Crump v. BURT

Filing 17

OPINION and ORDER Denying Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus 1 and Denying Certificate of Appealability. Signed by District Judge Denise Page Hood. (LSau)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN
SOUTHERN DIVISION
WILLIAM CRUMP,
Case Number: 2:16-CV-13381
HON. DENISE PAGE HOOD

Petitioner,
v.
SHERRY BURT,
Respondent.
/

OPINION AND ORDER DENYING PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS
CORPUS AND DENYING CERTIFICATE OF APPEALABILITY
Michigan state prisoner William Crump filed a petition for a writ of habeas
corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. Petitioner challenges his convictions for three
counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct, Mich. Comp. Laws §
750.520d(1)(a) (victim at least 13 years old and under 16 years old); three counts
of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct, Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.520e(1)(a)
(victim at least 13 years of age but less than 16 years of age and actor more than
five years older than the victim), and one count of accosting a child for an immoral
purpose, Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.145a. He raises two claims for relief.
Respondent argues that several of the claims are meritless. For the reasons stated,
the Court denies the petition and denies a certificate of appealability.

I.

Background
Petitioner’s convictions arise from his sexual conduct with three girls,

Neonie O., Shyya H., and Shadivia P. Shadivia testified that, in 2011, she ran
away from a home for troubled youth, Vista Maria. Shadivia was fifteen-years old
at the time. Two other girls, Shyya and Neonie, ran away with her. Shadivia,
Neonie, and another girl known as Desi went to Petitioner’s home. Shadivia
stayed at the home for about one to two months. She did not pay any rent.
Occasionally, Petitioner asked Shadivia to have sex with him to pay for her room.
She did not have sex with him, but he touched her breasts and buttocks numerous
times without her consent. She also saw Petitioner touch Neonie in the same ways
he had touched her. Shadivia testified that when Child Protective Services first
questioned her she denied that Petitioner had touched her inappropriately because
she was embarrassed and did not want the situation to escalate.
Neonie testified that, in May 2011, she was fifteen-years-old. She left Vista
Maria in early 2011 and went to Petitioner’s home, where she stayed for
approximately three months. Several times, while staying at Petitioner’s home, she
awoke to find him touching her leg and thigh, and trying to touch her private area.
Petitioner suggested to her several times that she could have sex with him in lieu of
paying rent. One day, she was standing in the bathroom when he entered, pulled
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her panties aside, and licked her vagina.
Shyya testified that she too stayed at Petitioner’s home after running away
from Vista Maria. She was thirteen-years-old at the time. On one occasion, she
asked Petitioner to rub her back while they were watching TV. Another girl,
Arizona Adams, was present in the room. After rubbing her back for a while,
Petitioner placed his fingers in her vagina. Arizona left the room. Petitioner then
penetrated her vagina with his penis.
Arizona Adams testified that she stayed at Petitioner’s home for about a
week at the same time that Shyya stayed there in 2011. Adams did not feel
threatened while at the home and testified that Petitioner never touched her
inappropriately. One day she saw Petitioner and Shyya having intercourse.
Petitioner did not testify in his own defense and presented no witnesses.
Following a jury trial in Wayne County Circuit Court, Petitioner was
convicted of three counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct, three counts of
fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct, and one count of accosting a child for an
immoral purpose. Petitioner was sentenced as a fourth habitual offender to
concurrent sentences of 25 to 42 years for third-degree CSC convictions, 1 to 2
years for the fourth-degree CSC convictions, and 2 to 15 years for the accosting a
child for immoral purposes conviction.
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Petitioner filed an appeal of right in the Michigan Court of Appeals, raising
these claims: (i) counsel was ineffective during plea negotiations; (ii) trial court
improperly left Petitioner handcuffed during trial; and (iii) counsel was ineffective
for failing to object to trial court’s decision to leave Petitioner handcuffed during
trial. The Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed Petitioner’s convictions. People v.
Crump, No. 316583, 2014 WL 7157385 (Mich. Ct. App. Dec. 16, 2014). The
Michigan Supreme Court denied leave to appeal. People v. Crump, 498 Mich. 872
(Mich. Sept. 9, 2015).
Petitioner then filed a habeas corpus petition. The petition raises these
claims:
I.

II.

II.

