Cota v. Ryan et al
Filing
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ORDER that Respondents' 10 Motion to Preclude Juror Contact is GRANTED. ORDERED that Petitioner may not contact any jurors other than by leave of Court upon a showing that extraneous prejudicial information or outside influence was improperly brought to the jury's attention. See Fed. R. Evid. 606(b). Signed by Judge Diane J Humetewa on 2/23/2017. (LFIG)
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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA
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Benjamin Bernal Cota,
Petitioner,
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v.
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No. CV-16-03356-PHX-DJH
DEATH-PENALTY CASE
Charles L. Ryan, et al.,
ORDER
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Respondents.
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Pending before the Court in this federal habeas review of Petitioner’s state capital
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conviction is Respondents’ Motion to Preclude Juror Contact. (Doc. 10.) Respondents
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request that the Court order Petitioner not to contact any jurors other than by leave of
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Court upon a showing of good cause that juror misconduct may have occurred during the
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trial proceedings. (Id.) Petitioner has filed a response in opposition asserting that no
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binding authority requires such a showing. (Doc. 13.) The motion is granted for the
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following reasons.
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Federal courts have long recognized that “very substantial concerns support the
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protection of jury deliberations from intrusive inquiry.” Tanner v. United States, 483 U.S.
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107, 127 (1987). Respondents maintain that this Court should regulate post-verdict juror
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contact in this federal habeas case as a matter of policy based on the same “long-
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recognized and very substantial concerns” central to the decision in Tanner, which seek
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to prevent juror harassment and protect jury deliberations from intrusive inquiry. In
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Tanner, the Supreme Court recognized that post-verdict investigation into jury
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misconduct would lead in some instances to the discovery of improper juror behavior, but
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expressed concern that allegations “raised for the first time days, weeks, or months after
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the verdict, [would] seriously disrupt the finality of the process” and could undermine
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“full and frank discussion in the jury room, jurors’ willingness to return an unpopular
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verdict, and the community’s trust in a system that relies on the decisions of laypeople.”
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Id. at 120–21; see also McDonald v. Pless, 238 U.S. 264, 267–68 (1915) (noting that
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public investigation of juror deliberations would lead to “the destruction of all frankness
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and freedom of discussion and conference”).
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Generally, a verdict may not be impeached on the basis of the jury’s internal
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deliberations or the manner in which it arrived at its verdict. Traver v. Meshriy, 627 F.2d
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934, 941 (9th Cir. 1980).1 Rule 606(b) of the Federal Rules of Evidence is grounded in
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this common-law rule against admission of jury testimony to impeach a verdict. On the
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other hand, although jurors may not be questioned about their deliberations and most
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matters related thereto, they may be questioned regarding any extraneous influence on
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their verdict. Tanner, 483 U.S. at 117; Traver, 627 F.2d at 941. Accordingly, Federal
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Rule of Evidence 606(b) allows jury testimony in limited circumstances to show that
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(1) extraneous prejudicial information was improperly brought to the jury’s attention, (2)
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an outside influence was improperly brought to bear upon any juror, or (3) there was a
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mistake in the verdict form. See Tanner, 483 U.S. at 121; Fed. R. Evid. 606(b).
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Petitioner contends that there is no statute, rule or law prohibiting Petitioner’s
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federal habeas counsel from interviewing jurors from his state criminal trial to discover
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admissible evidence of juror misconduct, or requiring Petitioner to show good cause prior
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to doing so. Nonetheless, despite there being no specific prohibition, post-verdict
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interviews with jurors are not looked on favorably in the Ninth Circuit, Hard v.
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Burlington Northern R.R., 812 F.2d 482, 485 (9th Cir. 1987), abrogated on other grounds
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The Court recognizes that the United States Supreme Court, in Pena-Rodriguez
v. Colorado, 350 P.3d 287 (Colo. 2015), cert. granted, 136 S.Ct. 1513 (Apr. 4, 2016) (No.
15-606), is now considering whether an exception may be made into the general
prohibition of inquiry into jury deliberations when issues of racial prejudice may be
involved.
