Opinion ID: 71523
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Williams's Habeas Motion

Text: In 2004, Williams filed a petition in federal district court for a writ of habeas corpus, asserting the same issues in his state petitions. The district court dismissed most of the issues in Williams's petition on procedural grounds. These dismissed claims included Williams's allegation of IAC at sentencing, which the district court found unexhausted and procedurally barred. The district court, however, found that the Texas state court's determination that Williams failed to plead a prima facie case of mental retardation was based on an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented in the State court proceeding. 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(2). Because Williams satisfied this threshold inquiry under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA), the district court allowed Williams to argue the merits of his Atkins claim. The seven day evidentiary hearing before a magistrate judge resulted in significant evidence tending both to support and refute Williams's claim of mental retardation. [1] The parties presented the magistrate judge with evidence from three different IQ tests recording Williams's score as either a 70 or a 71, which suggested at least borderline mental retardation, and a slew of academic achievement tests in which Williams scored in the non-mentally retarded range. Williams argued that despite the discrepancies, the magistrate judge should consider him mentally retarded, while the State argued that because of the discrepancies, the magistrate judge should not. The State's expert produced evidence adduced during one of the IQ tests suggesting that Williams failed to put forth a good effort. [2] The magistrate judge also heard testimony that while in the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades, Williams took a national standardized test called the Metropolitan Achievement Test and, although he scored below grade level in some subjects, he scored above grade level in others. Also while in the seventh grade, Williams demonstrated mastery in mathematics, reading, and writing on the Texas Educational Assessment of Minimum Skills, a separate achievement test. In the ninth grade, Williams passed the reading and writing sections of the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills Test, but failed the mathematics portion. Williams also offered testimony tending to show that he suffered from adaptive deficits, specifically in the areas of self-care, home living, social and personal skills, work, and leisure. Williams introduced testimony that he failed to dress appropriately for the weather, could not keep an apartment or working car on his own, had been fired from every job he ever held, and was beaten up frequently as a child. Williams's expert on this point conceded, however, that these deficits could be attributed to behavioral abnormalities rather than cognitive deficiencies. Williams also documented his high school years, in which school officials punished Williams for theft, truancy, and for setting a trash can on fire, and in which Williams split time between regular classes and special education classes. Williams earned generally passing, albeit low, grades in all his classes. He eventually graduated high school on time, with a grade point average of 2.19 and a class rank of 326 out of 480. Finally, the magistrate judge heard testimony from many people who knew Williams through various stages of his life. These witnesses included Williams's parents, his high school principal, several of his childhood friends, and those who knew him during his time in the Naval Reserves. While most described Williams as odd and several testified to his apparent inability to follow directions or rules of games, most opined that they did not believe that Williams was mentally retarded. Some, however, stated that they treated him differently because they believed he was slow. The magistrate judge issued a seventy-eight page report and recommendation summarizing the testimony adduced at the evidentiary hearing, and recommending that the district court reject Williams's Atkins claim. Conceding that Williams presented a close call, the magistrate judge recommended that the district court grant sua sponte a COA on the issue of Williams's mental retardation. The district court adopted the magistrate's report and recommendation in its entirety, granting Williams a COA on his Atkins claim.