Mr. Crump is entitled to a new trial or the reinstatement of the final
plea offer because his defense attorney provided constitutionally
inadequate assistance under the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendment.
A new trial is warranted because the trial judge had Mr. Crump
shackled prior to ever meeting him or his entering into that court
room, where no record evidence exist[ed] of disruptive behavior,
which is cruel and unusual punishment under the Sixth, Fourteenth
and Eighth Amendment.

Standard of Review
Review of this case is governed by the Antiterrorism and Effective Death

Penalty Act of 1996 (“AEDPA”). Under the AEDPA, a state prisoner is entitled to
a writ of habeas corpus only if he can show that the state court’s adjudication of his
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claims –
(1) resulted in a decision that was contrary to, or involved an
unreasonable application of, clearly established Federal law, as
determined by the Supreme Court of the United States; or
(2) resulted in a decision that was based on an unreasonable
determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented in the
State court proceeding.
28 U.S.C. § 2254(d).
A decision of a state court is “contrary to” clearly established federal law if
the state court arrives at a conclusion opposite to that reached by the Supreme
Court on a question of law or if the state court decides a case differently than the
Supreme Court has on a set of materially indistinguishable facts. Williams v.
Taylor, 529 U.S. 362, 405 (2000). An “unreasonable application” occurs when “a
state court decision unreasonably applies the law of [the Supreme Court] to the
facts of a prisoner's case.” Id. at 408. “[A] federal habeas court may not issue the
writ simply because that court concludes in its independent judgment that the
relevant state-court decision applied clearly established federal law erroneously or
incorrectly.” Id. at 411.
The Supreme Court has explained that “[a] federal court’s collateral review
of a state-court decision must be consistent with the respect due state courts in our
federal system.” Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322, 340 (2003). The “AEDPA
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thus imposes a ‘highly deferential standard for evaluating state-court rulings,’ and
‘demands that state-court decisions be given the benefit of the doubt.’” Renico v.
Lett, 559 U.S. 766, 773 (2010) quoting Lindh v. Murphy, 521 U.S. 320, 333 n. 7
(1997); Woodford v. Visciotti, 537 U.S. 19, 24 (2002) (per curiam). “[A] state
court’s determination that a claim lacks merit precludes federal habeas relief so
long as ‘fairminded jurists could disagree’ on the correctness of the state court’s
decision.” Harrington v. Richter, 562 U.S. 86, 101 (2011). The Supreme Court
has emphasized “that even a strong case for relief does not mean the state court's
contrary conclusion was unreasonable.” Id. at 102. Furthermore, pursuant to §
2254(d), “a habeas court must determine what arguments or theories supported or
... could have supported, the state court's decision; and then it must ask whether it
is possible fairminded jurists could disagree that those arguments or theories are
inconsistent with the holding in a prior decision of th[e Supreme] Court.” Id.
Although 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d), as amended by the AEDPA, does not
completely bar federal courts from relitigating claims that have previously been
rejected in the state courts, it preserves the authority for a federal court to grant
habeas relief only “in cases where there is no possibility fairminded jurists could
disagree that the state court’s decision conflicts with” Supreme Court precedent.
Id. Indeed, “Section 2254(d) reflects the view that habeas corpus is a ‘guard
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against extreme malfunctions in the state criminal justice systems,’ not a substitute
for ordinary error correction through appeal.” Id. quoting Jackson v. Virginia, 443
U.S. 307, 332 n. 5 (1979) (Stevens, J., concurring)). Therefore, in order to obtain
habeas relief in federal court, a state prisoner is required to show that the state
court’s rejection of his claim “was so lacking in justification that there was an error
well understood and comprehended in existing law beyond any possibility for
fairminded disagreement.” Id. at 103, 131 S. Ct. at 786–87.
Additionally, a state court’s factual determinations are entitled to a
presumption of correctness on federal habeas review. See 28 U.S.C. § 2254(e)(1).
A petitioner may rebut this presumption with clear and convincing evidence. See
Warren v. Smith, 161 F.3d 358, 360-61 (6th Cir. 1998). Moreover, habeas review
is “limited to the record that was before the state court.” Cullen v. Pinholster, 563
U.S. 170, 181 (2011).
III.

Discussion
A.

