Scott v. Shartle et al
Filing
37
MEMORANDUM OPINION. Signed by Judge Theodore D. Chuang on 10/31/2016. (c/m 10/31/2016 aos, Deputy Clerk)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF MARYLAND
JASON SCOTT,
Inmate IdenNfication No. 50651-037,
Petitioner,
v.
J.T. SHARTLE, FCC Warden,
SUSAN G. McCLINTOCK,
USP Warden, Tucson, AZ, and
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF
THE STATE OF MARYLAND,
Civil Action No. TDC-16-0364
Respondents.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Petitioner Jason Scott, an inmate at the United States Penitentiary in Tucson, Arizona
("USP- Tucson"), has filed a Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus pursuant to 28 U .S.C.
two Motions for an Injunction, and a Motion for Reconsideration.
S 2254,
For the reasons set forth
below, the Petition is dismissed, the Motions for an Injunction are collectively construed as a
new Complaint that shall be transferred to the United States District Court for the District of
Arizona, and the Motion for Reconsideration is denied.
BACKGROUND
On January 20, 2016, Scott filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus pursuant to 28
U.S.C.
S 2254
in the District of Arizona.
The Petition challenges Scott's September 25, 2013
conviction in the Circuit Court of Maryland for Prince George's County for murder in the first
degree after the entry of a plea of guilty in which he maintained his innocence pursuant to North
Carolina v. Alford, 400 U.S. 25, 37-39 (1970).
On February 9, 2016, the District of Arizona
transferred Scott's Petition, Motion to Toll AEDPA's One-Year Time Limit to File a Motion to
Vacate Pursuant to 28 U.S.C.
S 2254,
and other motions to the District of Maryland.
This Court issued an Order on April 28, 2016 requiring Respondents ("the Government")
to file an Answer to the Petition and denying several motions.
Scott filed a Notice of
Interlocutory Appeal from that Order. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
dismissed the interlocutory appeal on August 23, 2016, with the mandate issuing on October 17,
2016.
The Government
filed a Limited Answer to the Petition on June 7, 2016, seeking
dismissal of the Petition based on the arguments that Scott failed to exhaust available state court
remedies pursuant to 28 U.S.C.
S 2254(b)
and that his claims are now time-barred.
2016, Scott filed a Response to the Limited Answer.
On June 24,
The Court ordered Scott to file a
supplemental response specifically to present any evidence that his claims have been properly
exhausted and that the Petition was timely filed.
Scott filed such a supplemental response on
July 8, 2016.
In addition to the Petition, there are three motions currently pending before the Court.
On July 5, 2016, Scott filed a Motion for an Injunction in which he complained about certain
conditions of confinement at USP- Tucson.
Scott then filed in the District of Arizona a Motion
for an Injunction and a Motion for Reconsideration
of the Motion to Vacate his Maryland
conviction, which were then transferred to this Court on August 30, 2016. The two Motions for
an Injunction articulate identical grounds for relief.
2
DISCUSSION
I.
Petition
Scott entered an Alford plea in the Circuit Court of Maryland for Prince George's County
to two counts of first-degree murder and was sentenced on September 25, 2013 to life
imprisonment, with 85 years to be served and the remainder suspended.
notice of appeal.
Scott did not file a
Consequently, his judgment became final for purposes of direct review on
October 25, 2013. See Md. Rule 8-204(b)(2) (providing that an application for leave to appeal
must be filed within 30 days after the entry of judgment or order from which the appeal is
sought). Scott has not filed any state post-conviction proceedings.
In his Petition to this Court,
Scott proclaims his innocence, but he does not specifically define his claims for relief or provide
grounds to challenge his plea.
A.
Exhaustion of State Court Remedies
The Government argues that the Petition should be dismissed because Scott has not
exhausted all available state court remedies.
A petitioner seeking habeas relief in federal court
must exhaust each claim by first pursuing the remedies available in state court. 28 U.S.C.
2254(b)(1) (2012); Rose v. Lundy, 455 U.S. 509, 510 (1982).
S
This exhaustion requirement is
satisfied by seeking review of the claim in the highest state court with jurisdiction to consider the
claim. See 28 U.S.C.
S 2254(c).
For a person
convicted
of a criminal
offense in Maryland,
accomplished either on direct appeal or in post-conviction proceedings.
exhaustion
may be
To exhaust a claim on
direct appeal in non-capital cases, a defendant must assert it in an appeal to the Court of Special
Appeals of Maryland and then to the Court of Appeals of Maryland by way of a petition for a
writ of certiorari.
See Md. Code Ann., Cts. & Jud. Proc.
3
SS
12-201, 12-301 (West 2011). To
exhaust a claim through post-conviction proceedings, a defendant must assert it in a petition filed
in the Circuit Court where the inmate was convicted within 10 years of the date of sentencing.
See Md. Code Ann., Crim. Proc.
