Cooper-Smith v. PalmateerCooper-Smith v. Palmateer
- Reporters:
- Before:
- Thomas G. Nelson, Johnnie B. Rawlinson, William W Schwarzer
COUNSEL
Stephen R. Sady, Chief Deputy Public Defender, Portland, Oregon, for the petitioner-appellant.
OPINION
T. G. NELSON, Circuit Judge:
Michael Cooper-Smith appeals the district court‘s denial of his writ of habeas corpus for alleged ineffective assistance of counsel. The district court denied Petitioner‘s habeas petition after declining to expand the record under Rule 7 of the Rules Governing
I. Procedural History and Facts
A. Procedural History
Petitioner Michael Cooper-Smith sought federal habeas relief on the basis that, inter alia, (1) his state trial counsel (“Counsel“) rendered ineffective assistance when he failed to pursue a motion to suppress evidence seized from Petitioner‘s home and to suppress eyewitness identifications; (2) Counsel rendered ineffective assistance when he failed to call Petitioner‘s doctor, Dr. True, as a witness at Petitioner‘s sentencing hearing; and (3) the trial court violated Petitioner‘s constitutional rights under the Fifth, Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments when it imposed a dangerous offender sentence without the predicate facts being proven to a jury.
Finally, the district court denied Petitioner‘s Apprendi claim as meritless because the Apprendi decision has not been made retroactive to collateral proceedings.
B. Facts
Petitioner was indicted for four counts of rape, four counts of sodomy, two counts of attempted sodomy, three counts of kidnapping, and two counts of robbery in connection with a string of sexual assaults that occurred in the Portland, Oregon area during the summer of 1987. Prior to Petitioner‘s arrest, police seized clothing, jewelry, photographs, and a machete pursuant to a search warrant covering Petitioner‘s home and car. Petitioner was arrested and counsel was appointed to represent him.
Counsel filed motions to suppress the evidence seized from Petitioner‘s home and to suppress eyewitness identifications from a photo montage.6 During the hearing on the motion to suppress eyewitness identifications, three of the four victims testified and a police officer summarized the information the fourth victim provided. The victims recounted how they had met Petitioner and detailed the sexual assaults. All three of the victims identified Petitioner as their attacker. At the conclusion of the hearing, the judge approved the propriety of the photo montage and denied the motion to suppress the eyewitness identification.
After this hearing, Petitioner agreed to waive his right to a jury trial on the rape charges and to try each of his cases to
Prior to the sentencing hearing, doctors for both the state and Petitioner evaluated Petitioner to determine whether he should be classified a dangerous offender. The state‘s doctor, Dr. Colbach, concluded from his evaluation that petitioner had an antisocial personality and met the requirements of the dangerous offender statute. He testified to that effect at the hearing. Petitioner‘s doctor, Dr. True, concluded that although Petitioner had the propensity to act dangerously under certain environmental circumstances, he should not be considered a dangerous person. Counsel did not call Dr. True as a witness, although Counsel did submit his report to the court. Ultimately, the trial judge concluded that Petitioner met the definition of a dangerous offender for purposes of a sentencing enhancement under
Petitioner pursued a direct appeal on unrelated issues. The Oregon Court of Appeals denied the appeal without opinion, and the Oregon Supreme Court denied review.
Petitioner now argues that: (1) the district court improperly declined to expand the record; (2) the Oregon post-conviction trial court‘s opinion was contrary to, or an unreasonable application of, clearly established Supreme Court precedent; and (3) the trial court violated Petitioner‘s constitutional rights under the Fifth, Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments when it imposed a dangerous offender sentence without the predicate facts being proven to a jury. We disagree and affirm the district court.
II. The District Court Properly Declined to Expand the Record
[1] Rule 7 of the Rules Governing
[2] The Supreme Court recently made clear in Holland v. Jackson,9 that the conditions of
[3] Petitioner offered additional evidence in the district court to bolster his ineffective assistance of counsel claims. Specifically, Petitioner offered (1) his declaration that he never would have entered into a stipulated agreement had he known about a viable motion to suppress, and (2) Dr. True‘s affidavit regarding what he would have testified to if called as a witness. Although Petitioner knew of the existence of the information contained in the declaration and affidavit at the time of his state court proceedings, he did not present it during those proceedings. As a result, Petitioner failed to develop the factual basis for his claim diligently. “Diligence for purposes of the opening clause [of
III. Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
We may grant Petitioner‘s application for a writ of habeas corpus on his ineffective assistance of counsel claim only if the Oregon post-conviction trial court‘s decision17 was “contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established Federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court of the United States.”18 The only definitive source of clearly established federal law under
A. Failure to Pursue the Suppression Motion
To resolve Petitioner‘s ineffective assistance claim based on Counsel‘s failure to pursue the suppression motion, we must first decide whether the Oregon post-conviction trial court‘s decision was contrary to, or an unreasonable application of, Supreme Court precedent.22 If we conclude that it was, then we must apply the correct law to the facts of the claim to determine whether relief is warranted.23 We conclude that the Oregon post-conviction trial court‘s decision was contrary to clearly established Supreme Court precedent. We also conclude that Petitioner‘s ineffective assistance of counsel claim based on Counsel‘s failure to pursue a suppression motion fails because Petitioner has failed to show that Counsel‘s competence fell below an “objective standard of reasonableness.”24
1. Contrary to clearly established Supreme Court precedent
[5] The Oregon post-conviction trial court decision was contrary to clearly established Supreme Court precedent because it applied “a rule that contradicts the governing law set forth in [Supreme Court] cases.”25 The Oregon post-conviction trial court applied a “more probabl[e] than not”
[6] In Strickland, the Supreme Court held that “[w]hen a convicted defendant complains of the ineffectiveness of counsel‘s assistance, the defendant must show that counsel‘s representation fell below an objective standard of reasonableness,”27 and “that there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel‘s unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different.”28 Thus, Strickland established a two-pronged test for ineffective assistance of counsel claims based on a “reasonable probability” standard. Accordingly, because the Oregon court used a “more probabl[e] than not” standard, its decision on this issue was contrary to clearly established Supreme Court precedent.29 Because the Oregon post-conviction trial court‘s decision was contrary to clearly established Supreme Court precedent, we are not bound by
2. Analysis
In order to prevail on his ineffective assistance of counsel
In this case, the Oregon post-conviction trial court made the following findings of fact:36
- Trial counsel filed a motion to suppress on petitioner‘s behalf. Prior to the motion being heard, petitioner decided to enter into a negotiated settlement. Trial counsel was prepared to pursue all of petitioner‘s challenges to the search, had not petitioner decided to enter into a stipulated agreement.
