Davis v. Jackson
| Decision Date | 06 May 2021 |
| Docket Number | Case No. 1:21-cv-368 |
| Parties | TRENT LAARTHUR DAVIS, Petitioner, v. SHANE JACKSON, Respondent. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Michigan |
Honorable Paul L. Maloney
This is a habeas corpus action brought by a state prisoner under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. Promptly after the filing of a petition for habeas corpus, the Court must undertake a preliminary review of the petition to determine whether "it plainly appears from the face of the petition and any exhibits annexed to it that the petitioner is not entitled to relief in the district court." Rule 4, Rules Governing § 2254 Cases; see 28 U.S.C. § 2243. If so, the petition must be summarily dismissed. Rule 4; see Allen v. Perini, 424 F.2d 134, 141 (6th Cir. 1970) (). A dismissal under Rule 4 includes those petitions which raise legally frivolous claims, as well as those containing factual allegations that are palpably incredible or false. Carson v. Burke, 178 F.3d 434, 436-37 (6th Cir. 1999). After undertaking the review required by Rule 4, the Court concludes that the petition must be dismissed because it fails to raise a meritorious federal claim.
Petitioner Trent LaArthur Davis is incarcerated with the Michigan Department of Corrections at the Earnest C. Brooks Correctional Facility, (LRF) in Muskegon Heights, Muskegon County, Michigan. On October 31, 2018, following a two-day jury trial in the Calhoun County Circuit Court, Petitioner was convicted of third-degree fleeing or eluding a police officer, in violation of Mich. Comp. Laws § 257.602a, felon in possession of a firearm (felon-in-possession), in violation of Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.224f, two counts of assault with intent to commit murder (AWIM), in violation of Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.83, and four counts of using a firearm during the commission of a felony (felony-firearm), in violation of Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.227b. On January 14, 2019, the court sentenced Petitioner as a fourth habitual offender, Mich. Comp. Laws § 769.12, to concurrent prison terms of 6 to 10 years for fleeing a police officer and felon-in-possession and 50 to 75 years for each count of AWIM. Those sentences were to be served consecutively to four concurrent 2-year sentences for felony-firearm. Petitioner is presently 51-years-old; his earliest release date is July 1, 2069. See https://mdocweb.state.mi.us/otis2/otis2profile.aspx?mdocNumber=222605 (visited May 5, 2021). Although Petitioner's sentence is a term of years, it is effectively a life sentence.
Petitioner did not timely appeal his convictions and sentences. Almost a year after he was sentenced, Petitioner filed an application for leave to appeal to the Michigan Court of Appeals. By order entered May 15, 2020, the Michigan Court of Appeals denied leave "for lack of merit in the grounds presented." People v. Davis, No. 352760 . Petitioner then filed a pro per application for leave to appeal to the Michigan Supreme Court. The supreme court denied leave by order entered November 24, 2020. People v. Davis, 950 N.W.2d 727 (Mich. 2020).
On April 2, 2021, Petitioner timely filed his habeas corpus petition raising the same three grounds for relief he raised in the Michigan appellate courts, as follows:
The AEDPA "prevent[s] federal habeas 'retrials'" and ensures that state court convictions are given effect to the extent possible under the law. Bell v. Cone, 535 U.S. 685, 693-94 (2002). An application for writ of habeas corpus on behalf of a person who is incarcerated pursuant to a state conviction cannot be granted with respect to any claim that was adjudicated on the merits in state court unless the adjudication: "(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 upon an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented in the state court proceeding." 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d). "Under these rules, [a] state court's determination that a claim lacks merit precludes federal habeas relief so long as fairminded jurists could disagree on the correctness of the state court's decision." Stermer v. Warren, 959 F.3d 704, 721 (6th Cir. 2020) (quoting Harrington v. Richter, 562 U.S. 86, 101 (2011) (quoting Yarborough v. Alvarado, 541 U.S. 652, 664 (2004)) (internal quotation marks omitted)). This standard is "intentionally difficult to meet." Woods v. Donald, 575 U.S. 312, 316 (2015) (internal quotation omitted).
