Tong v. Lumpkin, No. 19-70008 (5th Cir. 2024)
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In 1998, Chuong Duong Tong was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death in Texas for killing a police officer during a robbery. After exhausting his appeals in state court, Tong filed a federal habeas corpus petition. He argued that his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance by failing to investigate and present mitigating evidence of childhood sexual abuse. He also challenged the trial court's management of the jury selection process.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit concluded that Tong's claims were without merit. The court determined that Tong's claim of ineffective assistance was procedurally defaulted, meaning it was not properly raised in state court and therefore could not be considered in federal court. The court also rejected Tong's argument that the district court should have granted a stay to allow him to return to state court to exhaust this claim. Additionally, the court found that Tong's challenge to the jury selection process was procedurally defaulted and that he had not shown cause to excuse this default.
In reaching these conclusions, the court noted that Tong's trial counsel had conducted a thorough investigation, including interviewing Tong and his family members, and had retained experts to assist with the case. The court also considered the fact that Tong had used his peremptory challenges during jury selection and had not identified any biased juror who was seated as a result of the change in procedure.
Therefore, the court affirmed the district court's denial of Tong's request for a stay, denied his motion for an additional certificate of appealability on his ineffective assistance claim, and affirmed the denial of his writ of habeas corpus on his jury selection claim.
This opinion or order relates to an opinion or order originally issued on August 27, 2020.
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