Runningeagle v. Ryan

• Citation: 686 F.3d 758,12 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 8101
• Decision Date: 18 July 2012
• Docket Number: No. 07–99026.,07–99026.
• Parties: Sean Bernard RUNNINGEAGLE, Petitioner–Appellant, v. Charles L. RYAN, Arizona Department of Corrections, Respondent–Appellee.
• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (9th Circuit)

686 F.3d 758

12 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 8101

Sean Bernard RUNNINGEAGLE, Petitioner–Appellant,

v.Charles L. RYAN, Arizona Department of Corrections, Respondent–Appellee.

No. 07–99026.

United States Court of Appeals,Ninth Circuit.

Argued and Submitted Feb. 10, 2011.

Filed July 18, 2012.

Jon M. Sands, Federal Public Defender, and Jennifer Y. Garcia and Ashley J. McDonald, Assistant Federal Public Defenders, Phoenix, AZ, for petitioner-appellant Sean Bernard Runningeagle.

Terry Goddard, Attorney General; Kent Cattani, Chief Counsel, Capital Litigation

Section; and Jon G. Anderson, Assistant Attorney General, Phoenix, AZ, for respondents-appellees Charles L. Ryan et al.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Arizona, Paul G. Rosenblatt, Senior District Judge, Presiding. D.C. No. CV–98–01903–PGR.

Before: HARRY PREGERSON, KIM McLANE WARDLAW, and CARLOS T. BEA, Circuit Judges.

Opinion by Judge WARDLAW; Partial Concurrence and Partial Dissent by Judge PREGERSON.

OPINION

WARDLAW, Circuit Judge:

Sean Bernard Runningeagle and his cousin Corey Tilden were convicted of murdering Herbert and Jacqueline Williams after they pursued the Williamses into their home in the early morning of December 6, 1987. The state trial court imposed a sentence of death upon Runningeagle, but not upon Tilden. Runningeagle's direct and collateral appeals were rejected by the state courts. Runningeagle now appeals the district court's denial of his federal petition for a writ of habeas corpus. We affirm the district court's decision to deny the petition.

I.

We take the facts as recited by the Arizona Supreme Court in its 1993 opinion, State v. Runningeagle, 176 Ariz. 59, 859 P.2d 169 (1993), affirming Runningeagle's conviction and sentence and denying Runningeagle's petition for post-conviction relief: ¹

In the early morning of December 6, 1987, Runningeagle, Tilden, and their two friends Orva and Milford Antone, were driving around Phoenix. Runningeagle wanted parts for his car, so the foursome stopped at the Davis house, which had a car parked outside. Runningeagle, Tilden and Orva got out of the car, while Milford remained passed out drunk in the back seat. Runningeagle used his large hunting knife to remove two carburetors from the Davis car. Orva put them and an air scoop in the trunk of Runningeagle's car. Tilden and Runningeagle also stole a floor jack and tool box. Orva took a bicycle from the open garage.

Herbert and Jacqueline Williams, an elderly couple, lived next door to the Davises. Mr. Williams came out of his house and told the young men to leave or he would call the police. Orva returned to the car, but Runningeagle and Tilden approached Mr. Williams. Runningeagle concealed his knife by his side. Tilden carried a large, black flashlight. Runningeagle then began to tease and scare Mr. Williams with the knife. Mr. Williams retreated and told Runningeagle to put the knife away. Mrs. Williams then came out of the house and yelled at them. Tilden confronted Mrs. Williams, argued with her, and then hit her on the side of the head with the flashlight. Mr. Williams told them to leave his wife alone, and helped her back into the house. Runningeagle broke through the Williams' door with a tire iron, and he and Tilden barged in.

The noise awakened a neighbor, who heard Mrs. Williams crying and the words “bring him in” spoken by a tall, young man he saw standing in the Williams carport. The neighbor called “911,” but by the time the police arrived, Mr. and Mrs. Williams were dead. Mr. Williams suffered several head injuries and five stab wounds, three of which were fatal. Mrs. Williams also suffered several head injuries, one of which fractured her skull and was possibly fatal, in addition to four stab wounds, three of which were fatal.

The police searched the Williams home. The drawer in which Mrs. Williams stored her jewelry was open and some jewelry was missing. They found an empty purse, blood drops and two bloody shoe print patterns. They discovered Runningeagle's palm print on the clothes dryer next to the bodies.

Runningeagle discussed the crimes on several occasions before his arrest. He told his girlfriend that he had been in a fight with two people and had hit them “full-force.” He showed her his car trunk full of the stolen property. He showed the hood scoop and carburetors to another friend. Tilden, too, spoke about the crimes and informed Runningeagle that an account of the burglary was on the radio and that “they got there an hour after we left.”

