Burdine v. Huffman
| Decision Date | 28 October 2002 |
| Docket Number | No. CIV.A. H-02-3510.,CIV.A. H-02-3510. |
| Citation | 229 F.Supp.2d 704 |
| Parties | Calvin Jerold BURDINE, Plaintiff, v. Joan HUFFMAN, in her official capacity as Presiding Judge of the 183rd District Court of Harris County, Texas, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of Texas |
Annette M. Lamoreaux, American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, Houston, TX, David George Edwards & George, LLP, Houston, TX, for Petitioner.
Daniel E. Maeso, Office of Attorney General of Texas, Austin, TX, for Respondent.
Pending before the Court are the following: (1) Plaintiff's Complaint and Motion to Enforce Prior Judgment and for Preliminary Injunction and Permanent Injunction and (2) Defendant's Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff's Complaint with Prejudice for a Lack of Jurisdiction, for Failure to State a Claim for Which Relief Should Be Granted, Because Defendant Is Entitled to Judicial Immunity, Because the Court Should Abstain from Entertaining This Claim, and Because Plaintiff is not Entitled to Injunctive Relief. Having considered the motion, submissions, and applicable law, the Court determines that Plaintiff's Motion for a Preliminary Injunction should be denied and Defendant's Motion to Dismiss should be granted.
On September 29, 1999, this Court granted Plaintiff Calvin Burdine's (hereinafter "Burdine") petition for writ of habeas corpus based on ineffective assistance of counsel and ordered the State of Texas (hereinafter "the State") to either retry1 or release Burdine within 120 days. Burdine v. Johnson, 66 F.Supp.2d 854, 867 (S.D.Tex.1999). The Court concluded that Burdine's conviction was unconstitutional because his counsel slept throughout substantial portions of his criminal trial. Id. at 866. The State appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, where the majority of a panel reversed the decision. Burdine v. Johnson, 231 F.3d 950 (5th Cir.2000). However, the Fifth Circuit en banc subsequently affirmed this Court's decision, ordering Burdine's release or retrial. Burdine v. Johnson, 262 F.3d 336 (5th Cir.2001) (en banc). On June 3, 2002, the United States Supreme Court denied the State's petition for writ of certiorari. Cockrell v. Burdine, ___ U.S. ___, 122 S.Ct. 2347, 153 L.Ed.2d 174 (2002). Within a few days, the State returned Burdine to the custody of Harris County for retrial. Judge Joan Huffman (hereinafter "Judge Huffman") of the 183rd District Court of Harris County, Texas initially scheduled his trial for October 7, 2002.
Upon being returned for retrial, Burdine requested that Judge Huffman appoint Robert L. McGlasson (hereinafter "McGlasson") to represent him. Prior to June 2002, McGlasson represented Burdine for a period extending over fifteen years during state and federal habeas corpus proceedings, ultimately obtaining a retrial for Burdine. On June 26, 2002, Judge Huffman denied Burdine's motion to appoint McGlasson as counsel for the retrial.2 Judge Huffman contends that because McGlasson is not on the Harris County approved list for appointed counsel in capital murder cases, she is prohibited from appointing him under the Texas Fair Defense Act, 2001 Tex. Sess. Law Serv. 1697 (Vernon). On behalf of Burdine, the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers filed an application for writ of mandamus with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to effect the appointment of McGlasson. On August 13, 2002, the Court of Criminal Appeals denied the request without written order.3
Burdine, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, then filed a Motion for Preliminary and Permanent Injunction in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas on September 17, 2002, asking this Court to order Judge Huffman to appoint McGlasson to represent Burdine in his pending capital murder case. Burdine complained that Judge Huffman's denial of McGlasson as his counsel, coupled with the abbreviated amount of time for new counsel to prepare before trial, would constitute yet another instance of ineffective assistance of counsel. This Court initially set a hearing on Burdine's request for an injunction for September 27, 2002. In the interim, Judge Huffman properly concluded that she was not bound by this Court's 120-day retrial order of September 1999, and postponed the commencement of Burdine's trial to March 3, 2003. In light of the extension of the trial date, this Court withdrew the September hearing date.4 The federal hearing was reset by subsequent Order of this Court to October 17, 2002. The Court further ordered that counsel for both parties and Judge Huffman attend mediation with the Honorable Lee Duggan, Jr., former judge of the 182nd District Court of Harris County and Retired Justice of the First Court of Appeals of the State of Texas. The parties were directed to proceed in a good faith effort to attempt to resolve the issue of Burdine's request for the appointment of McGlasson. On October 10, 2002, Justice Duggan reported that in spite of their participation in mediation, the parties were unsuccessful in resolving the issue of appointment of counsel for Burdine.5
Because the mediation yielded no resolution, the Court conducted a hearing on October 17, 2002, wherein Defendant was ordered to appear and show cause why the motion for injunction should not be granted. Both Judge Huffman and Plaintiff Calvin Burdine were present in court with counsel.6
Burdine seeks an injunction requiring Judge Huffman to appoint McGlasson as his attorney in his pending capital murder retrial. In his motion for a preliminary injunction, Burdine argues he has satisfied the requisites of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(b) in that (1) he has shown that he has a substantial likelihood of success on the merits, (2) the injunction is necessary to prevent irreparable injury to Burdine, (3) the threatened harm outweighs the harm an injunction might cause, and (4) the injunction would serve the public interest. See FED. R. CIV P. 65(b); Walgreen Co. v. Hood, 275 F.3d 475, 477 (5th Cir.2001).
