Spytma v. HowesSpytma v. Howes
MERRITT, Circuit Judge. This is an appeal from denial of a habeas petition pursuant to
Petitioner Timothy Spytma was 15 years old in December 1974 when he was charged with the murder of a neighbor. He and a friend, 15-year old Michael Saxton, entered the neighbor‘s home when she was not there with the intention of burglarizing it. Both juveniles were under the influence of barbiturates at the time. When the neighbor came home and found the young men in her home, they tied her up, beat her with a baseball bat, sexually assaulted her, wrote on her body with ink and eventually slit her wrists. The specific cause of death was determined to be caused by blows to her head inflicted by Michael Saxton.
Petitioner and Saxton were charged with first degree murder. The probate court, which had jurisdiction over juveniles in Michigan at the time, held a joint hearing and decided that both juveniles should be transferred to adult court for trial. Following separate bench trials, they were both convicted and sentenced to life without parole. Petitioner‘s conviction was affirmed by the Michigan Court
In July 1995, petitioner filed a motion for relief from judgment with the Muskegon County Circuit Court raising three constitutional issues: (1) whether his jury waiver was knowing and intelligent; (2) whether the waiver of probate (juvenile) court jurisdiction was valid and (3) whether he had received ineffective assistance of counsel. The circuit court at first summarily denied the motion, but the Michigan Court of Appeals directed the circuit court to hold an evidentiary heаring to collect further evidence on all three issues. An evidentiary hearing was held in April 1996. The circuit court heard testimony on all the issues and again denied relief. The Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed. People v. Spytma, No. 188253, 1997 WL 33350487 (Mich. Ct. App. May 9, 1997). The Michigan Supreme Court denied the application for leave to file an appeal. 457 Mich. 858, 581 N.W.2d 731 (1998).
Petitioner filed a habeas petition with the federal court and it was referred to a Magistrate Judge. The Magistrate Judge held a hearing and heard from the attorneys but did not take any nеw evidence. The Magistrate Judge issued a Report and Recommendation that recommended granting conditional habeas relief because petitioner‘s jury waiver was not knowingly and intelligently given. He did not recommend relief on the other issues. Both parties objected to the Report and Recommendation. The district court adopted the Magistrate‘s Report and Recommendation as to the transfer to adult court and the ineffective assistance of counsеl issues. The district court did not adopt the Magistrate Judge‘s
Statute of Limitations
The State claims that petitioner‘s habeas petition is barred by the one-year statute of limitations under
The State acknowledges that the statute of limitations is tolled when a “properly filed application for State post-conviction or other collateral review . . . is pending.”
The statutory language of
Waiver of Juvenile Court Jurisdiction
In December 1974, Michigan law required that the probate court, which served as the juvenile court in Michigan at the time, hold a hearing to decide whether a juvenile defendant should be tried as an adult.
In Kent v. United States, 383 U.S. 541 (1966), the Supreme Court recognized that a hearing to determine whether a juvenile should be tried as an adult was a “critically important” stage and therefore the proceedings “must measure up to the essentials of due process and fair treatment.” Id. at 562. The Court went on to state, however, that it did not mean by this “to indicate that the hearing to be held must conform with all the requirements of a criminal trial оr even of the usual administrative hearing . . . .” and the Court has never tried “to prescribe criteria for, or the nature and quantum of, evidence that must support” a decision to transfer a juvenile to adult court. Id. So while the Court made it clear that juveniles are entitled to some minimal level of procedural safeguards, such as legal representation and development of a reviewable record, the Court did not specify the exact nature of the constitutional requirements of due
At the time of petitioner‘s arrest, Michigan had procedures in place to follow when conducting a juvenile transfer hearing. See Juvenile Court Rules of 1969, Rules 11.1 & 11.6; People v. White, 51 Mich. App. 1, 4, 214 N.W.2d 326 (1973); People v. Jackson, 46 Mich. App. 764, 769, 208 N.W.2d 526, 530 (1973). Rule 11.1 set out a two-step process whereby the court first determined whether there was probable cause to believe that the child committed a felony offense, and then went on
to determine whether or not the interests of the child and the public would be best served by granting a waiver of jurisdiction to the criminal [adult] court. In making the determination, the court shall consider the following criteria:
(a) The prior record and character of the child, his physical and mental maturity and his pattern of living;
(b) The seriousness of the offense;
(c) Whether the offense, even if less serious, is part of a repetitive pattern of offenses which would lead to a determination that the child may be beyond rehabilitation under existing juvenile programs and statutory procedures;
(d) The relative suitability of programs and facilities available to the juvenile and criminal courts for the сhild; and
(e) Whether it is in the best interests of the public welfare and the protection of the public security that the child stand trial as an adult offender.
