A Texas federal appeals court has upheld the ruling by a U.S. district court judge to stay the execution of John Henry Ramirez, who had been scheduled to be executed in Texas on February 2. The District Court had ruled that Ramirez was entitled to a stay so new lawyers could seek clemency on his behalf after Michael Gross, the lawyer initially appointed to represent Ramirez in his state and federal habeas corpus proceedings, had failed to file a clemency petition and left Ramirez “effectively without counsel” at the time of his death warrant. The court did not rule on a second issue alleged by Ramirez’s new counsel, that Gross had an inherent conflict of interest in the case because he had provided ineffective representation in state court and could not be expected to litigate his own ineffectiveness as part of the federal habeas corpus proceedings. After the federal courts denied his habeas petition, Ramirez informed Gross that he wanted to replace him as counsel, and asked him not to file a clemency petition because he wanted his new attorney to do that. The district court held that “Gross had a duty to either (1) inform the Court of his client’s wishes and seek the substitution of new counsel or (2) ensure that a clemency petition was filed on his client’s behalf. Gross did neither. Gross’ inaction prevented judicial consideration of whether the circumstances required the substitution of counsel.” The court also noted that Gross had previously failed to file key motions in the death penalty case of John Battaglia, requiring the courts to issue a stay of execution in December 2016 in that case. In Battaglia’s case, Gross had refused to filed a state competency petition, saying that fell “outside the scope” of his representation. The Texas Attorney General’s Office appealed Ramirez’s stay to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, arguing that Gross’s action constituted “gamesmanship,” not abandonment. A three-judge panel of the court disagreed and dismissed the state’s motion to vacate the stay.
(M. Graczyk, “TEXAS INMATE WILL NOT BE EXECUTED THURSDAY,” Associated Press, February 1, 2017; J. McCullough, “Execution halted for man convicted in Corpus Christi stabbing death,” The Texas Tribune, January 31,2017.) Read the U.S. District Court’s opinion. Read the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit’s opinion.
