Williams v. Rice et al

Filing 10

MEMORANDUM. Signed by Judge J. Frederick Motz on 10/9/2015. (c/m 10/9/15 bas, Deputy Clerk)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND

JAMES WILLIAMS, JR.
Petitioner,

*
*

v.

SUSAN RICE, et al.
Respondents.

CIVIL ACTION NO. JFM-15-1509

*
*****
MEMORANDUM

1.

Procedural History
On May 26,2014, the court received the above-captioned case, representing James Williams,

Jr.'s ("Williams") attempt to file a 28 U.S.C.
Circuit Court for Charles County.

S 2254

attack on his July 10,2013 convictions in the

On August 7,2015, a court-ordered response was filed.

NO.6.

On October 5,2015, Williams filed a timely reply. ECF NO.9.

II.

ECF

Standard of Review
Before a petitioner seeks federal habeas corpus relief, he must exhaust each claim presented

to the federal court by first pursuing remedies available in the state court. See Leonard v. Hammond,
806 F.2d 838, 840 (4th Cir. 1986). This exhaustion requirement is satisfied by seeking review of the
claim in the highest state court with jurisdiction to consider the claim. See O'Sullivan v. Boerckel,
526 U. S. 838,842 (1999); 28 U.S.C.

S 2254(b)

and (c). In Maryland, this may be accomplished by

raising certain claims on direct appeal and by way of post-conviction proceedings.

See Matthews v.

Evatt, 105 F.3d 907, 911 (4th Cir. 1997); Spencer v. Murray, 18 F.3d 237,239 (4th Cir. 1994). The

exhaustion requirement demands that the petitioner "do more than scatter some makeshift needles in
the haystack of the state court record. The ground relied upon must be presented face-up and
squarely; the federal question must be plainly defined. Oblique references which hint that a theory
may be lurking in the woodwork will not tum the trick." Mallory v. Smith, 27 F.3d 991, 994-95 (4th
Cir. 2001), ef Martens v. Shannon, 836 F.2d 715, 717 (15tCir. 1988). This exhaustion requirement
is not a jurisdictional prerequisite to federal habeas corpus relief but rather a matter of comity. See
Granberry v. Greer, 481 U.S. 129, 134-35 (1987). The state courts are to be afforded the first
opportunity to review federal constitutional challenges to state convictions in order to preserve the
role of the state courts in protecting federally guaranteed rights. See Preiser v. Rodriguez, 411 U.S.
475,490 (1973).
The United States Supreme Court has interpreted

S 2254( c) to require

a state prisoner to

present his claims to the state's highest court, even if review is discretionary, when such review is
part of the ordinary appellate review procedure. See O'Sullivan v. Boerekel, 526 U.S. at 845. This
generally requires appealing state court decisions all the way to the state's highest court. ld. at 847.
Exhaustion is not required if at the time a federal habeas corpus petition is filed petitioner has no
available state remedy. See Teague v. Lane, 489 U.S. 288, 297-98 (1989); Bassettv. Thompson, 915
F.2d 932, 937 (4th Cir. 1990).
III. Analysis
Williams was convicted in the District Court of Charles County of driving on a suspended
license and displaying expired registration plates.

2

He filed a motor vehicle appeal to the Circuit

Court for Charles County and was convicted of the offenses on July 10,2013, and was sentenced to
serve six months in prison, all suspended, with three years of probation.

ECF NO.6-I.

Williams'

order of appeal, treated as a petition for writ of certiorari, alleged that: (1) the circuit court erred by:
never inquiring [into] jurisdiction, failing to grant Williams complete and full discovery from the
State, deciding that Williams was required to possess a driver's license when he was not involved in
commerce upon any highway, denying unopposed judicial notices and motions which showed bias
and favoritism, failing to accept the "Nisi Rule," allowing the prosecution to use presumptions in
lieu of physical evidence, failing to be fair, impartial or neutral in the decision-making process,
failing to follow "Stare Decisis," using "vague terms not inducing statutory construction for the
legislative meaning of terms," allowing the prosecution to pursue a "Nuremberg Type of Defense,"
finding him guilty of the offenses charged as crimes, and accepting into evidence a certified driving
record which was erroneous and lacked authenticity.

ECFNo.6-2.

On March 14,2014, the Court

of Appeals of Maryland denied Williams' petition for writ of certiorari.

Williams' motion and

amended motion for reconsideration raised the following grounds: the trial court denied him his right
of due process by failing to disclose evidence of subject matter jurisdiction and the trial court showed
bias by not granting his demand for disclosure of all exculpatory evidence.

ECF No. 6-3.