Trial counsel adequately explained petitioner‘s options and rights to him before he decided to enter into the negotiated settlement.
Petitioner has failed to rebut these facts.37 Moreover, the record strongly suggests that Counsel‘s decision not to pursue the motion to suppress after Petitioner agreed to a stipulated facts trial was a strategic decision.
[7] Accordingly, we conclude that Counsel was prepared to pursue the motion to suppress and that Counsel and Petitioner made a strategic choice not to pursue that motion. That choice falls within the broad range of constitutionally adequate representation. As a result, Petitioner‘s claim fails the first prong of the Strickland test.38 Accordingly, Petitioner is not entitled to habeas relief based on this claim and we affirm.
B. Failure to Call Dr. True at the Sentencing Hearing
[8] When the Supreme Court established the test for ineffective assistance of counsel claims in Strickland, the Court expressly declined to “consider the role of counsel in an ordinary sentencing, which . . . may require a different approach to the definition of constitutionally effective assistance.”39 Since Strickland, the Supreme Court has not decided what standard should apply to ineffective assistance of counsel claims in the noncapital sentencing context. Consequently, there is no clearly established law in this context. Because the Supreme Court has not clearly established what constitutes ineffective assistance in this context, other courts are free to do so.40
IV. Uncertified Issue
[10] Ninth Circuit Rule 22-1(e) directs that uncertified issues raised on appeal “will be construed as a motion to expand the COA and will be addressed by the merits panel to such extent as it deems appropriate.”42 “A merits panel may . . . expand the issues for review to include issues that the motions panel specifically rejected.”43 “The required showing for originally obtaining a COA on a claim remains the standard by which this court reviews the broadening of a COA.”44 That standard requires Petitioner to make a “substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right.”45
Petitioner alleges a violation of his due process rights based on Apprendi because his sentence was enhanced based on factual findings by a judge and not a jury. Petitioner relies on
[11] In Sanchez-Cervantes, we held that ”Apprendi does not apply retroactively to cases on initial collateral review.”50 We explained that as a new rule of constitutional criminal procedure, Apprendi did not fit under one of the exceptions for retroactivity provided by Teague v. Lane.51 Only if higher court authority has undercut this reasoning in such a way that the cases are clearly irreconcilable may we reject Sanchez-Cervantes as effectively overruled.52 That determination requires a review of recent Supreme Court cases.
In Ring v. Arizona,53 the Supreme Court held that “a sentencing judge, sitting without a jury, [may not] find an aggravating circumstance necessary for imposition of the death penalty.”54 Rather, “the Sixth Amendment requires that [those
In Blakely, the Supreme Court reaffirmed the Apprendi rule that ” ‘[o]ther than the fact of conviction, any fact that increases the penalty for a crime beyond the prescribed statutory maximum must be submitted to a jury, and proved beyond a reasonable doubt.’ ”57 The Court did not discuss retroactivity. We have held that “the Supreme Court has not made Blakely retroactive to cases on collateral review.”58 Thus, Blakely does not undermine the reasoning of Sanchez-Cervantes.
[12] Consequently, neither Summerlin nor Blakely undermine our reasoning in Sanchez-Cervantes that the Apprendi rule is not retroactive and that rule stands. Because Apprendi is not retroactive, Petitioner cannot make a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right that applies to his case. Therefore, we deny Petitioner‘s request to expand the COA.
V. Conclusion
For the foregoing reasons, the district court‘s denial of petitioner‘s habeas corpus petition is AFFIRMED.
T.G. NELSON
UNITED STATES CIRCUIT JUDGE
Notes
An application for a writ of habeas corpus on behalf of a person in custody pursuant to the judgment of a State court shall not be granted with respect to any claim that was adjudicated on the merits in State court proceedings unless the adjudication of the claim —
(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[.]
If the applicant has failed to develop the factual basis of a claim in State court proceedings, the court shall not hold an evidentiary hearing on the claim unless the applicant shows that—
(A) the claim relies on—
(i) a new rule of constitutional law, made retroactive to cases on collateral review by the Supreme Court, that was previously unavailable; or
(ii) a factual predicate that could not have been previously discovered through the exercise of due diligence; and
(B) 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.
The statute, as it existed in 1987, set forth the following criteria for imposing a dangerous offender sentence:
[T]he maximum term of an indeterminate sentence of imprisonment for a dangerous offender is 30 years, if the court finds that because of the dangerousness of the defendant an extended period of confined correctional treatment or custody is required for the protection of the public and if it further finds, as provided in
(1) The defendant is being sentenced for a Class A felony, and the court finds that the defendant is suffering from a severe personality disorder indicating a propensity towards criminal activity.