The transfer hearing focused primarily on establishing probable cause that petitioner and Saxton had committed the murder. The second part of the transfer hearing was intended to “determine whether or not the intеrests of the child and the public would be best served by granting a waiver of jurisdiction to the criminal [adult] court.”
The probate judge did not make specific findings on each of the listed criteria in Rule 11.1 as required by the Juvenile Court Rules. For example, no one, including petitioner‘s
The question is whether, under the circumstances of this case, the failure to make all the required findings under state law on the record violated petitioner‘s constitutional due process rights. Our analysis here is guided by Deel v. Jago, 967 F.2d 1079 (6th Cir. 1992). Like the petitioner in this case, the juvenile in Deel was also 15, near the bottom of the age range eligible for transfer. Like petitioner, Deel was also accused of murder. Despite finding that a wide range of treatment options existed for juveniles accused of violent crimes in Ohio, the juvenile court declared Deel not amenable to rehabilitation and transferred him to adult court. As did the juvenile court herein, the judge in Deel focused almost exclusively on the seriousness of the crime in reaching its decision to transfer. Deel noted that while the juvenile court‘s trаnsfer decision was “open to serious criticism,” the court set out the relevant facts and explained the basis for its decision. The opinion concluded that to “treat a child as an adult based
As in Deel, and as recognized by the courts that have reviewed it, the hearing held in this case is “open to serious criticism.” But our concern today is whether petitionеr received due process as required by Kent, not whether the state court meticulously complied with Juvenile Rule 11.1. We find that minimum due process requirements were met. Petitioner was represented by counsel and a hearing was held on the record. Whether the Michigan court‘s waiver of jurisdiction and transfer to adult court contain sufficient indicia under state law is a question for the Michigan courts, which have held that it was valid. Accordingly, despite the lack of specific findings on the record concerning the listed criteria, we cannot say that the judge did not consider all the criteria before making his decision or that the hearing did not comport with minimum due process.
In addition, as determined by the previous courts that have examined the issue, despite the lack of a reviewable record, any error in the transfer proceeding is subject to harmless error analysis. Brecht v. Abrahamson, 507 U.S. 619, 629-30 (1993); Crick v. Smith, 729 F.2d 1038, 1039 (6th Cir. 1984); Crick v. Smith,650 F.2d 860, 868 (6th Cir. 1981). Although the judge failed fully to consider on the record the waiver criteria established under Michigan law, it is likely that аny “reasonable” probate judge would have transferred petitioner to adult court. As concluded by the Magistrate Judge, there is “perhaps a legitimate question” as to whether the probate court satisfactorily complied with the state juvenile transfer statute for federal constitutional purposes, but any error was harmless given the circumstances because no “reasonable’ judge would have denied the transfer. In addition, the state trial court concluded after the 1996 evidentiary hearing that the “probate judge did not comply with the statute.” Trans. of Evid. Hearing at 153, Apr. 30, 1996. The court concluded, however, that there was “substantial compliance” with the
Jury Waiver
Petitioner‘s second claim is that his jury trial waiver was not knowing and intelligent. Because the right to a jury trial is a fundamental right, there must be no doubt that any waiver of the right is made knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily. United States v. Martin, 704 F.2d 267, 272 (6th Cir. 1983). Whether there is an “intelligent, competent, self-protecting waiver of jury trial by an accused must depend on the unique circumstances of each case.” Id. In Martin, we held that a defendant may waive a jury trial if (1) the waiver is in writing, (2) the government attorney consents to the waiver, (3) the trial court consents tо the waiver and (4) the defendant‘s waiver is voluntary, knowing and intelligent. For a waiver to be voluntary, knowing and intelligent, the defendant must possess a minimum amount of knowledge concerning his jury trial right and the mental capacity to understand the implications of waiver of that right. A defendant is deemed to be “sufficiently informed to make an intelligent waiver if he is aware that a jury is composed of 12 members of the community, [knows] he may participate in the selection of jurors [and that] the verdict of the jury must be unаnimous, and that the judge alone will decide guilt or innocence should he waive his jury trial right.” Id. at 273. “[T]echnical knowledge” of the jury trial right is not required for waiver to be effective. Id. In addition, Michigan law at the time of petitioner‘s arrest required that the waiver be executed “in open court” after defendant has been arraigned and has had an opportunity to consult with counsel.
