Dehenre v. King
| Decision Date | 28 July 2014 |
| Docket Number | CAUSE NO. 1:13-cv-00478-KS-MTP |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of Mississippi |
| Parties | MALACHY DeHENRE, #317415 PETITIONER v. STATE OF MISSISSIPPI and RONALD KING RESPONDENTS |
This matter is before the Court on the Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus [1] ("Petition") filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 by Malachy DeHenre ("Petitioner") on August 15, 2011. Petitioner is currently incarcerated by the State of Mississippi following a conviction of manslaughter on January 23, 2008. Petitioner was sentenced to 20 years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections on March 13, 2008. After considering the pleadings, the state court records, and relief sought by Petitioner, the Court has concluded that the Petition should be denied.
Petitioner was charged with the murder of his ex-wife Dr. Nyasha DeHenre. On January 23, 1997, Jones County deputies found Nyasha in her home lying on the couch, a book on her stomach and her feet propped up, with a bullet in her head. She died a several days later.
Petitioner testified that Nyasha had been emotionally distraught and had committed suicide. According to his version of events, they were both seated in the same room, with him on the recliner and her on the love seat, where he reported that he kept a loaded gun hidden inthe recess. He noticed a flash of metal when he stood to adjust his pajamas and reflexively reached out to grab Nyasha's arm. Petitioner contends that the gun fired just as he pulled her arm. He then lay her down on the love seat and propped her legs up. He did not recall anything about a book. He then called Nyasha's mother before calling 911. While waiting for the ambulance, he went into the bedroom and changed clothes.
The State's experts classified Nyasha's death as a homicide and concluded that the gun was fired from at least eighteen inches away, with twenty-four or greater being the probable distance.
Petitioner's first trial in 1998 ended with the jury deadlocked with eleven members for acquittal and one for conviction. Petitioner was reindicted by a grand jury in December 2006, and he was put on trial once more in January 2008.
During the jury selection process of the second trial, in answer to a routine voir dire question, one juror replied, "Every man is entitled to a fair trial, but when DeHenre left here he became an abortionist." The defense immediately moved for a mistrial, but was denied by the trial court. The juror was promptly dismissed, and the trial judge admonished the remaining jurors to disregard the comment and repeatedly asked the entire panel if they could still be impartial after hearing the statement. Later, the panel was asked once more by the defense if they could put the comment aside. At all times, the prospective jurors responded that the comment would not affect their impartiality.
In pretrial motions, the defense moved to dismiss on the ground that certain pieces of physical evidence were unavailable, which the defense argued was because they were destroyed by the State. The trial court denied the motion and allowed the trial to proceed regardless of themissing evidence.
At trial, the judge allowed the admission of testimony from Dr. B. R. Patel, a colleague and friend of Nyasha, as well as statements made by Petitioner's daughter to a 911 operator the night of Nyasha's death.
The jury ultimately found Petitioner guilty of manslaughter, and the trial court sentenced him to serve twenty years in prison and to pay a $10,000 fine. The Supreme Court of Mississippi upheld the conviction in a 5-4 decision.
Petitioner now seeks federal habeas relief from this Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254.
A writ of federal habeas corpus shall not be granted to a state prisoner on a claim that was adjudicated on the merits in state court unless the adjudication "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] that was based on an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented . . . ." 28 U.S.C. § 2254.
In order for relief to be granted, the applicant must have "exhausted his remedies available in the courts of the State" unless "there is an absence of available State corrective process" that would be effective in the applicant's case. 28 U.S.C. § 2254(b). A claim is presumed by have been adjudicated on the merits by the state court even if the state court's reasoning does not address federal law specifically. Johnson v. Williams, 133 S.Ct. 1088, 1094, 185 L.Ed.2d 105 (2013) (citing Harrington v. Richter, 131 S.Ct. 770, 784-85, 178 L.Ed.2d 624 (2011)). This presumption can be overcome only in limited circumstances. Id. at 1096.
Federal habeas relief cannot be granted unless the state court's decision was "contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established Federal law." 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1). A state court decision is contrary to federal precedent if it is "diametrically different" to clearly established Supreme Court precedent. Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. 362, 406, 120 S.Ct. 1495, 146 L.Ed.2d 389 (2000). A state court decision, then, would be contrary to federal precedent if it "confront[s] a set of facts that are materially indistinguishable from a decision of [the Supreme Court] and nevertheless arrives at a result different from [the Court's] precedent." Id.
