Zamora v. Dugger

Ronney Albert Zamora (defendant) was a 15-year-old who shot his 82-year-old neighbor while burglarizing her home. Zamora was convicted of first-degree murder and three other charges by a jury. On the murder charge, Zamora was sentenced to life in prison with eligibility for parole in 25 years. The other sentences were to run concurrently. Zamora appealed his conviction, but his appeal was not successful. The Florida Supreme Court declined to review Zamora’s case. Then, Zamora moved for his conviction to be vacated, alleging ineffective assistance of counsel. However, a Florida trial court declined to vacate the judgment, and a Florida district court affirmed. Next, Zamora petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus, but a federal district court denied the petition. Zamora appealed the denial of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. At trial, Zamora had entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity based on the new defense of involuntary subliminal television intoxication. Zamora’s trial attorney, Ellis Rubin, prepared for trial by reading a lot of studies that connected television viewing to violent conduct and interviewing psychologists on this link. This defense did benefit Zamora by enabling Rubin to present evidence related to Zamora’s unfavorable background. On appeal, Zamora argued that Rubin had ruined his defense of legal insanity by asserting that Zamora’s insanity was caused by being intoxicated on television despite the fact that the reason for a person’s insanity was not relevant to the insanity defense itself. Zamora also alleged that his attorney was not prepared. The Eleventh Circuit assessed Zamora’s claim in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Strickland.