Because petitioner does not dispute that the waiver was voluntary, the real question here is whether there is sufficient indicia that petitioner understood the nature of his right to trial by jury. Petitioner was represented by counsel and concedes that he signed the waiver document. Compliance with the writing requirement in Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 23(a) creates a presumption that the waiver is voluntary, knowing and intelligent. United States v. Sammons, 918 F.2d 592, 597 (6th Cir. 1990). The court log indicates it was done in “open court.”
We are required to give a high measure of deference to the state court‘s findings concerning the jury waiver, which are supported by the contemporaneous record in the case. While we have concerns about whether the then-15-year-old petitioner‘s jury waiver was knowingly and intelligently given, we are unable, on the basis of the bare record, and given the passage of time, to resolve the conflicts between petitioner‘s testimony at the 1996 hearing and the state court
Therefore, although the Magistrate Judge found that the waiver was not knowingly and intelligently given and recommended a conditional grant of the writ on this basis, the district court properly rejected this recommendation, finding that the Magistrate Judge did not give sufficient deference to the state court findings concerning the jury waiver issue and instead substituted his judgment for that of the state courts. In the absence of cоntemporaneous evidence outside of the written waiver showing that the waiver was knowing and intelligent, we must give presumptive force to that written document. In addition, the existence of a factual dispute between the state court trial log and petitioner‘s 1996 hearing testimony concerning the Michigan procedural rule requiring that the waiver be signed in open court does not invalidate the waiver on constitutional grounds. While the trial court failed to conduct an on-the-record colloquy, such a colloquy is not required and the record does not disclose any evidence that petitioner was so unaware of the rudimentary elements of trial by jury that his waiver cannot stand.
Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
Petitioner claims that his attorney rendered ineffective assistance of counsel because (1) he failed to appeal the waiver of juvenile court jurisdiction and (2) he failed to appeal the invalid jury waiver.
As to the transfer to adult court, petitioner claims that his attorney was unaware that the probate court was required to elicit information concerning the availability of programs and adult facilities at the transfer hearing. Even assuming that
As to the jury waiver issue, counsel‘s performance is subject to a harmless error analysis even though the actual jury waiver issue is arguably not subject to harmless error analysis. Again, it is difficult to see how petitioner was prejudiced by his counsel‘s failure to raise the jury question on appeal. If the matter had been raised on appeal and petitioner had received a jury trial on remand, it is likely that he would have been found guilty, given the overwhelming evidence of guilt.
For the foregoing reasons, the judgment of the district court is affirmed.
Notes
The section in question states:
(d)(1) A 1-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 of--
(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;
(B) the date on which thе 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 by the Supreme 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 prediсate 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 post-conviction 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.
In 1989, the law concerning juveniles changed in Michigan to state that when a juvenile 14 years or older commits cеrtain crimes, including murder, jurisdiction over the juvenile by the probate court is waived without a hearing, and the juvenile is automatically transferred to adult court at the prosecutor‘s discretion.
Petitioner‘s presentence investigation report stated that only one week before the murder, on December 10, 1974, petitioner underwent a psychological examination while staying in a Youth Home. The report noted that he had an IQ of 99, might be psychotic or schizophrenic, and while withdrawn, was not violent. Presentence Investigation Report, dated Sept. 26, 1975.