When the defendants were arrested, the police found, among other things, the Davis air scoop with Runningeagle's prints on it, two carburetors, the tool box, Mrs. Williams' wallet and college pin, a large black flashlight with Tilden's prints on it, and the Davis bicycle with Runningeagle's prints on the wheel rim. A Phoenix Police Department criminalist matched Runningeagle's shoes with the bloody shoe prints found at the Williams house, and also found that an inked print of Tilden's shoes made a pattern similar to other shoe prints at the house.

Runningeagle, Tilden, and Orva Antone were indicted on two counts of first degree murder, and one count each of first degree burglary of a residence, second degree burglary of a residence, third degree burglary of a car, theft of property valued between $500 and $1000, and theft of property valued between $250 and $500. Orva Antone pleaded guilty to burglary and testified for the state at the joint trial.

Runningeagle, 859 P.2d at 171–72.

After a five-week trial, Runningeagle and Tilden were convicted on July 27, 1988. Runningeagle was found guilty of two counts of first degree murder, two counts of theft, and one count each of first degree burglary, second degree burglary, and third degree burglary. Id. at 171. Tilden was convicted of the same charges except for third degree burglary. Id. After several joint sentencing hearings, Runningeagle was sentenced to death on the murder convictions and to prison terms on the non-capital convictions. Id. Tilden was sentenced to life terms on the murder charges and to additional prison terms, to be served consecutively, on the remaining counts. Id.

The procedural history of this appeal is both lengthy and complicated by the many claims asserted in the numerous state proceedings.However, the district court accurately set forth the procedural background, and we see no need to replow the same ground:

While [Runningeagle's] direct appeal was pending he filed, pro se, a Petition for Post–Conviction Relief [PCR] pursuant to Rule 32 of the Arizona Rules of Criminal Procedure. The Arizona Supreme Court revested jurisdiction in the trial court to resolve the PCR. The trial court appointed counsel, who filed a Supplemental PCR and a Second Supplemental PCR. The trial court summarily denied postconviction relief. Petitioner moved for rehearing, which also was denied. Petitioner then sought review in the Arizona Supreme Court. The Arizona Supreme Court granted review and consolidated Petitioner's PCR claims with his direct appeal claims. The Arizona Supreme Court affirmed Petitioner's convictions and sentences and denied postconviction relief. Petitioner moved for reconsideration, which was denied.

Petitioner, pro se, moved the Arizona Supreme Court to discharge his counsel and proceed pro se. The supreme court granted counsel's motion to withdraw and granted Petitioner's motion to proceed pro se. A pro se writ of certiorari was filed and denied.

Thereafter, the Arizona Supreme Court issued its mandate and filed in the trial court a Notice of PCR on Petitioner's behalf. The trial court allowed Petitioner to continue to proceed pro se. Petitioner did not comply with the deadline for filing a second PCR petition, and the trial court summarily dismissed the post-conviction proceedings.

Next, Petitioner filed a pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus in [the District] Court. The Court appointed counsel, who filed an amended petition. The Court dismissed the amended petition without prejudice, finding that it presented both exhausted and unexhausted claims and concluding that it was not clear whether state post-conviction remedies remained available.

Meanwhile, Petitioner initiated his third PCR proceeding in state court. His third PCR petition ultimately raised forty claims. The PCR court summarily dismissed the petition. Petitioner moved for rehearing, which was denied. Petitioner sought review in the Arizona Supreme Court, which also was denied.

Petitioner commenced the instant action by moving for appointment of counsel. The Court appointed counsel and Petitioner filed an Amended Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus. Respondents filed an Answer limited to the procedural status of Petitioner's claims.

While the procedural status of Petitioner's claims was under advisement, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued Smith v. Stewart, 241 F.3d 1191 (9th Cir.2001), calling into question Arizona's doctrine of procedural default. This Court deferred its ruling on the procedural status of Petitioner's claims pending further review of Smith. The United States Supreme Court reversed. Contemporaneously, the Supreme Court decided Ring v. Arizona, 536 U.S. 584 [122 S.Ct. 2428, 153 L.Ed.2d 556] (2002), which found Arizona's death penalty sentencing scheme unconstitutional because judges rather than juries determined the factual existence of the statutory aggravating circumstances that rendered a defendant eligible for the death penalty. In response, Petitioner moved this Court for a stay of these habeas proceedings so that he could return to state court and pursue post-conviction relief based upon Ring. The Court granted the stay with respect to Petitioner's sentencing claims but denied Petitioner's request to stay his conviction-related claims.

Subsequently, in an interim Order, the [District] Court ruled on the procedural status of Petitioner's conviction-related claims. In 2004, the ...