Opinion ID: 779400
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Appeal and Post-Conviction Proceedings.

Text: 29 Pursuant to California's 1978 death penalty law, Williams's conviction and sentence were automatically appealed to the California Supreme Court. While the appeal was pending, on June 25, 1984, Williams filed a state petition for a writ of habeas corpus, which was consolidated with his direct appeal. See id. at 905. The California Supreme Court ordered an evidentiary hearing on issues raised in the habeas corpus petition. An appointed referee conducted a five-day hearing and made factual findings on the issues of whether (1) Oglesby was a government agent that deliberately elicited incriminating statements from Williams in violation of the Sixth Amendment, (2) Oglesby was a government agent that interrogated Williams in violation of the Fifth Amendment, and (3) Williams's trial counsel was ineffective for failing to object to Oglesby's testimony under the Fifth and Sixth Amendments and correlative provisions of the California Constitution. See id. at 908. On April 11, 1988, the California Supreme Court issued an opinion affirming Williams's conviction and sentence and denying his habeas corpus petition. See id. at 921. The California Supreme Court denied Williams's petition for rehearing, and the United States Supreme Court denied his petition for a writ of certiorari. See Williams v. California, 488 U.S. 975, 109 S.Ct. 514, 102 L.Ed.2d 549 (1988). 30 On January 9, 1989, Williams filed a second state habeas corpus petition, which the California Supreme Court summarily denied. Williams filed a federal habeas corpus petition in the United States District Court for the Central District of California on January 23, 1989. The district court ordered the petition held in abeyance pending exhaustion of all of Williams's claims in state court. 31 On September 1, 1989, Williams filed a third state habeas corpus petition with the California Supreme Court, which ordered another evidentiary hearing on the question of whether the prosecution used Oglesby as a government agent in violation of Williams's Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights. See In re Williams, 7 Cal.4th 572, 29 Cal.Rptr.2d 64, 870 P.2d 1072, 1074 (1994) (en banc) ( Williams II ). After the second hearing and a post-hearing briefing, the California Supreme Court issued an opinion on April 11, 1994 that denied the habeas corpus petition. See id. at 1095. The Court also denied Williams's petition for rehearing. On June 21, 1995, the California Supreme Court denied Williams's fourth and final state habeas corpus petition on the merits and on procedural grounds. 32 After exhausting his claims in state court, Williams filed with the district court an amended federal habeas corpus petition on November 13, 1995. Granting, in part, the state's motion for summary judgment on March 27, 1998, the district court denied twenty-four of the twenty-eight claims raised in Williams's amended federal petition. See Williams v. Calderon, 48 F.Supp.2d 979, 1032 (C.D.Cal.1998) ( Williams III ). On May 27-28, 1998, the district court held an evidentiary hearing, at which witnesses were called and exhibits submitted, on Williams's claims that he was unconstitutionally shackled at trial and that his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance in violation of the Sixth Amendment. See Williams v. Calderon, 41 F.Supp.2d 1043, 1046 (C.D.Cal. 1998) ( Williams IV ). The district court issued an opinion denying Williams's remaining claims on December 21, 1998, see id. at 1060-61, and entered judgment accordingly on December 23, 1998. 33 On January 8, 1999, Williams filed a motion asking the district court to amend its findings of fact and judgment under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 52(b) and 59(e). While the motion to amend was still pending, on January 22, 1999, Williams noticed his intent to appeal the district court's December 23, 1998 judgment and also requested a certificate of probable cause (CPC) in the event that the district court denied his motion to amend. On May 21, 1999, the district court did deny Williams's motion to amend, but granted his application for a CPC to appeal the denial of his federal habeas corpus petition. Williams filed an amended notice of appeal on June 3, 1999, indicating his intent to appeal the district court's order denying his motion to amend. 34 On November 17, 1999, Williams filed with the district court a motion for relief from judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b), which the district court denied on December 17, 1999. On December 29, 1999, Williams noticed his intent to appeal the district court's order and requested a CPC for this purpose. The district court denied Williams's request on January 28, 2000. On February 10, 2000, Williams filed an amended notice of appeal, which we treated as an application to this court for a certificate of appealability (COA). On May 5, 2000, we granted a COA limited to the issues raised by the district court's denial of Williams's Rule 60(b) motion.