The Fifth Circuit has adopted Justice O'Connor's understanding of "unreasonable application" for purposes of habeas review, calling for an evaluation of whether the application was "objectively unreasonable." Neal v. Puckett, 286 F.3d 230, 236 (5th Cir. 2002) (quoting Williams, 529 U.S. at 409, 120 S.Ct. 1495 (O'Connor, J., concurring)). Justice O'Connor elaborates this standard by saying that "[t]he federal habeas court should not transform the inquiry into a subjective one by resting its determination instead on the simple fact that at least one of the Nation's jurists has applied the relevant federal law in the same manner the state court did." Williams, 529 U.S. at 409-10, 120 S.Ct. 1495 (O'Connor, J., concurring). In sum, the application of federal law by a state court is considered reasonable as long as "fairminded jurists could disagree" on its correctness. Richter, 131 S.Ct. at 786 (quoting Yarborough v. Alvarado, 541 U.S. 652, 664, 124 S.Ct. 2140, 158 L.Ed.2d 938 (2004)). In reaching this determination, state courts are often granted more leeway when applying more general standards of federal law. Yarborough, 541 U.S. at 664, 124 S.Ct. 2140.
The first ground Petitioner argues is that the jury was biased against him due to the comment made during jury selection concerning his time as an abortionist. Though the majority decision by the Mississippi Supreme Court does not address federal aspects of this claim explicitly, there is no doubt that it was adjudicated on its merits, as federal precedent is referenced indirectly in the majority opinion and directly in the dissent.
In its review for abuse of discretion, the majority opinion relies on Evans v. State, 725 So.2d 613 (Miss. 1998) (en banc), which has its foundation in Arizona v. Washington, 434 U.S. 497, 98 S.Ct. 824, 54 L.Ed.2d 717 (1978). DeHenre v. State, 43 So.3d 407, 411 (Miss. 2010) (en banc). The Court in Arizona stated plainly that the trial judge is in the best position to evaluate the potential bias of a juror. 434 U.S. at 513-14, 98 S.Ct. 824. This is further supported by the fact that the bias the majority seems to be looking at is actual bias, or "bias in fact," United States v. Wood, 299 123, 133, 57 S.Ct. 177, 81 L.Ed. 78 (1936), which the trial judge is best suited to determine. Wainwright v. Witt, 469 U.S. 412, 428, 105 S.Ct. 844, 83 L.Ed.2d 841 (1985) (citing Patton v. Yount, 467 U.S. 1025, 1038, 104 S.Ct. 2885, 81 L.Ed.2d 847 (1984)).
The dissent in the Mississippi Supreme Court decision, in contrast, applies the reasoning found in cases dealing with pretrial publicity. DeHenre, 43 So.3d at 420-23 (Dickinson, J., dissenting) (citing United States v. Davis, 583 F.2d 190 (5th Cir. 1978)). These cases, stemming from Irvin v. Dowd, 366 U.S. 717, 81 S.Ct. 1639, 6 L.Ed.2d 751 (1961), deal with implied bias, or "bias conclusively presumed as matter of law." Wood, 299 U.S. at 133, 57 S.Ct. 177.
The question before the Court is whether the Mississippi Supreme Court's applications of these doctrines were unreasonable. Because the Court finds that they were not, Petitioner cannot be granted a writ of habeas corpus on this ground.
The Sixth Amendment guarantees that "[i]n all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State . . . ." U.S. Const. amend. VI. However, "[i]mpartiality is not a technical conception," but a "state of mind" with "no particular tests and procedure" laid out by the Constitution for its determination. Irvin, 366 U.S. at 724-25, 81 S.C.t 1639. To rebut the presumption of juror impartiality, it is not sufficient to show only that a preconceived notion of guilt or innocence exists. Irvin, 366 U.S. at 717, 81 S.Ct. 1639. Rather, it must be shown that a juror's "views would prevent or substantially impair the performance of his duties as a juror in accordance with his instructions and his oath." Soria v. Johnson, 207 F.3d 232, 242 (5th Cir. 2000). In evaluating whether members of the jury are in fact biased, there are "compelling institutional considerations" that favor deference to the trial judge who has observed the jurors and their reactions throughout the trial process. Arizona, 434 U.S. at 513-14, 98 S.Ct. 824; see also Wainwright, 469 U.S. at 426-28, 105 S.Ct. 844.
In Petitioner's case, the trial judge observed the reaction the venire...
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