Clairmont v. Smith

• Decision Date: 05 August 2015
• Docket Number: 9:12-CV-01022 (GTS/TWD)
• Parties: JAMES R. CLAIRMONT, Petitioner, v. J.T. SMITH, Respondent.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of New York

JAMES R. CLAIRMONT, Petitioner, v. J.T. SMITH, Respondent.

9:12-CV-01022 (GTS/TWD)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

August 5, 2015

APPEARANCES:

JAMES R. CLAIRMONT

09-A-2043

Petitioner pro se

Shawangunk Correctional Facility

P.O. Box 700

Wallkill, New York 12589

HON. ERIC T. SCHNEIDERMAN

Attorney General for the State of New York

Counsel for Respondent

120 Broadway

New York, New York 10271

OF COUNSEL:

PAUL B. LYONS, ESQ.

THÉRÈSE WILEY DANCKS, United States Magistrate Judge

ORDER and REPORT-RECOMMENDATION

I. Introduction

This matter has been referred to this Court for Report and Recommendation, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b) and Northern District Local Rule 72.3(c), by the Hon. Glenn T. Suddaby, United States District Judge.

Presently before this Court is the timely Petition of Petitioner James R. Clairmont, seeking a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. (Dkt. No. 1.) Petitioner bringsthis proceeding challenging a judgment of conviction entered on April 13, 2009, following a January 2009 jury trial in Saratoga County Court. (Dkt. No. 16-3 at 1¹). Petitioner was convicted of three counts of Criminal Sexual Act in the First Degree (N.Y. Penal Law § 130.50(1)), three counts of Sexual Abuse in the First Degree (N.Y. Penal Law § 130.65(1)), and two counts of Assault in the Third Degree (N.Y. Penal Law § 120.00).² (Dkt. No. 16-3 at 674, 685.) Petitioner was sentenced to a determinate prison term of eighteen years followed by twelve years of post-release supervision on the three counts of Criminal Sexual Act in the First Degree; a determinate sentence of five years followed by a period of post release supervision of ten years on the three counts of Sexual Abuse in the First Degree; and local terms of one year on each of the two counts of Assault in the Third Degree. Id. at 707-09. The terms run concurrently. Id. at 709.

The Appellate Division Third Department ("Appellate Division") unanimously affirmed the judgment of conviction on July 22, 2010, and leave to appeal to the New York Court of Appeals was denied on November 4, 2010. People v. Clairmont, 906.Y.S.2d 369 (3rd Dep't 2010), lv. denied, 913 N.Y.S.2d 646 (2010). Petitioner is currently incarcerated in Shawangunk Correctional Facility pursuant to the conviction. (Dkt. No. 1 at 1.)

Petitioner has raised three grounds for habeas review:

(1) Violation of his Fourteenth Amendment right to dueprocess based upon a claim that the prosecution adduced perjured material testimony from the prosecution's main witness at trial in order to obtain a conviction (Dkt. No. 1 at 4);

(2) Violation of his Fourteenth Amendment due process rights by the prosecution in allowing perjured testimony by a prosecution witness to go uncorrected while having a professional obligation to correct perjured/tainted testimony for the jury and court, id.; and

(3) Petitioner's conviction was the result of a verdict not supported by the weight of the evidence by federal standards, id. at 5.

For the reasons discussed below, the Court recommends that Petitioner's Petition (Dkt. No. 1) be denied and dismissed in its entirety.

II. Factual Background

A. The People's Case

Petitioner and J.S.³ met during the Summer of 2007 at a trailer park in Wilton, New York where Petitioner lived and worked and J.S. was living with her mother. (Dkt. No. 16-3 at 319-20.) In October of 2007, after the two had dated for a short time, J.S., whose mother was moving out of state, began living with Petitioner. Id. at 308, 320-22. Although things initially went okay, by onset of winter, Petitioner had begun to show controlling and violent tendencies. Id. at 322. On one occasion, when J.S.'s paycheck did not arrive in the mail on time, Petitioner accused her of taking it out of the mailbox and spending it, even though she had no access to the mailbox for which he had the key. Id. at 323-24. Petitioner became violent, hitting her in the head. Id. at 324-25.

1. December 21, 2007, Assault

J.S. and Petitioner went to visit his parents at their residence behind Petitioner's mobile home in the trailer park on the evening of December 21, 2007. Id. at 326-27. Petitioner's brother Jason was there, and everyone was drinking. Id. at 327; 543. When Jason had to leave, he helped J.S. move Petitioner's new car, which was parked behind his, when she was unable to shift the vehicle into reverse. Id. at 327-29. Petitioner came out of the house angry and accused J.S. of sleeping with his brother. Id. at 329. Petitioner took J.S. by the hair and dragged her out of the car and began hitting as he continued to accuse her of sleeping with his brother. Id. When she tried to get up, Petitioner threw her back down and started kicking her in the sides and back. Id. at 330. Petitioner followed J.S. when she went into his parents' residence and put her head through the kitchen window. Id. at 331.