SS
7-101 to -103 (West 2011). After a decision on a petition,
further review is available through an application for leave to appeal filed with the Court of
Special Appeals. Id.
S 7-109.
Ifthe Court of Special Appeals denies the application, there is no
further review available and the claim is exhausted. Md. Code Ann., Cts. & Jud. Proc.
S
12-202.
However, if the application is granted but relief on the merits of the claim is denied, a petitioner
must file a petition for a writ of certiorari to the Court of Appeals. See Williams v. State, 438
A.2d 1301,1304-05 (Md. 1981).
Scott did not file a direct appeal, and the time for. doing so has long since expired. The
10-year time limit for filing a post-conviction
petition in state court to challenge his 2013
conviction and sentence, however, has not yet expired. Because Scott has yet to exhaust his state
remedies before the highest court with jurisdiction to consider the claim, the Petition is subject to
dismissal for lack of exhaustion. See 28 U.S.C.
B.
S 2254(b)(1).
Limitations Period
The Government also argues that even if Scott still has available state court remedies, the
Petition is time-barred.
A one-year statute of limitations applies to habeas petitions in non-
capital cases for a person convicted in a state court. See id.
S 2244( d).
Section 2244( d) provides
that:
(1)
A I-year period of limitation shall apply to an application for a writ of
habeas corpus by a person in custody pursuant to the judgment of a State court.
The limitation period shall run from the latest 0[(A)
the date on which the judgment became final by the conclusion of
direct review or the expiration of the time for seeking such review;
4
(B)
the date on which the impediment to filing an application created
by State action in violation of the constitution or laws of the United
States is removed, if the applicant was prevented from filing by
such State action;
(C)
the date on which the constitutional right asserted was initially
recognized Court, if the right has been newly recognized by the
Supreme Court and made retroactively applicable to cases on
collateral review; or
(D)
the date on which the factual predicate of the claim or claims
presented could have been discovered through the exercise of due
diligence.
(2)
The time during which a properly filed application for State postconviction or other collateral review with respect to the pertinent judgment or
claim is pending shall not be counted toward any period of limitation under this
subsection.
Here, because Scott did not file a direct appeal, the one-year limitations period began to run on
the date of the expiration of the time for seeking direct review. See id. ~ 2244( d)(1 )(A). Thus,
the limitations period began to ruil on October 25, 2013 and elapsed on Monday, October 27,
2014.
Because Scott did not file a post-conviction petition during that one-year period that
would have tolled the limitations period, Scott's claim is time-barred.
Nevertheless, Scott claims that he is entitled to equitable tolling of the limitations period.
The one-year limitations period is "subject to equitable tolling in 'those rare instances wheredue to circumstances
external to the party's own conduct-it
enforce the limitation against the party.'"
would be unconscionable
to
Hill v. Braxton, 277 F.3d 701, 704 (4th Cir. 2002)
(quoting Harris v. Hutchinson, 209 F.3d 325, 330 (4th Cir. 2000)). To be entitled to equitable
tolling, Scott must establish that either some wrongful conduct by the respondent contributed to
his delay in filing his petition or that extraordinary circumstances beyond his control caused the
delay. See Harris v. Hutchinson, 209 F.3d 325, 330 (4th Cir. 2000).
5
Scott also generally claims that he is actually innocent of the crimes to which he pleaded
guilty and faults his counsel for his entry of his plea. "[A] claim of 'actual innocence' is not
itself a constitutional claim, but instead a gateway through which a habeas petitioner must pass to
have his otherwise barred constitutional claim considered on the merits."
Herrera v. Collins,
506 U.S. 390,404 (1993). The Supreme Court has recognized an actual innocence exception to
the limitations period of 28 U .S.C.
S
2244. See McQuiggin v. Perkins, 133 S. Ct. 1924, 1928,
1934 (2013).
Having determined that Scott has yet to fully exhaust his state court claims, the Court
need not decide whether equitable tolling or actual innocence will excuse the failure to file the
Petition within the limitations period. Instead, the Petition will be dismissed without prejudice to
refiling after Scott exhausts his claims before the state courts of Maryland.
At that time, Scott
may again present any reasons that this otherwise untimely Petition may be considered.
C.
Certificate of Appealability
Rule II(a) of the Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases provides that the district court
"must issue or deny a certificate of appealability when it enters a final order adverse to the
applicant" in such cases.
applicant, 28 U.S.C.
S
Because the accompanying
Order is a final order adverse to the
2253(c)(1) requires issuance of a certificate of appealability before an
appeal can proceed.
A certificate of appealability may issue if the prisoner has made a "substantial showing of
the denial of a constitutional right."
constitutional
28 U.S.C.
S
2253(c)(2).
When a district court rejects
claims on the merits, a petitioner satisfies this standard by demonstrating that
"reasonable jurists would find the district court's assessment of the constitutional
claims
debatable or wrong." Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 1473,484 (2000). When a petition is denied
6
on procedural grounds, the petitioner meets the standard with a showing that reasonable jurists
"would find it debatable whether the petition states a valid claim of the denial of a constitutional
right" and "whether the district court was correct in its procedural ruling." Id. at 478.