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by Warger v. Shauers, 135 S. Ct. 521 (2014), and the district courts have “‘wide
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discretion’ to restrict contact with jurors to protect jurors from ‘fishing expeditions’ by
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losing attorneys.” see United States v. Wright, 506 F.3d 1293, 1303 (10th Cir. 2007)
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(quoting Journal Pub. Co. v. Mechem, 801 F.2d 1233, 1236 (10th Cir. 1986)).
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While this Court’s local rules do not prohibit Petitioner’s federal habeas counsel
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from contacting and interviewing jurors from Petitioner’s state criminal trial, neither do
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they specifically authorize such contact. Our local rules do recognize that approval for the
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interview of federal jurors will only be granted when proposed written interrogatories are
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submitted to the court within the time granted for a motion for a new trial, and only upon
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a showing of good cause. See LRCiv 32.9(b) (citing Federal Rules of Evidence, Rule
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606(b)). While there is no corresponding rule prohibiting counsel from invading the
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provenance of state jurors in federal habeas proceedings, the absence of a rule is not
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dispositive, as the Court is no less concerned with the protection of state jurors than
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federal jurors, and has the discretion to address these concerns on a case by case basis.
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Furthermore, in addition to the policy concerns expressed in Tanner, there are
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“very cogent reasons” for requiring a preliminary showing of illegal or prejudicial
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intrusion into the jury process before allowing counsel to conduct post-trial interviews,
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including protecting the jury from post-verdict misconduct and the courts from time-
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consuming and futile proceedings; reducing the chances and temptations for tampering
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with the jury; and increasing the certainty of verdicts. Wilkerson v. Amcon Corp, 703
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F.2d 184, 185–86 (1983); see also King v. United States, 576 F.2d 432, 438 (1978)
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(courts are reluctant to inquire into the conduct of jurors during deliberations “to avoid
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harassment of jurors, inhibition of deliberation in the jury room, a deluge of post-verdict
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applications mostly without real merit, and an increase in opportunities for jury
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tampering; it is also to prevent jury verdicts from being made more uncertain”).
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Moreover, where there has been no specific claim of jury misconduct, “there is no federal
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constitutional problem involved in the denial of a motion to interrogate jurors.” Smith v.
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Cupp, 457 F.2d 1098, 1100 (9th Cir. 1972).
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As Respondents have indicated, the specific factual and procedural context of
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these proceedings merits further consideration. First, the lengthy passage of time in
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capital habeas cases only strengthens the substantial concerns mentioned in Tanner
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regarding the possibility of the serious disruption of the finality of the judicial process; in
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this case more than eight years have passed since the jury returned its verdict. Further,
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though mindful of the early stage of this federal habeas proceeding, the Court is struck by
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the observation that Petitioner has come forward with no factual allegations suggestive of
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jury misconduct. Finally, in light of the limited purposes for which juror evidence would
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ever be admissible in federal habeas proceedings, it is reasonable for this Court to allow
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post-verdict contact with jurors only through leave of Court upon a showing of good
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cause. See Fed. R. Evid. 606(b); see also Cullen v. Pinholster, 563 U.S. 170, 181 (2011)
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(“[R]eview under § 2254(d)(1) is limited to the record that was before the state court that
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adjudicated the claim on the merits.”).
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Thus, the Court finds that the proper way for Petitioner to proceed is to first make
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a preliminary showing that extraneous prejudicial information or outside influence was
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improperly brought to the jury’s attention, and seek leave of the court to approach the
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jury. See Hard, 812 F.2d at 485 n.3. Good cause may be shown only by satisfying the
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requirements of the exception stated in Rule 606(b).
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Accordingly,
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IT IS HEREBY ORDERED Respondents’ Motion to Preclude Juror Contact
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(Doc. 10) is GRANTED.
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IT IS FURTHER ORDERED Petitioner may not contact any jurors other than by
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leave of Court upon a showing that extraneous prejudicial information or outside
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influence was improperly brought to the jury’s attention. See Fed. R. Evid. 606(b).
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Dated this 23rd day of February, 2017.
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Honorable Diane J. Humetewa
United States District Judge
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