Claim One: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

In his first claim for habeas relief, Petitioner argues that defense counsel
failed to convey to him the prosecution’s final plea offer, extended on August 16,
2012, which would have allowed him to plead guilty to attempted accosting and
soliciting a minor with a prison sentence of one to two years.
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1.

State court evidentiary hearing

After Petitioner’s trial, Petitioner moved for reversal of his convictions and
entry of a plea-based conviction, or for a hearing pursuant to People v. Ginther,
390 Mich. 436 (1973), and a new trial. Petitioner argued he was not aware of the
final plea offer until he received a copy of defense counsel’s response to a
grievance filed by Petitioner. The trial court conducted a two-day evidentiary
hearing and heard testimony from eight witnesses: Robert Slameka (trial counsel),
Larry Polk (Petitioner’s first attorney), three Wayne County assistant prosecutors
(Keith Clark, Danielle Russo and Kellie Gleason), two Wayne County Sheriff’s
Deputies (Ebony Bragg and Christopher Mittlestat); and Petitioner.
Petitioner testified that he filed a grievance against trial counsel Robert
Slameka on August 2, 2012. On August 28, 2012, he received Slameka’s letter
responding to the grievance. In the letter, Slameka stated that Petitioner had
rejected a plea offer pursuant to which Petitioner would plead guilty to attempted
accosting and soliciting a minor with a sentence agreement of one to two years in
prison. Petitioner testified that this was the first time he learned such an offer had
been made. He also testified that he appeared before Judge Cynthia Hathaway on
August 16, 2012, but no offers were made to him on the record and none were
conveyed to him by defense counsel. He testified that he would have accepted the
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one- to two-year plea offer.
Slameka testified that he took over Petitioner’s CSC case in March 2012,
along with an unrelated felonious assault charge, from attorney Larry Polk.
Petitioner was acquitted of the felonious assault charge in May 2012, after a trial
before Judge Hathaway. Slameka testified that, on May 9, 2012, Petitioner
rejected a plea offer from prosecuting attorney Keith Clark of 1-1/2 to 4 years for
one count and 1 to 2 years on a second count (Slameka did not recall the precise
counts involved in this offer). Petitioner rejected the offer because he only wanted
to serve time in the county jail, not in a state prison. About one month before trial,
the prosecutor was having difficulty locating the complainants, all of whom were
runaways. So, the prosecutor offered a plea of guilty to attempted accosting and
soliciting a minor with a sentence agreement of 1 to 2 years in prison. Slameka
testified that he relayed this offer to Petitioner at a special pretrial conference on
August 16, 2012. Petitioner refused the offer because he wanted to serve only one
year of county time. Slameka conveyed Petitioner’s position to the prosecutor,
who refused to offer one-year county time. On the date set for trial, September 19,
2012, Petitioner’s case was transferred to Judge James Callahan. All prosecution
witnesses appeared for trial. At that point, Petitioner informed Slameka that he
wanted to take the prosecutor’s final plea offer. Slameka asked Judge Hathaway to
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accept the plea offer, but she declined to do so as the case was no longer assigned
to her and the prosecutor said that the offer was no longer available.
The testimony of Keith Clark, the prosecutor assigned to Petitioner’s case,
was largely consistent with Slameka’s testimony. He recalled an August 16, 2012
court appearance during which he offered Petitioner a plea of guilty for attempted
accosting and soliciting with a sentence agreement of 1-1/2 to 4 years. Clark
discussed the offer with Slameka in Petitioner’s presence. Clark rejected
Petitioner’s counter-offer of “county time,” but, because he had been unable to
locate the victims, made a final offer of attempted accosting and soliciting with a
sentence agreement of 1 to 2 years. After speaking with his client, Slameka
informed Clark that Petitioner rejected the offer because he only wanted to serve
county jail time.
Prosecuting attorney Danielle Russo testified that, although she was not
assigned to Petitioner’s case, she was assigned to Judge Hathaway’s courtroom
and, therefore, familiar with the case. Russo was present during one pretrial
hearing when Judge Hathaway asked whether the case would be resolved prior to
trial. Clark recited a plea offer that had a sentence agreement of 1 to 2 years.
Slameka informed the court that Petitioner rejected the offer because he would
only agree to serve one year in the county jail.
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Prosecuting attorney Kellie Gleason testified that she was present at a
pretrial hearing during which Clark and Slameka discussed, in Petitioner’s
presence, a plea offer that included a sentence agreement of 1 to 2 years. She
recalled Slameka stating that Petitioner rejected the offer because he was only
willing to do county time.
Following the hearing, the trial court held that the offer of one- to two-years
for a plea of guilty to one count of attempted soliciting and accosting a minor was
conveyed to Petitioner well before the date the jury trial commenced. See 12/9/13
Order at 5-6, ECF No. 8-13, Pg. ID 1431-32. Petitioner rejected the plea offer
because he was intent on serving time only in the county jail. Id. at 6, Pg. ID 1432.
The trial court further held:
The defendant’s intransigence or stubbornness in proceeding to trial
may be accounted for by his previous representation by Mr. Slameka
which turned out to be successful and possibly the misguided belief
that the prosecution’s witnesses were not going to be appearing during
the course of the trial. This gamble taken by the defendant ultimately
resulted in his conviction and was not due to his having received
ineffective assistance of counsel.
Id.
2.

