Boyd v. Waymart

• Citation: 579 F.3d 330
• Decision Date: 31 July 2009
• Docket Number: No. 07-2185.,07-2185.
• Parties: Christopher BOYD v. Warden, Sci WAYMART; District Attorney of Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania; Attorney General, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Appellants.
• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (3rd Circuit)

579 F.3d 330

Christopher BOYD v. Warden, Sci WAYMART; District Attorney of Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania; Attorney General, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Appellants.

No. 07-2185.

United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit.

Argued October 25, 2007.

Reargued En Banc November 19, 2008.

Filed July 31, 2009.

Thomas W. Dolgenos, Esquire (Argued), Susan E. Affronti, Esquire, District Attorney's Office, Philadelphia, PA, for Appellants.

Cheryl J. Sturm, Esquire (Argued), Chadds Ford, PA, for Appellee.

Matthew C. Lawry, Esquire, Billy H. Nolas, Esquire, Defender Association of Philadelphia, PA, for Amici Curiae-Appellee, Federal Defender Organization.

Argued Oct. 25, 2007

Before SLOVITER, CHAGARES and HARDIMAN, Circuit Judges.

Reargued Nov. 19, 2007

Before SCIRICA, Chief Judge, SLOVITER, McKEE, BARRY, AMBRO, FUENTES, SMITH, FISHER, CHAGARES, JORDAN and HARDIMAN, Circuit Judges.

OPINION OF THE COURT

PER CURIAM.

The District Court conditionally granted a writ of habeas corpus to Christopher Boyd. The Commonwealth¹ appealed, and after a three-judge panel heard argument, the Court ordered rehearing en banc. We will reverse the District Court's judgment and remand to a different district court judge for proceedings consistent with this opinion.

The facts of this case and the basis of our jurisdiction are set forth in Parts I and II of Judge Hardiman's opinion. For the reasons given in Part III of that opinion, we conclude Boyd's claim was properly exhausted and has not been procedurally defaulted. See Cone v. Bell, ___ U.S. ___, ___, 129 S.Ct. 1769, 1781, 173 L.Ed.2d 701 (2009).

Furthermore, a majority of the Court finds that Boyd's claim is governed by the test for ineffective assistance of counsel enunciated in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984); it is not barred by Tollett v. Henderson, 411 U.S. 258, 93 S.Ct. 1602, 36 L.Ed.2d 235 (1973), or Mabry v. Johnson, 467 U.S. 504, 104 S.Ct. 2543, 81 L.Ed.2d 437 (1984).

Although the District Court correctly identified the Strickland test as the rule of decision, it erred in reviewing Boyd's claim de novo. As explained in Chief Judge Scirica's opinion, because the state courts adjudicated Boyd's claim on the merits, federal habeas relief is subject to the standards prescribed by the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA), 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d). Accordingly, we will remand for the District Court to apply the proper AEDPA analysis, consistent with the instructions in Chief Judge Scirica's opinion. See Chief Judge Scirica Op. at 335-37 & n. 7.

A further word is needed about the appropriate use of evidentiary hearings. The Magistrate Judge in this case conducted such a hearing, and both the Magistrate Judge and the District Court relied on the evidence adduced therein. Neither they, nor the parties, appear to have queried whether the hearing was permissible under 28 U.S.C. § 2254(e)(2). As detailed in Chief Judge Scirica's opinion, on remand we instruct the District Court to address this question in the first instance, and to consider the evidence from the Magistrate Judge's hearing only if that hearing was consistent with AEDPA's statutory strictures.

For reasons also given by Chief Judge Scirica, we conclude the District Court improperly rejected—on a cold record-the Magistrate Judge's finding that Boyd had not demonstrated prejudice as required by Strickland. Although we have no doubts about the district court judge's fairness, we will remand to a different judge to ensure the appearance of impartiality. If the District Court again reaches the prejudice prong of the Strickland test, it should hold its own hearing (subject again to § 2254(e)(2)) if it declines to accept the Magistrate Judge's finding.

SCIRICA, Chief Judge, concurring, in which AMBRO, FUENTES and FISHER, Circuit Judges, join.

I agree with Judge Hardiman that Boyd did not procedurally default his claim. "When a state court refuses to readjudicate a claim on the ground that it has been previously determined, the court's decision does not indicate that the claim has been procedurally defaulted. To the contrary, it provides strong evidence that the claim has already been given full consideration by the state courts and thus is ripe for federal adjudication." Cone v. Bell, ___ U.S. ___, ___, 129 S.Ct. 1769, 1781, 173 L.Ed.2d 701 (2009). Accordingly, I join Part III of Judge Hardiman's opinion.

