Olive v. Pfeiffer
Filing
24
ORDER DISMISSING CASE. Signed by Judge Richard Seeborg on 1/10/18. The deputy clerk hereby certifies that on 1/10/2018 a copy of this order was served by sending it via first-class mail to the address of each non-CM/ECF user listed on the Notice of Electronic Filing. (cl, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 1/10/2018)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
9
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
10
DAMIEN DWAYNE OLIVE,
11
Case No. 16-cv-02773-RS (PR)
United States District Court
Northern District of California
Petitioner,
12
v.
ORDER OF DISMISSAL
13
CHRISTIAN PFEIFFER,
14
Respondent.
15
16
INTRODUCTION
17
Petitioner seeks federal habeas corpus relief from his state convictions. Respondent
18
19
moves to dismiss the petition as procedurally defaulted. (Dkt. No. 19.) For the reasons
20
stated herein, respondent’s motion is GRANTED and the petition is DISMISSED.
BACKGROUND
21
In 2013, a San Francisco County Superior Court jury convicted petitioner of first
22
23
degree burglary. The trial court found true sentencing enhancement allegations. Based on
24
the verdict and findings, petitioner was sentenced to nine years in state prison. He
25
appealed. His appellate attorney filed a Wende brief in which he declared that there were
26
no appealable issues.1 In 2014, the state appellate court agreed and affirmed the trial court
27
28
1
People v. Wende, 25 Cal. 3d 436 (1979).
1
judgment. Petitioner did not file a petition for direct review in the state supreme court.
In 2015, petitioner filed a habeas petition in the state supreme court. He raised two
2
3
claims: the trial evidence was not sufficient to support the verdict; and some evidence was
4
obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment. This petition was denied in 2016. The
5
state supreme court’s entire opinion reads as follows: “The petition is denied. (See In re
6
Lessard (1965) 62 Cal. 2d 497, 503; In re Dixon (1953) 41 Cal. 2d 756, 759; In re Lindley
7
(1947) 29 Cal. 2d 709, 723.)” (Respondent’s Renewed Mot. to Dismiss (“MTD”), Ex. D,
8
Dkt. No. 23 at 1.)
This federal petition followed the state supreme court’s denial. As grounds for
9
federal habeas relief, petitioner claims there was insufficient evidence to support his
11
United States District Court
Northern District of California
10
conviction for burglary.2
DISCUSSION
12
Respondent contends that petitioner’s claim is procedurally defaulted. The Court
13
14
agrees and also concludes that his claim is meritless.
15
I.
Procedural Default Principles
Federal habeas relief is barred if a state denied claims because a petitioner failed to
16
17
comply with the state’s requirements for presenting claims. Coleman v. Thompson, 501
18
U.S. 722, 731-32 (1991). The state’s grounds for denying the claim “must be independent
19
of the federal question and adequate to support the judgment.” Id. at 729. A state
20
procedural bar is “adequate” if it is “clear, consistently applied, and well-established at the
21
time of the petitioner’s purported default.” Calderon v. U.S. Dist. Ct. (Bean), 96 F.3d
22
1126, 1129 (9th Cir. 1996) (quoting Wells v. Maass, 28 F.3d 1005, 1010 (9th Cir. 1994)).
23
24
25
26
2
Petitioner also raised a Fourth Amendment claim in his federal habeas petition. The
Court dismissed this claim as not cognizable, citing Stone v. Powell, 428 U.S. 465, 481482, 494 (1976) and Gordon v. Duran, 895 F.2d 610, 613-614 (9th Cir. 1990).
27
ORDER OF DISMISSAL
CASE NO. 16-cv-02773-RS
28
2
1
The state carries the initial burden of adequately pleading “the existence of an
independent and adequate state procedural ground as an affirmative defense.” Bennett v.
3
Mueller, 322 F.3d 573, 586 (9th Cir. 2003). If the state meets this requirement, the burden
4
then shifts to the petitioner “to place that defense in issue,” which the petitioner may do
5
“by asserting specific factual allegations that demonstrate the inadequacy of the state
6
procedure, including citation to authority demonstrating inconsistent application of the
7
rule.” Id. If the petitioner meets this burden, “the ultimate burden” of proving the
8
adequacy of the state bar rests with the state, which must demonstrate “that the state
9
procedural rule has been regularly and consistently applied in habeas actions.” Id.
