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Fifth Circuit MLK day grant of relief

By Karl R. Keys, Esq.

On Monday, the Fifth Circuit in Gaylon Walbey Jr v Quarterman granted penalty phase relief on counsel’s performance. From that opinion: On the performance prong of Strickland, there is little room for debate that the district courtwas correct to agree with the magistrate judge?s conclusion that Ezell?s investigation of a potential mitigation defense was deficient. Ezell?s mitigation investigation was severely limited. As noted, he only scanned the files sent to him on Walbey?s background, and he did not (1) interview Walbey?s mother or people who worked with him as a youth, (2) hire a mitigation expert, (3) reach an independent conclusion about the viability of a mitigation defense, instead delegating that task to an expert, which expert understood his role as limited to assessing only future dangerousness and spent two hours preparing the case, or (4) investigate the history of Walbey?s relationship with the victim...continue to full post

Full post as published by Capital Defense Weekly on January 20, 2009 (boomark / email).