New York State Troopers Kevin Manion ("Manion") and Brandon Hudson arrived and began speaking with everyone. Id. at 331. When J.S., who appeared intoxicated, went over to Manion, he noticed that some of her hair was missing and asked her what had happened. Id. at 273. Manion testified that J.S. became belligerent and ultimately was arrested, handcuffed, and charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Id. at 273-74, 332. When he took J.S. to the State Police barracks, he noticed she was "missing a half a head of hair," and asked her what had happened to it. Id. at 275-76. J.S. told him she got it caught in the car door. Id. at 276.

Based upon J.S.'s crying and his experience with domestic incidents, Manion believed something was wrong. Id. Manion told J.S. he did not believe she caught her hair in the door because she would have had more injuries, and crying the whole time, J.S. told Manion she did not want to talk to him. Id. at 277. According to J.S., she did not say anything about Petitionerand her hair because she was afraid. Id. at 363. Manion did not believe it was right for J.S. to go home that night and arranged for her to stay at a hotel. Id. at 280-81. Manion told J.S. he was always available if she changed her mind and wanted to talk to him about what had happened. Id. J.S. went home to Petitioner the following morning. Id. at 334. J.S. was never arraigned on the disorderly conduct and resisting arrest charges, and the charges were dismissed at Manion's request. Id. at 302.

According to J.S., the abuse continued after the incident on December 21, 2007. Sometime between the December 21, 2007, incident and early February 2008, J.S. went outside to get some air. Id. at 337. Petitioner kicked her in the shin causing her to fall. Id. J.S. got up and tried to walk away. Id. When she was a little ways down the street, Petitioner came up on his child's bike and hit J.S. in the nose. Id. at 337-38. J.S. flew back and landed on the ground. Id. at 338. She went to the house, with her nose bleeding profusely. Id. She thought it was broken. Id.

2. February 15, 2008, Assault

On February 15, 2008, J.S. was awakened at 2:00am by Petitioner who was yelling and screaming at her. Id. at 339. He accused J.S. of having said "Mike, I love you" while she was sleeping. Id. at 340. Petitioner went into the living room and continued yelling, calling J.S. a whore. Id. Petitioner came back into the bedroom and began hitting J.S. in the head. Id. at 341. He hit J.S.'s hand when she used it to block him from hitting her in the head. Id. Petitioner began kicking J.S. in the back and ribs after she started protecting her head and told her that women who cheated on their husbands deserved to be treated like that. Id. He continued calling J.S. a whore and a slut. Id.

Petitioner then forced J.S. to have anal sex with him by holding her wrists as she lay on her stomach. Id. at 342, 345. J.S., who was crying and in great pain, tried not to say anything because she was already afraid for her life and did not want to make things worse. Id. at 342. After ejaculating, Petitioner went back into the livingroom. Id. at 342, 345. J.S. sat on the edge of the bed and did not try to go anywhere because she was afraid. Id . at 343. She became really frightened when she heard Petitioner screaming calling J.S. a whore and a slut and saying she deserved to be treated the way he was treating her. Id. at 344.

Petitioner came back in the bedroom and forced J.S. to felate him, telling her to get it hard for him like a good little whore. Id. J.S. did it despite not wanting to because she did not want him to hit her any more. Id. Petitioner did not ejaculate. Id. Petitioner then threw J.S. on the bed and forced her to have anal sex with him again, this time placing her on her back and putting her legs up so that her knees were by her head. Id. at 445. J.S. was afraid that Petitioner would start beating her again so she did not fight and said nothing. Id. at 346. Petitioner ejaculated and again went into the livingroom. Id.

J.S. did not leave the trailer. Id at 347. She felt that if she stayed in one spot he would not do anything more to her. Id. She could hear Petitioner call in late for work and was fearful because she thought it meant that he was going to continue to keep doing things to her until he left. Id. at 348. Petitioner then told her not to leave because he would know if she did, and he was not done with her. Id.

After Petitioner left, J.S. called some friends and, when no one answered, called her mother in Oklahoma. Id. at 349. After she spoke with her mother, J.S. packed her bags and went to her neighbor's house. Id. J.S. knocked on her neighbor Deborah Woodcock's ("Woodcock")door at about 8:00am. Id. at 404. J.S. was crying and asked if she could stay at her house. Woodcock said yes and asked her what was going on. Id. J.S. told Woodcock about Petitioner waking her up at 2:00am and severely beating her. Id. at 405. J.S. said she had spoken with her mom and the police were coming. Id.

J.S. was at Woodcock's when Manion, who had received a call regarding a possible...