Blanton v. Blackburn, Civ. A. No. 78-467-B.

• Decision Date: 29 July 1980
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 78-467-B.
• Citation: 494 F. Supp. 895
• Parties: Robert H. BLANTON, III v. Frank BLACKBURN, Warden, Louisiana State Penitentiary.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Middle District of Louisiana

494 F. Supp. 895

Robert H. BLANTON, III v. Frank BLACKBURN, Warden, Louisiana State Penitentiary.

Civ. A. No. 78-467-B.

United States District Court, M. D. Louisiana.

July 29, 1980.

Lewis O. Unglesby, Baton Rouge, La., for plaintiff, Robert H. Blanton, III.

Aubert Talbot, Dist. Atty., Ascension Parish, Twenty-Third Judicial Dist., Napoleonville, La., Abbott J. Reeves, Asst. Dist. Atty., Gretna, La., for defendant, State of La.

POLOZOLA, District Judge:

Imprisoned for life for murder, Robert H. Blanton, III has filed this application for a writ of habeas corpus. The Court finds the writ should issue because the prosecutor failed to fully disclose to the trial jury agreements made with key prosecution witnesses. Giglio v. United States, 405 U.S. 150, 92 S.Ct. 763, 31 L.Ed.2d 104 (1972); Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963); Mooney v. Holohan, 294 U.S. 103, 55 S.Ct. 340, 79 L.Ed. 791 (1935).

I. PROCEDURAL HISTORY OF THIS CASE

Blanton was indicted by a grand jury for the 23rd Judicial District Court for the Parish of Ascension with the murder of Eugene S. Stevens. Jointly indicted with Blanton were Nolan Robert Clayton, Celia Manor Harris and Dr. Cosmos Martello. Blanton was tried separately from the other defendants. After entering a not guilty plea, Blanton was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, Louisiana. His conviction and sentence were affirmed by the Louisiana Supreme Court. State v. Blanton, 312 So.2d 329 (La.1975). Thereafter, petitioner filed pro se applications for post-trial relief in both the state and federal courts which were denied. Cf. Blanton v. Maggio, CA 76-118 and CA 76-119 (M.D.La.1976). In 1978, petitioner, represented by counsel, filed another application for a writ of habeas corpus in the 23rd Judicial District Court. Petitioner contended in his state application that the District Attorney failed or refused to disclose to the trial jury agreements the prosecutor made with key prosecution witnesses. The state district court conducted an evidentiary hearing and denied petitioner's application. Petitioner, seeking to present additional testimony, then filed a motion to reopen the state court proceedings which also was denied. The Louisiana Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the lower court. State v. Blanton, 363 So.2d 918 (La.1978). Thereafter, the federal application was filed with this Court. Because the Court did not believe the state court record was complete, the Court held an evidentiary hearing on the federal application.

II. THE FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS

Petitioner was indicted for murder in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:30. The State of Louisiana alleged that Mavis Hodgeson procured and hired the petitioner, through an intermediary, Dr. C. A. Martello, to "soften up" Eugene Stevens. Stevens had been formerly married to Hodgeson's daughter, Glenda Hodgeson Stevens. Glenda Stevens had been granted custody of Eugene Stevens' son, and there was a serious controversy over visitation of the child by Eugene Stevens. On February 16, 1972 Mavis Hodgeson and her daughter were ordered to show cause on March 1 why they should not be held in contempt for violating previous court orders which allowed Eugene Stevens to see his son. On February 21, 1972, the state alleges that Robert Blanton, Robert Clayton and Celia Manor Harris killed Eugene Stevens and received a payment of $1,500 for their "services". When Mavis Hodgeson refused to pay the agreed amount plus interest, Blanton, Joyce Wilson and J. W. Wallace allegedly fired shots into the home of Mavis Hodgeson on November 2, 1972 to demonstrate to her that Blanton was serious in collecting the money due him.