Michigan Court of Appeals’ decision

The Michigan Court of Appeals held that the Ginther hearing testimony
supported the trial court’s decision. The state court reasoned:
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Defendant’s primary complaint on appeal is that the trial court
erroneously accepted the testimony of Slameka, Clark, Polk, and other
witnesses presented by the prosecution as opposed to defendant’s
testimony and evidence. According to defendant, the testimony
presented by the prosecution at the Ginther hearing was inconsistent.
However, all of the witnesses at the Ginther hearing, other than
defendant, testified that Slameka informed defendant of the final plea
offer and defendant rejected the offer because he wanted a sentence of
one year of “county time.” The testimony was only inconsistent with
regard to when defendant learned of the final plea offer. This Court
defers to the trial court on matters of witness credibility because the
trial court has the ability to observe the witnesses. ... Moreover, while
defendant presented evidence that he claimed contradicted the
prosecution’s evidence, we are not convinced. Defendant presented
evidence that on August 30, 2012, he submitted a telephone request to
Tameka Lacy, asking that she contact Slameka. “Tell him that if I
was offered 1 to 2 yrs [sic] I want to accept that plea before trial. Tell
her to ask him why wouldn’t [sic] he tell me this info.” Defendant
asserts that his telephone call request would “make no sense” if
defense counsel had informed him of the final plea offer. However,
defendant may have forgotten that Slameka informed him of the plea
offer or defendant could have changed his mind seeing as it had been
over a week since August 16, 2012, the date when the prosecutor
stated he made the final plea offer. Therefore, defendant’s telephone
call request is not entirely inconsistent with Slameka’s testimony.
Defendant also points out that he consistently attempted to accept the
final plea offer after receiving defense counsel’s response letter to the
grievance defendant filed. However, defendant’s attempts to accept
the offer occurred after the prosecution was able to obtain the
testimony of key witnesses, and, thus, the offer was no longer
available. For these reasons, we are not left with a definite and firm
conviction that the trial court committed clear error in its finding of
facts.
Crump, 2014 WL 7157385 at *2.

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3.

Review under AEDPA

Plea negotiations are a critical stage of criminal proceedings during which a
defendant is entitled to the effective assistance of counsel. Missouri v. Frye, 566
U.S. 134, 144 (2012). Strickland v. Washington’s two-prong test for evaluating
whether a defendant has received ineffective assistance of counsel applies to pleanegotiation claims. Johnson v. Genovese, 924 F.3d 929, 934 (6th Cir. 2019),
(citing Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984)). A petitioner claiming
ineffective assistance during plea negotiations must show: “(1) counsel’s
performance was deficient, i.e., “counsel made errors so serious that counsel was
not functioning as the ‘counsel’ guaranteed the defendant by the Sixth
Amendment,” and (2) the deficient performance prejudiced the defense. Id.
(quoting Strickland, 466 U.S. at 687). The failure to communicate a plea offer
constitutes deficient performance. Griffin v. United States, 330 F.3d 733, 737 (6th
Cir. 2003). The second prong requires defendants to “demonstrate a reasonable
probability they would have accepted the earlier plea offer had they been afforded
effective assistance of trial counsel.” Frye, 566 U.S. at 148.
The Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s factual finding that
the one- to two-year plea offer was communicated to Petitioner. This factual
finding is “presumed correct and rebuttable only by clear and convincing
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evidence.” Lancaster v. Adams, 324 F.3d 423, 429 (6th Cir. 2003) (quotation
omitted). Petitioner fails to present clear and convincing evidence to rebut the state
courts’ factual finding. He offers no evidence to rebut the state courts’ findings.
The Ginther hearing testimony overwhelmingly supports the factual finding.
Petitioner’s disagreement with the state court’s assessment of the testimony does
not amount to clear and convincing evidence sufficient to rebut the presumption of
correctness. “[I]t is not enough that reasonable minds reviewing the record might
disagree with the state court’s factual determination; rather, the record must
‘compel the conclusion that the [state] court had no permissible alternative’” but to
arrive at the contrary conclusion.” Carter v. Bogan, 900 F.3d 754, 768 (6th Cir.
2018) (quoting Rice v. Collins, 546 U.S. 333, 341-42 (2006)) (emphasis in Carter).

