Place v. Griffith

Filing 13

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER: IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Petitioners Motion for Evidentiary Hearing (Doc. 12) is DENIED without prejudice. Signed by District Judge John A. Ross on 2/1/2016. (KMS)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
EASTERN DIVISION

JEFFREY PLACE,
Petitioner,
v.
CINDY GRIFFITH,
Respondent.

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No. 4:15-cv-01147-JAR

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
This matter is before the Court on Petitioner Jeffrey Place’s Motion for Evidentiary
Hearing (Doc. 12). On July 24, 2015, Petitioner filed the current habeas petition pursuant to 28
U.S.C. § 2254 raising four grounds for relief (Doc. 1). The Government responded (Doc. 7) and
Petitioner filed a Traverse (Doc. 11). Petitioner requests a hearing so that he may “fully articulate
the Traverse submitted” (Doc. 12). Upon consideration, Petitioner’s motion will be denied
without prejudice.
Under 28 U.S.C. § 2254(e)(2), a federal district court may not grant an evidentiary
hearing unless “the applicant has failed to develop the factual basis of a claim in State court
proceedings . . . [and] the claim relies on a factual predicate that could not have been previously
discovered through the exercise of due diligence; and [] the facts underlying the claim would be
sufficient to establish by clear and convincing evidence that but for constitutional error, no
reasonable factfinder would have found the applicant guilty of the underlying offense.” An
evidentiary hearing is not necessary when the merits of petitioner's claims may be resolved based
on the state court record. McCann v. Armontrout, 973 F.2d 655, 658-59 (8th Cir. 1992). At this

stage of the litigation, it appears that the filings of the Parties and the state court record contain
sufficient facts to make an informed decision on the merits of petitioner’s claims.
Accordingly,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Petitioner’s Motion for Evidentiary Hearing (Doc. 12) is
DENIED without prejudice.
Dated this 1st day of February, 2016.

JOHN A. ROSS
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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