Castro v. Sullivan

• Decision Date: 10 June 1987
• Docket Number: No. 85 Civ. 7567 (JMW).,85 Civ. 7567 (JMW).
• Citation: 662 F. Supp. 745
• Parties: Juan Moises CASTRO, Petitioner, v. James SULLIVAN, Superintendent, Sing Sing Correctional Facility, Respondent.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York

662 F. Supp. 745

Juan Moises CASTRO, Petitioner, v. James SULLIVAN, Superintendent, Sing Sing Correctional Facility, Respondent.

No. 85 Civ. 7567 (JMW).

United States District Court, S.D. New York.

June 10, 1987.

Juan Moises Castro, pro se.

Jeremy Gutman, Stacey K. Edelbaum, Office of the Dist. Atty., Bronx County, New York City, for respondent.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

WALKER, District Judge:

I. INTRODUCTION

Petitioner Juan Moises Castro ("Castro") brings the instant application for a writ of habeas corpus, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254, against Respondent James Sullivan ("Sullivan"), superintendent of Sing Sing Correctional Facility. Petitioner contends that his rights under the United States Constitution were violated during his state criminal trial, which concluded with petitioner's conviction on charges of Second Degree Murder, Attempted Second Degree Murder, First Degree Robbery, and Second Degree Criminal Possession of a Weapon.

For the reasons set forth below, petitioner's application for a writ of habeas corpus is denied.

II. STATEMENT OF FACTS

The instant petition arises out of a November 13, 1980 robbery and shooting in a grocery store located at 100 East 174th Street in The Bronx, New York. At the time of the robbery, William Belen, the owner of the store, Adolfo Montenegro, and Hector Vega were working in the store. Belen was killed by gunshot wounds sustained during the shooting, while Montenegro suffered bullet wounds in his right forearm and right shoulder.

On March 9, 1982, after a trial in the New York Supreme Court for Bronx County, a jury convicted both petitioner and his co-defendant Guillermo Valdez. Petitioner was convicted of Second Degree Murder, First Degree Robbery, and Second Degree Criminal Possession of a Weapon. Petitioner subsequently received a sentence of two concurrent prison terms of from 25 years to life for his participation in the robbery and shooting, as well as four shorter concurrent terms.

At petitioner's trial, Detective William Dowdell testified that on December 1, 1980, he and one Detective Modesto visited the Bronx-Lebanon Hospital to interview Montenegro, who was wounded in the shooting. From a photo array, Montenegro identified Valdez as one of those responsible for the grocery store robbery and shooting. The state did not call Modesto to testify at petitioner's trial.

On December 11, 1980, police placed Valdez in a line-up, from which Montenegro identified Valdez as one of the perpetrators of the robbery and shooting. Following further investigation, police came to believe that petitioner also was involved in the incident and arrested him on December 23, 1980. Shortly after this arrest, Montenegro identified petitioner from a line-up.

During petitioner's trial, the state introduced testimony from Marguerita Hiciano, who stated that she had accompanied Petitioner, Valdez and two other men on the night of the shooting. Hiciano further testified that she saw petitioner fire his gun at either Belen or Montenegro. The state also introduced testimony from Mirta Vasquez, who stated that petitioner drove her past the 174th Street grocery store and told her that the store was closed because he had killed the owner and his "son."

On direct examination, the prosecution asked Vasquez if she was "scared" to testify, to which Vasquez answered "yes." On cross-examination, the defense questioned Hiciano and Vasquez as to whether they had made sexual advances on Jacqueline Castillo, petitioner's former lover. Hiciano and Vasquez both denied making any such advances on Castillo.

Petitioner testified in his own defense, stating that he was asleep at his parents house when the robbery and shooting occurred. As evidence of his good character, petitioner also testified that he had worked simultaneously at two different jobs, earning $500/week, and had lived with his parents. On cross-examination, the government produced a transcript of a prior interview conducted between petitioner and the New York City Criminal Justice Agency, in which petitioner stated that he had worked as a "cloth marker," earning $165/week, and had lived with his wife, rather than with his parents.

During his closing statements, the prosecution urged the jury to discredit the defense attorneys' argument, stating: "Don't be fooled by the illusionist trick." The prosecution also argued in his summation that the jury should accept Montenegro's identifications of petitioner and Valdez as valid, describing human memory of a traumatic event as "like a camera, which takes a picture and that picture is stored on the film and that film is memory."

At the conclusion of petitioner's trial, the trial judge did not instruct the jury that the government's failure to call Detective Modesto suggested that Modesto's testimony would have weakened the government's case. Also, at three points in his charge, the trial judge instructed the jury that they must determine the "guilt or innocence" of petitioner and Valdez.