Here, Scott's claims are dismissed on procedural grounds, and, upon review of the
record, this Court finds that Scott has not made the requisite showing.
declines to issue a certificate of appealability.
The Court therefore
Scott may still request that the United States
Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issue such a certificate. See Lyons v. Lee, 316 F.3d 528,
532 (4th Cir. 2003) (considering whether to grant a certificate of appealability after the district
court declined to issue one).
II.
Motions for an Injunction
In the Motion for an Injunction filed on July 5,2016, ECF No. 29, Scott asks this Court
to issue an order prohibiting the United States Department of Justice ("DOJ"); the Bureau of
Prisons ("BOP"); J.T. Shartle, Warden of the Federal Correctional Complex in Tucson, Arizona;
and Susan G. McClintock, Warden of USP-Tucson from continuing to use "investigative" and
"coercive" techniques that violate his rights to due process under the Fifth Amendment and
against cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment.
Mot. Inj. 1, ECF No. 29.
In the Motion for an Injunction that was transferred from the District of Arizona on August 30,
2016, ECF No. 33, Scott likewise requests an order prohibiting DOJ and the BOP from
continuing to use "investigative techniques" that violate his Fifth and Eighth Amendment rights.
Mot. Inj. 1, ECF No. 33.
Scott claims that since September 27,2013, he has been under 24-hour surveillance by an
"unknown investigative agency who utilize( s] hidden cameras and speakers, prison officials, and
other inmates to conduct a campaign of non-stop, coercive interrogations and psychological
7
torture, to include sleep deprivation, in an attempt to fabricate a false confession and coerce Scott
into committing suicide." Mot. Inj. 2, ECF No. 29; Mot. Inj. 1-2, ECF No. 33.
Scott's claims concerning the conditions of his confinement at USP-Tucson do not
challenge his conviction or sentence and thus are not a proper subject of the Petition filed under
28 U.S.C.
S 2254.
Scott's concerns about the conditions of his confinement as they relate to his
health and safety are instead properly construed as a complaint for constitutional violations by
federal officers pursuant to Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of
Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388, 397 (1971). Such claims are properly brought in the district in which
Scott is incarcerated-the
District of Arizona-. rather than the district in which he was convicted
and sentenced. See 28 U.S.c.
(D.C. Cir. 1993) (applying
S
S
1391(b); see also Cameron v. Thornburgh, 983 F.2d 253,256-57
1391(b) to a Bivens action and transferring the action to the district
encompassing the prison where the relevant events took place).
"For the convenience of the parties and witnesses, in the interest of justice, a district
court may transfer any civil action to any other district or division where it might have been
brought."
28 U.S.c.
S
1404(a). The decision to transfer under
S
1404(a) is within the discretion
of the district court and is to be determined upon notions of convenience and fairness on a caseby-case basis.
incarcerated
Stewart Org., Inc. v. Ricoh Corp., 487 U.S. 22, 29 (1988).
in Arizona, and any records relating to the named Defendants'
presumably located in Arizona.
See 28 U.S.C.
S
Here, Scott is
activities are
1391(b). The Court recognizes that Scott is a
self-represented litigant and his pleadings must be liberally construed.
Accordingly, the Court
will construe the Motions for an Injunction collectively as a Bivens complaint and transfer it to
the District of Arizona for all action that court deems appropriate.
8
III.
Motion for Reconsideration
Scott's Motion for Reconsideration of Motion to Vacate was transferred to this Court
from the District of Arizona on August 30, 2016. In his Motion, Scott requests reconsideration
of his ~ 2254 Petition due to "reoccurring untimely delays." Mot. Recons. 1. As of the time of
the filing of the Motion for Reconsideration, there had been no ruling on Scott's Petition. No
such ruling was made until the issuance of this Memorandum Opinion and accompanying Order.
Accordingly, the Motion was filed prematurely and shall be denied as not ripe.
Scott also argues in his Motion for Reconsideration that a default judgment against the
Government is warranted based on its failure to file an Answer that responds to the merits of his
Petition.
The Court's April 28, 2016 Memorandum
Government
Order does not specify whether the
was to address the merits of the Petition, and the Court did not order the
Government to do so at any time after the filing of the Limited Answer. A default judgment- is
therefore not appropriate because the Government has not failed to comply with any court order.
CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, the Court dismisses the Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus
without prejudice as unexhausted and declines to issue a Certificate of Appealability.
also denies the Motion for Reconsideration.
The Court
The Motions for an Injunction, collectively
construed as a Bivens complaint, will be transferred to the United States District Court for the
District of Arizona.
Date:
A separate Order shall issue.
October 31, 2016
THEODORE D. CH
United States District Ju
9
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?