Ortiz v. United States, No. 08-1749 (8th Cir. 2011)
Annotate this CaseDefendant, a federal prisoner awaiting execution on two death sentences, appealed the district court's denial of his petition to vacate, set aside, or correct his sentence under 28 U.S.C. 2255. The court granted defendant's motion to enlarge the record to include the driver's license documents at issue but, for purposes of this appeal, the court denied the balance of his motion to enlarge and grant the government's motion to strike the remaining proffered evidence, as well as the portions of the briefs referencing this evidence. On remand, the district court could consider this other untimely evidence at its considerable discretion. The court remanded defendant's Atkins claims in light of new evidence establishing that the district court erred in finding defendant passed a Texas driver's license exam. Accordingly, the court did not affirm or vacate the sentence and offered no comment as to whether defendant's strengths disqualified him from a mental retardation diagnosis or outweighed defendant's mental deficits. The court affirmed the district court's denial of defendant's ineffective assistance of counsel claim where counsel's performance was reasonable. The court disposed of defendant's remaining challenges.
Court Description: Prisoner case - Death Penalty Habeas. For Ortiz's direct appeal, see U.S. v. Ortiz, 315 F.3d 873 (8th Cir. 2002). In the interests of justice, the court would expand the record to include certain exhibits regarding Ortiz's possession of a state identification card; court would not consider the other evidence Ortiz sought to add to the record on appeal as he adequate opportunities to introduce these materials in his Section 2255 proceeding; case remanded for further proceedings on Ortiz's Atkins' mental retardation claim in light of the new evidence establishing the district court clearly erred in finding Ortiz passed a Texas driver's license exam; court would not express any opinion on the issue of whether Ortiz is mentally retarded based on the current record; claims of ineffective assistance of counsel rejected as counsel made a reasonable investigation into Ortiz's background and the decision not to pursue a mental health defense was a reasonable professional judgment under the circumstances.
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