In my view, however, Tollett v. Henderson, 411 U.S. 258, 93 S.Ct. 1602, 36 L.Ed.2d 235 (1973), and Mabry v. Johnson, 467 U.S. 504, 104 S.Ct. 2543, 81 L.Ed.2d 437 (1984), do not dispose of this case. Instead, I believe the well-settled test for ineffective assistance of counsel set forth in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984), provides the rule of decision, as the Magistrate Judge and District Court determined. At the same time, however, I believe the District Court erred in reviewing Boyd's ineffective assistance of counsel claim under a de novo standard. Because the Pennsylvania Superior Court adjudicated Boyd's claim on the merits, habeas relief is subject to the restrictions imposed by the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA), 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d). Accordingly, I would reverse and remand with instructions for the District Court to apply the proper AEDPA standards.

AEDPA provides:

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; or

(2) resulted in a decision that was based on an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented in the State court proceeding.

28 U.S.C. § 2254(d). As the Supreme Court has explained, AEDPA "place[d] a new constraint on the power of a federal habeas court to grant a state prisoner's application for a writ of habeas corpus with respect to claims adjudicated on the merits in state court." Terry Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. 362, 412, 120 S.Ct. 1495 146 L.Ed.2d 389 (2000) (majority opinion of O'Connor, J.). Accordingly, as a threshold matter, in order to determine whether the constraints of § 2254(d) apply to federal review of Boyd's petition, we must determine whether the state courts decided his claim "on the merits." See Chadwick v. Janecka, 312 F.3d 597, 605-06 (3d Cir. 2002). If the state courts decided a given claim on the merits, "our standard of review is narrow:" we may not grant the writ unless the state-court adjudication of that claim meets one of the conditions set forth in § 2254(d)(1) or (d)(2). Id. at 605. Conversely, "[w]e review de novo issues that the state court did not decide on the merits." Bond v. Beard, 539 F.3d 256, 263 (3d Cir.2008). The District Court concluded without elaboration that it would "review [Boyd's petition] de novo as the state courts failed to accurately construe Petitioner's claim against trial counsel." Boyd v. Nish, No. 06-0491, 2007 WL 403884, at *2 (E.D.Pa. Jan.31, 2007).²

State-court adjudication "on the merits" has been defined as follows:

A matter is "adjudicated on the merits" if there is a "decision finally resolving the parties' claims, with res judicata effect, that is based on the substance of the claim advanced, rather than on a procedural, or other, ground." ... [Section] 2254(d) applies regardless of the procedures employed or the decision reached by the state court, as long as a substantive decision was reached; the adequacy of the procedures and of the decision are addressed through the lens of § 2254(d), not as a threshold matter.

Teti v. Bender, 507 F.3d 50, 56-57 (1st Cir.2007) (quoting Sellan v. Kuhlman, 261 F.3d 303, 311 (2d Cir.2001), and citing cases from the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Ninth, Tenth and Eleventh Circuits); accord Thomas v. Horn, 570 F.3d 105, 114-15 (3d Cir.2009); Rompilla v. Horn, 355 F.3d 233, 247-48 (3d Cir.2004), rev'd on other grounds sub nom. Rompilla v. Beard, 545 U.S. 374, 125 S.Ct. 2456, 162 L.Ed.2d 360 (2005). Our precedent "stand[s] for the proposition that, if an examination of the opinions of the state courts shows that they misunderstood the nature of a properly exhausted claim and thus failed to adjudicate that claim on the merits, the deferential standards of review in AEDPA do not apply." Chadwick, 312 F.3d at 606. But when the state courts have "previously considered and rejected the federal claim on the merits," the § 2254(d) standards do apply. Siehl v. Grace, 561 F.3d 189, 195 (3d Cir.2009).

Boyd has claimed his trial counsel was ineffective on two different grounds. The first ground, initially presented on direct appeal in Pennsylvania Superior Court, was that trial counsel allegedly failed to give Boyd sufficient advice about the sentencing guidelines to allow him to make an informed decision about whether to accept the Commonwealth's initial plea offer. Boyd does not dispute that the Pennsylvania Superior Court recognized this claim and decided it on the merits for purposes of 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d).³ On its way to denying this claim, the Pennsylvania Superior Court found, as a matter of fact, that Boyd's counsel "fully informed [Boyd] about the availability of the original plea offer, but [Boyd] decided to take his chances on the discretion of the court as to sentencing." Boyd contests this factual finding.

Boyd first presented the second ground for trial counsel's alleged ineffectiveness in his PCRA petition (i.e., on state collateral review), arguing that trial counsel provided ineffective assistance by rejecting the initial plea offer before discussing it with him. The PCRA Court did not recognize that Boyd's claim was...