Garza v. Thaler, No. 12-70036 (5th Cir. 2013)
Annotate this CasePetitioner, convicted of murder and sentenced to death, was denied federal habeas relief and seeks a certificate of appealability (COA) in order to pursue his ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim. Petitioner argued that trial counsel failed to submit appropriate death penalty questions to the potential jurors during jury selection; failed to call an investigator as a witness and failed to introduce hospital records at the guilt/innocence phase; and failed to present mitigating evidence at the punishment phase. The court rejected these arguments and denied the request for a COA, concluding that reasonable jurists would not debate the district court's decision to deny habeas relief on petitioner's Strickland v. Washington claims.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on January 20, 2014.
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