The AEDPA limits the source of law to cases decided by the United States Supreme Court. 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d). In determining whether federal law is clearly established, the Court may not consider the decisions of lower federal courts. Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. 362, 381-82 (2000); Miller v. Straub, 299 F.3d 570, 578-79 (6th Cir. 2002). Moreover, "clearly established Federal law" does not include decisions of the Supreme Court announced after the last adjudication of the merits in state court. Greene v. Fisher, 565 U.S. 34, 37-38 (2011). Thus, the inquiry is limited to an examination of the legal landscape as it would have appeared to the Michigan state courts in light of Supreme Court precedent at the time of the state-court adjudication on the merits. Miller v. Stovall, 742 F.3d 642, 644 (6th Cir. 2014) (citing Greene, 565 U.S. at 38).
A federal habeas court may issue the writ under the "contrary to" clause if the state court applies a rule different from the governing law set forth in the Supreme Court's cases, or if it decides a case differently than the Supreme Court has done on a set of materially indistinguishable facts. Bell, 535 U.S. at 694 (citing Williams, 529 U.S. at 405-06). "To satisfy this high bar, a habeas petitioner is required to 'show that the state court's ruling on the claim being presented in federal court was so lacking in justification that there was an error well understood and comprehended in existing law beyond any possibility for fairminded disagreement.'" Woods, 575 U.S. at 316 (quoting Harrington, 562 U.S. at 103).
Determining whether a rule application was unreasonable depends on the rule's specificity. Stermer, 959 F.3d at 721. "The more general the rule, the more leeway courts have in reaching outcomes in case-by-case determinations." Yarborough, 541 U.S. at 664. "[W]here the precise contours of the right remain unclear, state courts enjoy broad discretion in their adjudication of a prisoner's claims." White v. Woodall, 572 U.S. 415, 424 (2014) (internal quotations omitted).
The AEDPA requires heightened respect for state factual findings. Herbert v. Billy, 160 F.3d 1131, 1134 (6th Cir. 1998). A determination of a factual issue made by a state court is presumed to be correct, and the petitioner has the burden of rebutting the presumption by clear and convincing evidence. 28 U.S.C. § 2254(e)(1); Davis v. Lafler, 658 F.3d 525, 531 (6th Cir. 2011) (en banc); Lancaster v. Adams, 324 F.3d 423, 429 (6th Cir. 2003); Bailey v. Mitchell, 271 F.3d 652, 656 (6th Cir. 2001). This presumption of correctness is accorded to findings of state appellate courts, as well as the trial court. See Sumner v. Mata, 449 U.S. 539, 546-547 (1981); Smith v. Jago, 888 F.2d 399, 407 n.4 (6th Cir. 1989).
Section 2254(d) limits the facts a court may consider on habeas review. The federal court is not free to consider any possible factual source. The reviewing court "is limited to the record that was before the state court that adjudicated the claim on the merits." Cullen v. Pinholster, 563 U.S. 170, 180 (2011). "If a review of the state court record shows that additional fact-finding was required under clearly established federal law or that the state court's factual determination was unreasonable, the requirements of § 2254(d) are satisfied and the federal court can review the underlying claim on its merits. Stermer, 959 F.3d at 721 ().
If the petitioner "satisfies the heightened requirements of § 2254(d), or if the petitioner's claim was never 'adjudicated on the merits' by a state court, 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d),"—for example, if he procedurally defaulted the claim—"AEDPA deference no longer applies." Stermer, 959 F.3d at 721. Then, the petitioner's claim is reviewed de novo. Id. (citing Maples v. Stegall, 340 F.3d 433, 436 (6th Cir. 2003)).
The charge of felon-in-possession requires proof of the element that Petitioner was, indeed, a convicted felon.1 Under the felon-in-possession statute, not all felonies are of equal significance. More serious felonies, described as "specified felonies," preclude the use of a firearm for a longer period and require additional steps before the right to possess a firearm is restored. Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.224f.
Petitioner argues that his trial counsel should have simply stipulated that Petitioner had previously been convicted of a felony—an undisclosed felony—rather than requiring the prosecutor to prove the element which necessarily required telling the jury that Petitioner had been convicted of delivery of less than 50 grams of a controlled substance.2 The Michigan Court of Appeals rejected the claim as meritless without explanation.
In Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984), the Supreme Court established a two-prong test by which to...
To continue reading
Request your trial