Opinion ID: 779400
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Scope of the Evidentiary Hearing on Incompetence.

Text: 149 After reviewing Williams's evidence that he was tried while incompetent, the district court was inclined to grant the state's motion for summary judgment on the claim. See Williams III, 48 F.Supp.2d at 993. However, because the court had ordered an evidentiary hearing on the issue of Williams's mental state in conjunction with his ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claims, the district court denied the state's motion, permitting further exploration of Williams's substantive-due-process claim at the hearing already scheduled. See id. 150 At this hearing, the district court received direct testimony via narrative statement and also live testimony from Williams's trial attorney, another attorney who represented Williams at the preliminary hearings, and a trial juror. See Williams IV, 41 F.Supp.2d at 1046. Although the parties moved the court to present the oral testimony of mental-health experts on the issue of Williams's mental state, the district court instead ordered the parties to cross-examine the experts' declarations by deposition and then file briefs detailing areas of possible impeachment. See id. Based upon the live testimony presented at the hearing and the declarations, depositions, and briefs filed by the parties, the district court denied Williams's substantive-due-process claim. See id. at 1060. 151 Williams argues that the district court abused its discretion when it limited the scope of the evidentiary hearing on his incompetence claim in the above-described manner. Particularly, Williams contends that the hearing was inadequate without the oral testimony of expert witnesses, and that the court impermissibly resolved credibility questions and the merits of his claim on the basis of a predominantly written record. 152 As we discussed in the context of the hearing on Williams's shackling claim, a district court in a habeas corpus proceeding has the discretion to conduct an evidentiary hearing by choosing a middle path that includes documentary evidence, but excludes oral testimony. See Watts, 841 F.2d at 277. A district court must only give the petitioner full opportunity to present the relevant facts. Id. Because Williams fails to identify any relevant facts that he was unable to present due to his inability to elicit oral testimony, we conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion in restricting, as it did, the scope of the evidentiary hearing on his substantive-due-process claim. 153