Respondent Sullivan initially moved to dismiss the instant petition on the grounds that petitioner had failed to exhaust his state remedies. In a December 17, 1986 memorandum and order, this Court found that petitioner had exhausted his state remedies, and authorized respondent to file amended papers discussing the substantive arguments raised in the habeas petition.

III. DISCUSSION

A. EVIDENTIARY RULINGS.

Petitioner argues that the state trial court committed reversible error in two of its evidentiary rulings: 1. Admission of a prior inconsistent statement of petitioner made during an interview with law enforcement officials, and 2. Exclusion of testimony concerning the past sexual relationships of two prosecution witnesses.

1. Prior Inconsistent Statement.

Petitioner objects to the admission in rebuttal of petitioner's interview by the New York City Criminal Justice Agency, wherein he stated that he lived with his wife and worked as a "cloth marker," earning $165/week. This statement contradicted petitioner's direct testimony that he lived with his parents and earned $500/week by working at two different jobs. Petitioner argues that his statement to the Justice Agency was "collateral" to the prosecution's case and should have been excluded. This argument is without merit.

"It is within the discretion of the trial court to determine whether to allow inquiry into specific instances of conduct, not the subject of a conviction, for the purpose of proving a witness' truthfulness or untruthfulness." United States v. Barrett, 766 F.2d 609, 615 (1st Cir.), cert. denied, 474 U.S. 923, 106 S.Ct. 258, 88 L.Ed.2d 264 (1985). A trial court possesses particularly broad discretion to determine permissible areas of inquiry on rebuttal. See, e.g., Travison v. Jones, 522 F.Supp. 666, 669 (N.D.N.Y.1981); United States ex rel. Delrow v. Zelker, 324 F.Supp. 383, 385 n. 10 (S.D.N.Y.1971). Accordingly, the Supreme Court has held that the prosecution may rebut a defendant's testimony through the use of otherwise inadmissible evidence. Harris v. New York, 401 U.S. 222, 225-26, 91 S.Ct. 643, 645-46, 28 L.Ed.2d 1 (1971); Walder v. United States, 347 U.S. 62, 65, 74 S.Ct. 354, 356, 98 L.Ed. 503 (1954).

In the instant case, petitioner "opened the door" to the government's rebuttal evidence by testifying that he resided with his parents and earned an income of about $500/week. See United States v. Bentvena, 319 F.2d 916, 946 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 375 U.S. 940, 84 S.Ct. 345, 11 L.Ed.2d 271 (1963). Petitioner put in this evidence as tending to show that he lacked either the motive or predisposition for criminal activity. The court's admission of the Justice Agency transcript in rebuttal, including petitioner's statement that he lived with his wife and earned $165/week, was not constitutionally impermissible. See United States v. Curry, 358 F.2d 904, 910 (2d Cir.1965), cert. denied, 385 U.S. 873, 87 S.Ct. 147, 17 L.Ed.2d 100 (1966) (government may use defendant's statement to law enforcement officials on rebuttal, even where statement would be inadmissible as direct evidence); United States v. Bentvena, 319 F.2d 916, 945 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 375 U.S. 940, 84 S.Ct. 345, 11 L.Ed.2d 271 (1963) (government may introduce evidence of defendant's prior narcotics convictions only to rebut defendant's denial of any prior criminal record).

Petitioner cites some New York law which suggests that the state trial court should have excluded the Justice Agency transcript as prejudicial and irrelevant. People v. Hicks, 102 A.D.2d 173, 182-83, 478 N.Y.S.2d 256, 262 (1st Dep't 1984). However, this Court need not consider this issue of state law, since "a habeas challenge based on an improper evidentiary ruling is `foreclosed absent a specific showing of a violation of a federal constitutional right.'" Gilmore v. Curry, 523 F.Supp. 1205, 1208 (S.D.N.Y.1981) (quoting in part Bell v. New York, 506 F.Supp. 590, 594 (S.D.N.Y.1981), aff'd mem., 659 F.2d 1057 (2d Cir.1981)). Nowhere do the state cases cited by petitioner hold that the admission in rebuttal of a defendant's statement in the circumstances presented here would violate any specific provision of the United States Constitution.

Accordingly, the admission in rebuttal of petitioner's prior inconsistent statements to the Justice Agency does not warrant this Court's reversal of his state court conviction.

2. Sexual Relationships of Prosecution Witnesses.

During the defense case, petitioner sought to introduce testimony of Jacqueline Castillo, petitioner's former lover, that two of the prosecution's female witnesses, Margarita Hiciano and Mirta Vasquez, had made unsuccessful sexual advances toward Castillo. The defense wanted to show that Hiciano and Vasquez had a motive to testify falsely against petitioner. Earlier in the trial, Hiciano and Vasquez denied on cross-examination that they had made sexual advances toward Castillo. Petitioner contends that the trial judge's refusal...