thereafter filed this petition seeking habeas relief in federal district court. The district court determined that while Mr. Houchin had received representation which fell below an objective standard of reasonableness, he had failed to show a reasonable probability that, but for counsels' errors, his convictions would have differed. See Houchin I, 919 F.Supp. at 1496. The court thus denied habeas relief and Mr. Houchin filed this appeal.III. Certificate of Appealability
On April 26, 1996, Mr. Houchin filed a notice of appeal and requested a certificate of probable cause in the district court. The district court granted him a certificate of appealability. See Houchin v. Zavaras, 924 F.Supp. 115 (D.Colo.1996) (Houchin II ). We initially address whether the district court has the power vested in it by Congress to grant certificates of appealability.
On April 24, 1996, the President signed the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA), Pub.L. No. 104-132, 110 Stat. 1214. The AEDPA eliminated the requirement that petitioners seeking review of state habeas petitions obtain a certificate of probable cause from either the district court judge who ruled on his petition or from a circuit judge in order to appeal. See 28 U.S.C. § 2253 (1995). The AEDPA substituted the requirement that petitioners seeking review of district court judgments in petitions filed pursuant to either 28 U.S.C. § 2254 or 28 U.S.C. § 2255 seek a certificate of appealability with its attendant standards prior to appealing.
The AEDPA contains conflicting statements regarding whether a petitioner may seek a certificate of appealability from the district court. The AEDPA, at 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c), provides that: