Galvan v. Arizona, State of
Filing
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REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS re 8 Amended Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (State/2254) filed by Robert Galvan: Recommending that Petitioner's Second Amended Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (Doc. 8) be DENIED and DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE. IT IS FURTHER RECOMMENDED that a Certificate of Appealability and leave to proceed in forma pauperis on appeal be DENIED because the dismissal of the Petition is justified by a plain procedural bar and jurists of reason would not find the procedural ruling debatable. Signed by Magistrate Judge Michelle H Burns on 4/27/12. (DMT)
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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA
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Robert Galvan,
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Petitioner,
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vs.
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State of Arizona, et al.,
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Respondents.
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CIV 11-1654-PHX-SRB (MHB)
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION
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TO THE HONORABLE SUSAN R. BOLTON, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE:
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Petitioner Robert Galvan, who is confined in the Arizona State Prison – Kingman, has
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filed a pro se Second Amended1 Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C.
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§ 2254 (Doc. 8). Respondents filed an Answer (Doc. 13), but despite having the opportunity
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to do so, Petitioner has not filed a traverse.
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BACKGROUND2
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On June 5, 2009, the State of Arizona charged Petitioner with two counts of
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possession of narcotic drugs for sale (Class 2 felonies), possession of dangerous drugs for
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sale (Class 2 felony), and possession of drug paraphernalia (Class 6 felony). (Exh. A.) The
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State amended the indictment to allege aggravating circumstances other than prior
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convictions, historical prior felony convictions, and commission of offenses while released
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The Court dismissed Petitioner’s habeas petition twice, with leave to amend. (Docs.
5, 7.)
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Unless otherwise noted, the following facts are derived from the Exhibits submitted
with Doc. 13 – Respondents’ Answer.
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from confinement. (Exh. B.) On January 19, 2010, a jury found Petitioner guilty of
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possession of narcotic drugs for sale (hydrolyzed crack cocaine), possession of dangerous
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drugs for sale (methamphetamine), and possession of drug paraphernalia. (Exh. C.) The jury
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found Petitioner not guilty of one count of possession of narcotic drugs for sale (heroin).
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(Id.)
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On February 17, 2010, Petitioner was sentenced to 15.75 years in prison on the
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possession of narcotic drugs count (Count 1), 15.75 years on the possession of dangerous
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drugs for sale count (Count 2), and 3.75 years on the possession of drug paraphernalia count
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(Count 4), all sentences to run concurrently. (Exh. D, at 2-3.) Petitioner timely commenced
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his direct appeal and was appointed counsel, who, finding no arguable questions of law that
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were not frivolous, filed an Anders3 Brief on his behalf. (Exh. D.) The appellate court
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thereafter granted Petitioner the opportunity to file a supplemental brief, but none was filed.
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(Exhs. E, F.)
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On September 23, 2010, the court of appeals affirmed Petitioner’s convictions and
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sentences. (Exh. F.) Petitioner was then notified by his appellate counsel of his right to seek
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relief by filing a petition for review in the Arizona Supreme Court, but Petitioner failed to
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do so. (Exhs. G, H.)
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On October 7, 2010, Petitioner filed a notice of post-conviction relief. (Exh. I.)
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Appointed counsel filed a notice of completion of post-conviction review, indicating that he
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found no colorable claim to raise on Petitioner’s behalf. (Exh. J.) The trial court granted
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Petitioner an extension of time to file a pro per petition for post-conviction relief. (Exh. K.)
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Petitioner, however, never filed a petition for post-conviction relief. On July 6, 2011, the
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state court dismissed post-conviction relief proceedings, finding as follows; “[t]he court
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ordered that the Petition for Post-Conviction Relief be filed by 02/17/11. This deadline has
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passed and the defendant has not filed any petition. No good cause appearing, IT IS
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ORDERED dismissing the Rule 32 proceeding.” (Exh. N.)
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Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967)
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Petitioner filed a Second Amended Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (hereinafter
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“habeas petition”) in this Court on October 27, 2011. (Doc. 8.) In his habeas petition,
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Petitioner challenges his state court judgment and sentence. Petitioner presents two grounds
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for relief: (1) “Violation of Amendment IV right. Illegal search and seizure. Probable
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cause”; and (2) “Violation of Amendment VI [r]ight. To be confronted with the witnesses
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against him.”
DISCUSSION
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In their Answer, Respondents contend that the claims presented in Petitioner’s habeas
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petition are procedurally defaulted. Respondents argue that because Petitioner cannot
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establish the requisite cause and prejudice or a fundamental miscarriage of justice, he is not
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entitled to federal habeas review of these procedurally defaulted claims.
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A.
Exhaustion and Procedural Default
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A state prisoner must exhaust his remedies in state court before petitioning for a writ
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of habeas corpus in federal court. See 28 U.S.C. § 2254(b)(1) and (c); Duncan v. Henry, 513
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U.S. 364, 365-66 (1995); McQueary v. Blodgett, 924 F.2d 829, 833 (9th Cir. 1991). To
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properly exhaust state remedies, a petitioner must fairly present his claims to the state’s
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highest court in a procedurally appropriate manner. See O’Sullivan v. Boerckel, 526 U.S.
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838, 839-46 (1999). In Arizona, a petitioner must fairly present his claims to the Arizona
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Court of Appeals by properly pursuing them through the state’s direct appeal process or
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through appropriate post-conviction relief. See Swoopes v. Sublett, 196 F.3d 1008, 1010 (9th
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Cir. 1999); Roettgen v. Copeland, 33 F.3d 36, 38 (9th Cir. 1994).
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Proper exhaustion requires a petitioner to have “fairly presented” to the state courts
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the exact federal claim he raises on habeas by describing the operative facts and federal legal
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theory upon which the claim is based. See, e.g., Picard v. Connor, 404 U.S. 270, 275-78
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(1971) (“[W]e have required a state prisoner to present the state courts with the same claim
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he urges upon the federal courts.”). A claim is only “fairly presented” to the state courts
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when a petitioner has “alert[ed] the state courts to the fact that [he] was asserting a claim
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under the United States Constitution.” Shumway v. Payne, 223 F.3d 982, 987 (9th Cir. 2000)
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(quotations omitted); see Johnson v. Zenon, 88 F.3d 828, 830 (9th Cir. 1996) (“If a petitioner
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fails to alert the state court to the fact that he is raising a federal constitutional claim, his
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federal claim is unexhausted regardless of its similarity to the issues raised in state court.”).
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A “general appeal to a constitutional guarantee,” such as due process, is insufficient
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to achieve fair presentation. Shumway, 223 F.3d at 987 (quoting Gray v. Netherland, 518
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U.S. 152, 163 (1996)); see Castillo v. McFadden, 399 F.3d 993, 1003 (9th Cir. 2005)
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(“Exhaustion demands more than drive-by citation, detached from any articulation of an
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underlying federal legal theory.”). Similarly, a federal claim is not exhausted merely because
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its factual basis was presented to the state courts on state law grounds – a “mere similarity
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between a claim of state and federal error is insufficient to establish exhaustion.” Shumway,
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223 F.3d at 988 (quotations omitted); see Picard, 404 U.S. at 275-77.
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Even when a claim’s federal basis is “self-evident,” or the claim would have been
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decided on the same considerations under state or federal law, a petitioner must still present
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the federal claim to the state courts explicitly, “either by citing federal law or the decisions
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of federal courts.” Lyons v. Crawford, 232 F.3d 666, 668 (9th Cir. 2000) (quotations
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omitted), amended by 247 F.3d 904 (9th Cir. 2001); see Baldwin v. Reese, 541 U.S. 27, 32
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(2004) (claim not fairly presented when state court “must read beyond a petition or a brief
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... that does not alert it to the presence of a federal claim” to discover implicit federal claim).
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Additionally, under the independent state grounds principle, a federal habeas court
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generally may not review a claim if the state court’s denial of relief rests upon an
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independent and adequate state ground. See Coleman v. Thompson, 501 U.S. 722, 731-32.
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The United States Supreme Court has explained:
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In the habeas context, the application of the independent and adequate state
ground doctrine is grounded in concerns of comity and federalism. Without
the rule, a federal district court would be able to do in habeas what this Court
could not do on direct review; habeas would offer state prisoners whose
custody was supported by independent and adequate state grounds an end run
around the limits of this Court’s jurisdiction and a means to undermine the
State’s interest in enforcing its laws.
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Id. at 730-31. A petitioner who fails to follow a state’s procedural requirements for
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presenting a valid claim deprives the state court of an opportunity to address the claim in
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much the same manner as a petitioner who fails to exhaust his state remedies. Thus, in order
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to prevent a petitioner from subverting the exhaustion requirement by failing to follow state
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procedures, a claim not presented to the state courts in a procedurally correct manner is
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deemed procedurally defaulted, and is generally barred from habeas relief. See id. at 731-32.
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Claims may be procedurally barred from federal habeas review based upon a variety
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of factual circumstances. If a state court expressly applied a procedural bar when a petitioner
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attempted to raise the claim in state court, and that state procedural bar is both
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“independent”4 and “adequate”5 – review of the merits of the claim by a federal habeas court
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is barred. See Ylst v. Nunnemaker, 501 U.S. 797, 801 (1991) (“When a state-law default
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prevents the state court from reaching the merits of a federal claim, that claim can ordinarily
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not be reviewed in federal court.”) (citing Wainwright v. Sykes, 433 U.S. 72, 87-88 (1977)
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and Murray v. Carrier, 477 U.S. 478, 485-492 (1986)).
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Moreover, if a state court applies a procedural bar, but goes on to alternatively address
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the merits of the federal claim, the claim is still barred from federal review. See Harris v.
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Reed, 489 U.S. 255, 264 n.10 (1989) (“[A] state court need not fear reaching the merits of
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a federal claim in an alternative holding.
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independent state ground doctrine requires the federal court to honor a state holding that is
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a sufficient basis for the state court’s judgment, even when the state court also relies on
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federal law. ... In this way, a state court may reach a federal question without sacrificing its
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interests in finality, federalism, and comity.”) (citations omitted); Bennett v. Mueller, 322
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F.3d 573, 580 (9th Cir. 2003) (“A state court’s application of a procedural rule is not
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undermined where, as here, the state court simultaneously rejects the merits of the claim.”)
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(citing Harris, 489 U.S. at 264 n.10).
By its very definition, the adequate and
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A state procedural default rule is “independent” if it does not depend upon a federal
constitutional ruling on the merits. See Stewart v. Smith, 536 U.S. 856, 860 (2002).
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A state procedural default rule is “adequate” if it is “strictly or regularly followed.”
Johnson v. Mississippi, 486 U.S. 578, 587 (1988) (quoting Hathorn v. Lovorn, 457 U.S. 255,
262-53 (1982)).
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Furthermore, a subsequent “silent” denial of review by a higher court simply affirms
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a lower court’s application of a procedural bar. See Ylst, 501 U.S. at 803 (“where ... the last
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reasoned opinion on the claim explicitly imposes a procedural default, we will presume that
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a later decision rejecting the claim did not silently disregard that bar and consider the
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merits”).
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A procedural bar may also be applied to unexhausted claims where state procedural
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rules make a return to state court futile. See Coleman, 501 U.S. at 735 n.1 (claims are barred
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from habeas review when not first raised before state courts and those courts “would now
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find the claims procedurally barred”); Franklin v. Johnson, 290 F.3d 1223, 1230-31 (9th Cir.
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2002) (“[T]he procedural default rule barring consideration of a federal claim ‘applies only
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when a state court has been presented with the federal claim,’ but declined to reach the issue
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for procedural reasons, or ‘if it is clear that the state court would hold the claim procedurally
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barred.’”) (quoting Harris, 489 U.S. at 263 n.9).
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In Arizona, claims not previously presented to the state courts via either direct appeal
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or collateral review are generally barred from federal review because an attempt to return to
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state court to present them is futile unless the claims fit in a narrow category. See
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Ariz.R.Crim.P. 32.1(d)-(h), 32.2(a) (precluding claims not raised on appeal or in prior
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petitions for post-conviction relief), 32.4(a) (time bar), 32.9(c) (petition for review must be
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filed within thirty days of trial court’s decision). Because Arizona’s procedural rules are
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consistently and regularly followed and are independent of federal law, either their specific
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application to a claim by an Arizona court, or their operation to preclude a return to state
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court to exhaust a claim, will procedurally bar subsequent review of the merits of that claim
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by a federal habeas court. See Stewart, 536 U.S. at 860 (determinations made under
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Arizona’s procedural default rule are “independent” of federal law); Smith v. Stewart, 241
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F.3d 1191, 1195 n.2 (9th Cir. 2001) (“We have held that Arizona’s procedural default rule is
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regularly followed [“adequate”] in several cases.”) (citations omitted), reversed on other
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grounds, Stewart v. Smith, 536 U.S. 856 (2002); see also Ortiz v. Stewart, 149 F.3d 923, 931-
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32 (9th Cir. 1998) (rejecting argument that Arizona courts have not “strictly or regularly
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followed” Rule 32 of Arizona Rules of Criminal Procedure); State v. Mata, 916 P.2d 1035,
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1050-52 (Ariz. 1996) (waiver and preclusion rules strictly applied in post-conviction
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proceedings).