10
To overcome a claim of procedural default, petitioner must establish either
11
United States District Court
Northern District of California
2
(1) cause for the default, and prejudice, or (2) that failure to consider the defaulted claims
12
will result in a “fundamental miscarriage of justice.” Harris v. Reed, 489 U.S. 255, 262
13
(1989). To show cause for a procedural default, the petitioner must “show that some
14
objective factor external to the defense impeded” his efforts to comply with the state
15
procedural rule. Murray v. Carrier, 477 U.S. 478, 488 (1986). For cause to exist, the
16
external impediment must have prevented the petitioner from raising the claim. See
17
McClesky v. Zant, 499 U.S. 467, 497 (1991). To show prejudice, a petitioner bears “the
18
burden of showing not merely that the errors [complained of] constituted a possibility of
19
prejudice, but that they worked to his actual and substantial disadvantage, infecting his
20
entire [proceeding] with errors of constitutional dimension.” White v. Lewis, 874 F.2d 599,
21
603 (9th Cir. 1989) (citing United States v. Frady, 456 U.S. 152, 170 (1982)). If the
22
petitioner fails to show cause, the court need not consider whether the petitioner suffered
23
actual prejudice. Engle v. Isaac, 456 U.S. 107, 134 n.43 (1982).
24
To show a “fundamental miscarriage of justice,” a petitioner must show that the
25
constitutional error of which he complains “has probably resulted in the conviction of one
26
who is actually innocent.” Bousley v. United States, 523 U.S. 614, 623 (1998) (citing
27
Murray, 477 U.S. at 496). “Actual innocence” is established when, in light of all the
ORDER OF DISMISSAL
CASE NO. 16-cv-02773-RS
28
3
1
evidence, “it is more likely than not that no reasonable juror would have convicted [the
2
petitioner].” Id. at 623 (quoting Schlup v. Delo, 513 U.S. 298, 327-28 (1995)). “‘[A]ctual
3
innocence’ means factual innocence, not mere legal insufficiency.” Id. at 623. A
4
petitioner can make a showing of “actual innocence” by presenting the court with new
5
evidence which raises a sufficient doubt as “to undermine confidence in the result of the
6
trial.” Schlup, 513 U.S. at 324.
7
A.
Analysis
8
Respondent has adequately pleaded grounds for procedural default. The state
9
supreme court cited three cases in its denial of the state habeas petition, two of which
(Lindley and Dixon) are significant here, as respondent makes clear in his motion to
11
United States District Court
Northern District of California
10
dismiss. Lindley stands for the proposition that the state supreme court will not consider
12
on habeas review the merits of sufficiency of the evidence claims. Lindley, 29 Cal. 2d at
13
723. Such claims must be raised on direct review. Id. The Lindley bar has been upheld by
14
the Ninth Circuit as both an adequate and independent state ground for the denial of habeas
15
corpus relief. Carter v. Giurbino, 385 F.3d 1194, 1197-1198 (9th Cir. 2004).
16
Dixon bars from state habeas review those claims that could have been raised on
17
direct appeal. Dixon, 41 Cal. 2d at 759. The Supreme Court has held that California’s rule
18
barring claims that could have been raised on direct appeal, as announced in Dixon, is an
19
adequate and independent state ground for the denial of habeas relief. Johnson v. Lee, 136
20
S. Ct. 1802, 1806 (2016). Because the state has adequately pleaded grounds for procedural
21
default, it is now petitioner’s turn to place this defense “at issue” by asserting specific
22
factual allegations that demonstrate the inadequacy of the state procedure.
23
Petitioner offers three objections to respondent’s procedural default defense: (1) the
24
state court’s use of Lindley and Dixon is inapposite because his Wende appellate brief put
25
“all matters at issue,” including his evidence insufficiency claim (Response to Prior MTD,
26
Dkt. No. 10 at 1); (2) the “California [c]ourts do not consistently use procedural bar[s]
27
against habeas corpus,” (Opp. to MTD, Dkt. No. 20 at 3); and (3) a change in state law
ORDER OF DISMISSAL
CASE NO. 16-cv-02773-RS
28
4
1
provides an exception to the Dixon bar (id. at 3).
The first argument cannot succeed. Whether the Lindley and Dixon bars were
2
3
correctly applied by the state court is a question of state, not federal, law. A state court’s
4
interpretation of state law binds this federal habeas court, Bradshaw v. Richey, 546 U.S.
5
74, 76 (2005), even if state law were erroneously interpreted or applied, Swarthout v.
6
Cooke, 562 U.S. 216, 219 (2011). Also, a Wende brief does not put “all matters at issue.”
7
Rather, it does the opposite. It declares that there are no matters at issue.