In response, Judge Huffman asserts that the primary basis of injunctive relief in the federal courts has traditionally been irreparable harm and inadequacy of legal remedies. She argues that Burdine is not at risk of irreparable harm because any potential conviction is subject to direct appeal and habeas proceedings. Additionally, she claims that Burdine's adequate remedy at law is a petition for writ of mandamus in state court (which was already filed in his case and denied by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals) as well as post-conviction appellate and habeas proceedings.
In her Motion to Dismiss, Judge Huffman asks the Court to refrain from granting Burdine's request and to dismiss the suit because (1) Judge Huffman is judicially immune; (2) the federal court should abstain under the principles of Pullman;7 and (3) the federal court should abstain under the Younger doctrine.8
Burdine argues in response that judicial immunity does not prohibit the issuance of an injunction because federal courts may grant prospective injunctive relief against state judges in their official capacity under Pulliam v. Allen, 466 U.S. 522, 542-43, 104 S.Ct. 1970, 80 L.Ed.2d 565 (1984). In 1996, Congress amended 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (2000) to limit injunctions against state judges, narrowing the availability of injunctive relief against judicial officers. Under section 1983, an injunction may not be granted against a judicial officer unless a declaratory decree was violated or declaratory relief was unavailable.9 Burdine asserts both that Judge Huffman has violated this Court's prior September 1999 Order granting habeas relief, which he argues was a declaratory decree, and that declaratory relief is unavailable in this case. Burdine further argues that neither Pullman nor Younger abstention is warranted in this case.
Regarding the Texas Fair Defense Act, Burdine argues that based on the language of section 16, the Act applies to cases involving offenses committed after January 1, 2002, the effective date of the Act. The Texas Fair Defense Act indicates that if the offense was committed before January 1, 2002, the law governing appointment of counsel in effect on the date of the offense controls. Burdine is charged with an offense allegedly committed in 1983. He contends that Judge Huffman has not shown any law in effect in 1983 that constrains her ability to appoint McGlasson.10
Younger and its progeny of cases prohibit direct interference with an ongoing state criminal prosecution. Younger v. Harris, 401 U.S. 37, 43-45, 91 S.Ct. 746 (1971); Samuels v. Mackell, 401 U.S. 66, 71-73, 91 S.Ct. 764, 27 L.Ed.2d 688 (1971). The principles of Younger include "considerations of equity, comity, and federalism." DeSpain v. Johnston, 731 F.2d 1171, 1175-76 (5th Cir.1984) (citing Younger, 401 U.S. at 43-45, 91 S.Ct. 746). In discussing Younger, the Fifth Circuit has indicated that "a federal district court presumptively must abstain from granting either injunctive or declaratory relief when state criminal actions or certain categories of state civil proceedings are pending against the federal plaintiff at the time that federal action is commenced." DeSpain, 731 F.2d at 1175; see also Samuels v. Mackell, 401 U.S. 66, 91 S.Ct. 764, 27 L.Ed.2d 688 (1971) ().
The Fifth Circuit has applied the Younger doctrine in circumstances somewhat analogous to the instant case. In Bundy v. Rudd, 581 F.2d 1126, 1129 (5th Cir. 1978), cert. denied, 441 U.S. 905, 99 S.Ct. 1992, 60 L.Ed.2d 373 (1979), Ted Bundy, an accused capital defendant in Florida, refused representation by the public defender and requested that an attorney who was not a member of the Florida Bar be allowed to represent him....
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