Cary W. Williams v. E. K. McDaniel, et al (DEATH PENALTY)
Filing
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ORDER. IT IS ORDERED that 323 the respondents' motion to file portions of the state court record under seal is GRANTED. The respondents are permitted to file under seal3 Exhibits H1-H17 from the penalty phase of Williams' trial. Signed by Judge Andrew P. Gordon on 10/7/2022. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - JQC)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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DISTRICT OF NEVADA
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Cary Wallace Williams,
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v.
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Case No. 2:98-cv-00056-APG-VCF
Petitioner,
William Reubart, 1 et al.,
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Order
[ECF No. 323]
Respondents.
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I conducted an evidentiary hearing in this case on May 18-20, 2022. At the conclusion of
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the hearing, counsel for the respondents asked to file autopsy photographs of Williams’ victims,
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preferably under seal. The photographs had been admitted as evidence during the penalty phase
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of Williams’ trial. Williams’ counsel objected, claiming lack of notice and authentication. I
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directed the parties to confer on the matter and, if necessary, file motions. The respondents now
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move to file the photographs under seal. ECF No. 323. I grant the motion.
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Under the Ninth Circuit’s remand, I am required to “assess[] whether there is a
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reasonable probability that Williams would have received a different sentence” if his counsel had
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presented mitigating evidence that she omitted due to her ineffectiveness. Williams v. Filson, 908
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F.3d 546, 571 (9th Cir. 2018). That is, I must determine whether there is a reasonable probability
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the three-judge panel that sentenced Williams “would have concluded that the balance of
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aggravating and mitigating circumstances did not warrant death.” Strickland v. Washington, 466
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U.S. 668, 695 (1984). The Ninth Circuit directed me to “consider ‘the totality of the available
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mitigation evidence,’ . . . and ‘reweigh[ ] it against the evidence in aggravation,’ bearing in mind
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that two of the four aggravating factors considered at Williams' sentencing have since been
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stricken.” Id. (citation omitted).
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The current warden of Ely State Prison, William Reubart, is substituted for his predecessor,
William Gittere, as the primary respondent. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 25(d).
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The autopsy photographs fall within the category of evidence in aggravation I am to
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consider under the Ninth Circuit’s remand. And because the photographs were admitted as
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evidence at Williams’ penalty phase trial, 2 the respondents do not need to establish an
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independent basis for their admissibility in order for me to include them in my Strickland
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prejudice analysis. See Wiggins v. Smith, 539 U.S. 510, 534 (2003) (“In assessing prejudice, we
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reweigh the evidence in aggravation against the totality of available mitigating evidence.”); see
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also Washington v. Shinn, 21 F.4th 1081, 1095 (9th Cir. 2021) (“In reweighing this evidence, we
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must take as our baseline the evidence of aggravation and mitigation offered at trial and the
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resulting sentence.”) Thus, there is no merit to Williams’ argument that, with proper notice, he
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would have moved to exclude the photographs as irrelevant or as more prejudicial than
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probative. For the purposes of my review, the issue of admissibility was resolved by the
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sentencing court.
Similarly, the fact that the photographs were presented as evidence at his trial also
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undermines Williams’s claim of “trial by ambush.” In fact, he had an expert review the
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photographs in 1999 to support a separate claim that his counsel was ineffective in the penalty
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phase. See ECF No. 136-3 at 89; Williams, 908 F.3d at 574. Williams faults the respondents for
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not including the photographs on their pre-hearing exhibit list, but the photographs were outside
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the scope of the hearing’s mandated purpose, which was for Williams to further develop the
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evidence underlying Claim 1(F) of his habeas petition. See id. at 571 (“Once the evidence
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underlying [Claim 1(F)] has been further developed, the district court will be in a position to
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determine whether Williams is entitled to relief.”). The photographs are not a belated
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evidentiary hearing exhibit, but rather a relevant supplement to the state court record subject to
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federal habeas review. As such, the respondents should be permitted to file them in this case.
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In his response to the motion, Williams does not raise authentication as an issue. Thus, I
assume that after conferring with the respondents he does not dispute that they are certified
copies of the original exhibits presented to the state court.
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I THEREFORE ORDER that the respondents’ motion to file portions of the state court
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record under seal (ECF No. 323) is GRANTED. The respondents are permitted to file under
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seal 3 Exhibits H1-H17 from the penalty phase of Williams’ trial.
Dated: October 7, 2022
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ANDREW P. GORDON
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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The parties agreed that, should I grant the respondents’ motion, the photographs should be filed
under seal. ECF No. 323 at 1-2, ECF No. 326 at 3. I concur that there are sufficiently
compelling reasons for filing under seal. See Kamakana v. City & Cnty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d
1172, 1178-79 (9th Cir. 2006).
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