Petitioner’s contention that California courts are not consistent fares no better. His
8
9
10
argument is conclusory and is not sufficient to “demonstrat[e] subsequent inconsistent
application” of Lindley and Dixon.3
Petitioner’s third objection is that a change in state law creates an exception to
United States District Court
Northern District of California
11
12
Dixon. He cites the state supreme court’s 2015 decision in People v. Banks, 61 Cal. 4th
13
788 (Cal. 2015) as support for this.4
This assertion is not persuasive. The state supreme court imposed the Dixon bar
14
15
against petitioner in 2016, that is after Banks, which was issued in 2015. Even if Banks
16
provides an exception to Dixon, the state supreme court apparently decided that petitioner
17
was not entitled to that exception.
18
Respondent, then, has successfully shown that petitioner’s claims are procedurally
19
defaulted. Petitioner can overcome default now only by showing cause and prejudice, or
20
that a failure to review his claims on the merits would be a fundamental miscarriage of
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
3
Petitioner does cite a Ninth Circuit case from 2002 and a Supreme Court case from 1995
to support his contention. (Opp., Dkt. No. 20 at 3.) Such citations are unavailing,
however. Because these opinions were issued before the cases that upheld the Lindley and
Dixon bars (Carter, 2004; Lee, 2016), they cannot show subsequent inconsistent
application. Petitioner also cites a Central District case from 2005. This citation is also
unavailing. Because it is a district court opinion, it is not binding on this Court. Also, the
citation petitioner provides does not match the name of the case he gives.
4
In Banks, the state supreme court discussed under what circumstances an accomplice can
qualify as a major participant in criminal activity.
ORDER OF DISMISSAL
CASE NO. 16-cv-02773-RS
28
5
1
justice. To this end, petitioner claims that appellate counsel’s ineffectiveness in failing to
2
raise an insufficiency of evidence claim constitutes cause to excuse procedural default.
3
(Opp. to MTD, Dkt. No. 20 at 1.)
4
Because there was sufficient evidence to support his conviction, petitioner cannot
5
show that appellate counsel was ineffective in failing to raise an insufficiency claim.
6
Petitioner was convicted of the first degree burglary of his mother’s house. (First MTD,
7
Dkt. No. 9-1 (State Appellate Opinion) at 4.) A person commits first degree burglary in
8
California when he enters an inhabited dwelling with the intent to commit grand or petit
9
larceny, or any felony. Cal. Penal Code §§ 459, 460. At trial, petitioner’s mother’s
neighbor testified that on the day of the burglary she saw petitioner and another person
11
United States District Court
Northern District of California
10
moving boxes from the mother’s house to a parked car. (First MTD, Dkt. No. 9-1 at 4.)
12
Petitioner’s mother testified that she came home to find her window broken, and her
13
television and vacuum cleaner missing. (Id.) These items were later found in petitioner’s
14
residence. (Id.) These facts clearly meet the requirements of the statute. In the face of
15
such strong evidence, appellate counsel cannot have been deficient in failing to raise a
16
claim of insufficient evidence, nor can such an alleged failure have resulted in prejudice.
17
Smith v. Robbins, 528 U.S. 259, 285 (2000) (claims of ineffective assistance of appellate
18
counsel are reviewed according to the standard set out in Strickland v. Washington, 466
19
U.S. 668 (1984)). Because petitioner has not shown cause, the Court need not discuss
20
whether he has shown prejudice. Furthermore, the above-cited evidence shows that
21
petitioner’s insufficiency of evidence claim lacks merits.
22
Petitioner also has not shown that a failure to review the merits of his claims would
23
result in a fundamental miscarriage of justice. As noted above, there was strong evidence
24
of his guilt. He has thus failed to show that the constitutional error of which he complains
25
“has probably resulted in the conviction of one who is actually innocent.” Bousley, 523
26
U.S. at 623 (citing Murray, 477 U.S. at 496). His claim is procedurally defaulted and
27
meritless.
ORDER OF DISMISSAL
CASE NO. 16-cv-02773-RS
28
6
CONCLUSION
1
2
Respondent’s motion to dismiss the petition (Docket No. 19) is GRANTED. The
3
claim is procedurally defaulted. Consequently, the petition is DISMISSED. The claim,
4
even if it were to be considered on the merits, would fail. The Clerk shall terminate
5
Docket No. 19, enter judgment in favor of respondent, and close the file.
6
7
IT IS SO ORDERED.
10
Dated: January ___, 2018
_________________________
RICHARD SEEBORG
United States District Judge
8
9
10
United States District Court
Northern District of California
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
ORDER OF DISMISSAL
CASE NO. 16-cv-02773-RS
28
7
Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.
Why Is My Information Online?