Petitioner fails to rebut the factual finding that counsel communicated the
one- to two-year plea offer to him. Thus this ineffective assistance of counsel
claim is meritless.
B.

Claim Two: Shackling of Petitioner

Petitioner’s second claim alleges that his constitutional rights were violated
when he was handcuffed during his trial. The trial court held shackling was
necessary based upon Petitioner’s disruptive conduct with the sheriff’s deputies.
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Due process has “long forbidden routine use of visible shackles during the
guilt phase; it permits a State to shackle a criminal defendant only in the presence
of a special need.” Deck v. Missouri, 544 U.S. 622, 626 (2005). Physical restraints
visible to the jury may be used only when “they are justified by a state interest
specific to a particular trial.” Id. at 629. Their use must be justified by a casespecific determination, such as particular security needs, stated on the record. Id.
at 632-33. Handcuffing is permitted to prevent the escape of the accused, to
protect people in the courtroom, and to maintain order during the trial. See
Kennedy v. Cardwell, 487 F.2d 101, 110-111 (6th Cir. 1973).
The threshold question is whether the shackles were visible to the jury. See
Earhart v. Konteh, 589 F.3d 337, 349 (6th Cir. 2009) (holding that a claim based
on Deck “rises or falls on the question of whether the [restraint] was visible to the
jury”). Where a restraint is not visible, there is no due process violation. Leonard
v. Warden, Ohio State Penitentiary, 846 F.3d 832, 842 (6th Cir. 2017). The
Michigan Court of Appeals held that Petitioner failed to establish that the jury saw
his handcuffs. The factual finding by the state court is binding on this Court unless
Petitioner can show that it is clearly erroneous. Earhart, 589 F.3d at 349 (citing 28
U.S.C. § 2254(e)(1)). Petitioner disagrees with the state court’s finding but fails to
rebut the determination with clear and convicting evidence. See 28 U.S.C. §
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2254(e)(1). No clearly established Supreme Court precedent establishes that
restraints that are not visible to the jury violate due process. See Leonard, 846
F.3d at 842-43 (6th Cir. 2017). Habeas relief is denied on this claim.
IV.

Certificate of Appealability
Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 22 provides that an appeal may not

proceed unless a certificate of appealability (COA) is issued under 28 U.S.C. §
2253. Rule 11 of the Rules Governing Section 2254 Proceedings now requires that
the Court “must issue or deny a certificate of appealability when it enters a final
order adverse to the applicant.”
A COA may be issued “only if the applicant has made a substantial showing
of the denial of a constitutional right.” 28 U.S.C. §2253(c)(2). A petitioner must
show “that reasonable jurists could debate whether (or, for that matter, agree that)
the petition should have been resolved in a different manner or that the issues
presented were adequate to deserve encouragement to proceed further.” Slack v.
McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 484 (2000) (citation omitted).
The Court concludes that reasonable jurists would not debate the Court’s
disposition of the claims raised in this petition. Thus, the Court denies a COA.
V.

Conclusion
Accordingly, it is ORDERED that the petition for a writ of habeas corpus
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and a certificate of appealability are DENIED.

s/Denise Page Hood
Chief Judge, United States District Court
Dated: September 25, 2019

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