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The federal court will not consider the merits of a procedurally defaulted claim unless
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a petitioner can demonstrate that a miscarriage of justice would result, or establish cause for
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his noncompliance and actual prejudice. See Schlup v. Delo, 513 U.S. 298, 321 (1995);
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Coleman, 501 U.S. at 750-51; Murray, 477 U.S. at 495-96. Pursuant to the “cause and
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prejudice” test, a petitioner must point to some external cause that prevented him from
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following the procedural rules of the state court and fairly presenting his claim. “A showing
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of cause must ordinarily turn on whether the prisoner can show that some objective factor
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external to the defense impeded [the prisoner’s] efforts to comply with the State’s procedural
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rule. Thus, cause is an external impediment such as government interference or reasonable
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unavailability of a claim’s factual basis.” Robinson v. Ignacio, 360 F.3d 1044, 1052 (9th Cir.
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2004) (citations and internal quotations omitted). Ignorance of the State’s procedural rules
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or other forms of general inadvertence or lack of legal training and a petitioner’s mental
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condition do not constitute legally cognizable “cause” for a petitioner’s failure to fairly
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present his claim. Regarding the “miscarriage of justice,” the Supreme Court has made clear
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that a fundamental miscarriage of justice exists when a Constitutional violation has resulted
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in the conviction of one who is actually innocent. See Murray, 477 U.S. at 495-96.
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B.
Grounds One and Two
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Having reviewed the record, the Court finds that Petitioner’s habeas claims are
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procedurally defaulted. Petitioner failed to fairly present his habeas claims on direct appeal
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or collateral review. Rather, Petitioner’s habeas claims are presented for the first time on
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federal plenary review. Consequently, these claims are not exhausted because they were not
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fully and fairly presented to state courts. See 28 U.S.C. § 2254(b). Failure to fairly present
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Grounds One and Two has resulted in procedural default because Petitioner is now barred
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from returning to the state courts. See Ariz.R.Crim.P. 32.2(a), 32.4(a), 32.9(c). Although
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a procedural default may be overcome upon a showing of cause and prejudice or a
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fundamental miscarriage of justice, see Coleman, 501 U.S. at 750-51, Petitioner has not
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established that any exception to procedural default applies.
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CONCLUSION
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Grounds One and Two set forth in Petitioner’s habeas petition are procedurally
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defaulted, and Petitioner has not established cause for his failure to raise his claims in state
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court, actual prejudice, or demonstrated that a miscarriage of justice would result if these
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issues are not addressed. Thus, the Court will recommend that Petitioner’s Second Amended
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Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus be denied and dismissed with prejudice.
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IT IS THEREFORE RECOMMENDED that Petitioner’s Second Amended Petition
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for Writ of Habeas Corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (Doc. 8) be DENIED and
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DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE;
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IT IS FURTHER RECOMMENDED that a Certificate of Appealability and leave
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to proceed in forma pauperis on appeal be DENIED because the dismissal of the Petition is
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justified by a plain procedural bar and jurists of reason would not find the procedural ruling
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debatable.
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This recommendation is not an order that is immediately appealable to the Ninth
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Circuit Court of Appeals. Any notice of appeal pursuant to Rule 4(a)(1), Federal Rules of
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Appellate Procedure, should not be filed until entry of the district court’s judgment. The
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parties shall have fourteen days from the date of service of a copy of this recommendation
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within which to file specific written objections with the Court. See 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1);
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Rules 72, 6(a), 6(b), Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Thereafter, the parties have fourteen
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days within which to file a response to the objections. Failure timely to file objections to the
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Magistrate Judge’s Report and Recommendation may result in the acceptance of the Report
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and Recommendation by the district court without further review. See United States v.
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Reyna-Tapia, 328 F.3d 1114, 1121 (9th Cir. 2003). Failure timely to file objections to any
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factual determinations of the Magistrate Judge will be considered a waiver of a party’s right
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to appellate review of the findings of fact in an order or judgment entered pursuant to the
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Magistrate Judge’s recommendation. See Rule 72, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
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DATED this 27th day of April, 2012.
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