Williams' certiorari request to the U.S. Supreme Court was denied on January 12, 2015. See
Williams v. Maryland, 135 S.Ct. 983 (2015). The petition for rehearing was denied on March 23,
2015.

See Williams v. Maryland, 135 S.Ct. 1587 (2015).

3

--------------------------------------

Generously construing the grounds raised in the instant

S 2254 petition,

Williams raises the

following claims: (1) his stop was unlawful; (2) he does not possess a suspended license, (3) he was

-7

/

cited with a factitious license; (4) the State cannot suspend something that does not exist; (5) he was
~

.

not engaged in commerce; (6) the circuit court did not have subject matter jurisdiction; and (7) he
was denied due process as there was insufficient evidence to convict him. ECF NO.1 at pgs. 12-13.
Respondents argue that Williams has not pursued state post-conviction

relief.

They

maintain that to the extent that Williams has raised federal claims, he has not yet raised them in the
state court, and his petition should be dismissed for non-exhaustion.
In his reply Williams argues that respondents' claims are false and misleading. There is no
proffered dispute with respondents' claim that no post-conviction petition was filed in the state
courts. ECF NO.9. Williams seemingly states that during a June 23, 2015 violation of probation
hearing he was informed that no relief was available to him in the state courts.

ECF NO.9-A. He

additionally alleges that after his circuit court conviction he filed timely motions for reconsideration
and to vacate to allege that he was not engaged in commerce. Id Williams further contends that
respondents have not substantially responded on the merits to his claim of due process violations
and the failure to obtain justice in the state courts.

He further claims that on appeal he challenged

the jurisdiction of the circuit court.
The record presented to the court clearly shows that to the extent that Williams has raised
constitutional grounds subject to federal habeas corpus review, 1 he has not exhausted his remedies as

28 U.S.c.

S 2254

confers jurisdiction upon federal courts to issue a writ of habeas corpus

4

required under

S 2254( c).

A petitioner need not first present his habeas claims to the state court if

the exhaustion requirement has been waived by the state, state court remedies are ineffective to
protect petitioner's right, or there are no available state remedies at the time of filing his
petition. See 28 U.S.C.

S 2254

S 2254(b).

Respondents submit that the exhaustion requirement should not be excused in Williams'
case.

They aver that there is no impediment to Williams pursuing post-conviction relief and

remedies remain available to Williams.
There is no dispute that while Williams obtained appellate review by way of the Court of
Appeals of Maryland, arguably only two of the seven grounds raised herein were raised going to
William's "commerce" and "jurisdiction" claims. Therefore, his grounds contain exhausted and
unexhausted claims. Remedies on state collateral review remain available to Williams.
Code Ann., Crim. Proc. Art.,

SS

See Md.

7-101, et seq. The post-conviction process may allow him to

present these claims and to have them addressed on the merits. The court sees no basis for waiver of
exhaustion requirements.

Consequently, the petition is not subject to substantive review in federal

court at this time. See Rose v. Lundy, 455 U.S. 509, 521-22 (1982); see also Coleman v. Thompson,
501 U.S. 722, 731 (1991); Castille v. Peoples, 489 U.S. 346, 349 (1989).
Williams must satisfy the provisions of 28 U.S.C.

S

2253(c) before a Certificate of

Appealability may issue. Section 2253 provides that a Certificate of Appealability may issue only if
the applicant has made a "substantial showing" of the denial of a constitutional right. 28 U.S.c.

"in behalf of a person in custody pursuant to the judgment of a State court ... on the ground that he is in

5

S

2253(c)(2).

Williams

is not required to show that he would prevail on the merits. See Slack v..

McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473,483-84 (2000). When a district court dismisses a habeas petition solely on
procedural grounds, a Certificate of Appealability will not issue unless the petitioner can demonstrate
I

both "( I) 'that jurists of reason would find it debatable whether the petition states a valid claim of the
denial of a constitutional right' and (2) 'that jurists of reason would find it debatable whether the
district court was correct in its procedural ruling.'" Rouse v. Lee, 252 F.3d 676, 684 (4th Cir. 2001)
(quoting Slackv. Daniel, 529

u.s. at 484).

Because Williams has not made a substantial showing of

the denial of his constitutional rights, this court declines to issue a certificate of appealability.
III.

Conclusion
For the aforementioned reasons, the court shall dismiss the petition without prejudice for the

failure to exhaust state court remedies. A separate Order shall be entered reflecting this decision.

Date:

~

4

';e<c:J. rederick Motz
nited States District Judge

J\ini.!! 1"1\-1(1

11j1

custody in violation ofthe?~bJ~tMii~~~;iilws

or treaties of the United States."

2£ :£ Hd 8- DO SIOl
6

S 2254(a).