Opinion ID: 430923
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Additional Grounds Asserted

Text: 70 In its June 2, 1981 order, the district court granted an evidentiary hearing on the new or additional grounds asserted in Walker's second petition for writ of habeas corpus. See Walker v. Lockhart, 514 F.Supp. at 1353. These were: (1) newly discovered evidence that would exonerate Walker; (2) a denial of due process because of an alleged inducement by state authorities not to apply for a writ of certiorari following this court's ruling in 1969; and (3) a denial of effective assistance of counsel because of alleged intimidation of Walker's counsel by the trial judge and by police officers and other officials. 71 The district court heard evidence on only two of the three grounds since the claim of newly discovered evidence was candidly abandoned at the outset of the hearing. [H. II, 173-74.] The district court considered Walker's due process claim and found it to be without merit. Although Walker's counsel decided to abandon this claim following presentation of the evidence, the district court found there was no credible evidence in the record to report it. [H. II, 365, 499.] 72 Finally, the district court ruled that Walker's claim of ineffective assistance of counsel was unsustainable. At the habeas hearing Walker's former counsel who had assisted in representing him at trial clearly testified that he was not intimidated. [H. II, 369, 500.] The district court found that Walker had received an excellent defense by two experienced attorneys, that there was no intimidation by the trial judge or by the North Little Rock Police Department, and that Walker's defense had been praised in glowing terms by this court. [H. II, 499-500.] 73 Walker does not seriously urge error in these findings. After carefully reviewing the record, we conclude that these findings of the trial court were not clearly erroneous. Fed.R.Civ.P. 52(a); see Weiland v. Parratt, 530 F.2d 1284, 1289 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 847, 97 S.Ct. 130, 50 L.Ed.2d 118 (1976). 74 The orders of the district court denying the writ of habeas corpus are affirmed. 75