At the petitioner's trial, Harris, Clayton, Martello, Wilson, Wallace and Hodgeson testified for the state against petitioner. Harris and Clayton testified they were with petitioner at the time Eugene Stevens was killed. According to these witnesses, Harris went to Stevens' home to get assistance. When Stevens came outside, Clayton fired a shot which killed Stevens. Blanton fired also but did not hit Stevens. Martello and Hodgeson told of their involvement in setting up the murder. Wilson and Wallace testified regarding the shooting of November 2, 1972. The petitioner's defense was alibi and several witnesses were called who testified that the petitioner was in Alabama at the time of the murder. Petitioner's counsel also tried to challenge the credibility of the state's witnesses by attempting to show the prosecutor made deals with the state's witnesses. The jury convicted Blanton of murder. In a separate trial, Mavis Hodgeson was convicted of manslaughter. Her conviction was affirmed on appeal. State v. Hodgeson, 305 So.2d 421 (La.1974). After petitioner's trial, Harris plead guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter and received five years on probation. Clayton also plead guilty to manslaughter and received a sentence of five years imprisonment. He was released from prison prior to serving the five year sentence. Dr. Martello entered a guilty plea to a reduced charge of being an accessory after the fact to murder. Although Dr. Martello's guilty plea was entered in December of 1974, Dr. Martello had not been sentenced as of the date of the evidentiary hearing conducted by this Court. All charges against Wilson and Wallace were dropped by the District Attorney's office.

III. THE ISSUES

There are three issues raised by petitioner's application which must be decided by the Court. These issues are:

1. Has the petitioner exhausted his available state court remedies?

2. Did the prosecutor fail or refuse to disclose to the jury and to the petitioner agreements made with key prosecution witnesses?

3. If the prosecutor failed to make a proper disclosure, did such a failure constitute harmless error under the facts of this case?

A. Exhaustion of State Remedies

Although the state argues that petitioner has not exhausted his available state remedies, an examination of the voluminous state record reveals that petitioner has exhausted his state remedies. It is settled that a federal court does not have to decline jurisdiction in a federal habeas corpus action "in the face of allegations that the state courts have been presented with the merits of a claim for habeas corpus relief and have for one reason or another refused or been unable to act upon the claim." Martin v. Estelle, 546 F.2d 177 (5 Cir. 1977), cert. denied, 431 U.S. 971, 97 S.Ct. 2935, 53 L.Ed.2d 1069. In Blanton v. Maggio, CA 76-119 (M.D.La.1976), this Court found that Blanton had exhausted his state remedies. The same issue raised in the 1976 application is again raised in the present application. Since 1976, Blanton has filed another state court application, again raising the same issue he now raises before this Court. Petitioner has properly presented the issues raised in this federal habeas action to the appropriate state courts and has, therefore, exhausted his available state remedies. Blankenship v. Estelle, 545 F.2d 510 (5 Cir. 1977); Picard v. Connor, 404 U.S. 270, 92 S.Ct. 509, 30 L.Ed.2d 438 (1971).

B. The Non-Disclosure of Agreements Made With Key Prosecution Witnesses

Petitioner contends that the prosecutor failed to fully disclose agreements the prosecutor made with key prosecution witnesses. The failure of the prosecution to correct false testimony which it knows to be false violates due process if there is any reasonable likelihood that the false testimony could have affected the judgment of the jury. In response to petitioner's allegations, the state denies that it made any agreements which were not disclosed to the jury and petitioner. The state also contends that since it was not asked for certain information about the alleged agreements, the answers and information it gave were technically correct, though, this Court must note, not complete.

A full appreciation of the significance of the failure of the prosecution to fully disclose the understandings and agreements made with key prosecution witnesses requires an understanding of the two conflicting stories presented to the jury by the state and the petitioner. The state called two witnesses who were allegedly with the petitioner at the time of the murder and who testified about the killing, including petitioner's role in the murder. In addition the state called the two witnesses who allegedly arranged and paid for the killing who told of their dealings with petitioner. Finally, the state attempted to show by two witnesses that petitioner tried to collect the money due him for the murder by shooting into Hodgeson's home. It is obvious that Clayton, Harris, Martello, Hodgeson, Wilson and Wallace were key witnesses in the state's case. On the other hand, petitioner called numerous alibi witnesses who testified that on the date of the murder the petitioner was in Alabama. The obvious conflict in the stories of the prosecution and defense witnesses enhances the importance of the credibility of the witnesses. If there is one conclusion that can be drawn with absolute certainty from the two conflicting stories it is that not everyone told the truth on the witness stand. Where the jury is confronted with two irreconcilable stories, each corroborated, the credibility of the witnesses is important.

During the trial, petitioner's counsel attempted to discredit the testimony of the six key government witnesses who were implicated in one or more phases of the murder, by inquiring into whether any of these witnesses had made a deal with the prosecution whereby these witnesses would benefit in return for their testimony against Blanton. Blanton was only partially successful and the jury was deprived of important evidence which was relevant to the credibility of the prosecution's witnesses.

An examination of the trial transcript and the voluminous record made during the state and federal court habeas corpus hearings...