Duncan v. Fischer
| Decision Date | 19 January 2006 |
| Docket Number | No. CV-03-6218 (NG).,CV-03-6218 (NG). |
| Citation | 410 F.Supp.2d 101 |
| Parties | Leon DUNCAN, Petitioner, v. Brian FISCHER, Superintendent, Sing Sing Correctional Facility, Respondent. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of New York |
Leon Duncan, Ossining, NY, pro se.
Kings County District Attorneys Office, Anne Covingman Feigus, Office of the District Attorney, Brooklyn, NY, for Respondent.
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION
On June 5, 1999, Julia Guy was strangled to death in her Brooklyn apartment. Her body was then wrapped in a black garbage bag, placed in a shopping cart and taken to a vacant lot, where it was dumped. Ms. Guy, who was known by the name "Terry," was the common-law wife of petitioner Leon Duncan. On June 9, Duncan reported to the police that Ms. Guy was missing. Two days later, Duncan admitted in response to police questioning that he had killed Ms. Guy by choking her with his bare hands, but claimed that Guy had been attacking him with a baseball bat at the time and that he was acting in self-defense.
Following a jury trial, Duncan was found guilty of Manslaughter in the First Degree in violation of New York Penal Law § 125.20. On March 9, 2000, Duncan was sentenced as a second violent felony offender to a determinate term of imprisonment of 20 years. The verdict was affirmed by the Appellate Division, Second Department, on June 17, 2002. People v. Duncan, 295 A.D.2d 533, 744 N.Y.S.2d 444 (2d Dep't 2002). On October 3, 2002, the New York Court of Appeals denied petitioner leave to appeal. People v. Duncan, 98 N.Y.2d 767, 752 N.Y.S.2d 7, 781 N.E.2d 919 (2002).
On December 5, 2003, Duncan filed a pro se petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 with this Court. The Honorable Nina Gershon referred the petition to me for report and recommendation. See Docket Entry 3. For the reasons stated below, I respectfully recommend that Duncan's petition be denied.
Duncan's first claim is that he was interrogated while in police custody without first being advised of his Miranda rights, and that admissions he made under those circumstances — and in response to further interrogation after receiving Miranda warnings — were received in evidence against him in violation of his Fifth Amendment rights. Duncan moved to suppress his post-arrest statement prior to trial. The state trial court denied the motion after holding a suppression hearing. Duncan's Fifth Amendment claim depends upon the facts developed at the suppression hearing, and those facts are set forth in detail below. The evidence presented at Duncan's trial is summarized as well.
Detectives Warren Bond and John Bruton testified at the suppression hearing. The trial court found their testimony credible. SH Tr. 105.1 The facts recounted below are drawn from their hearing testimony.
New York City police officers recovered a body from a vacant lot on the night of June 10, 1999. The body was identified as the corpse of Julia Guy the next morning. SH Tr. 10. Because petitioner Duncan had reported Guy missing, Detectives Bond and Bruton went to Duncan's home at about 6:30 p.m. on June 11, 1999, and asked Duncan to accompany them to the police precinct. Duncan, who was not a suspect at that time, agreed. SH Tr. 9-11, 80.
Once they arrived at the precinct, the detectives brought Duncan to an interview room and started questioning him, but did not make Duncan aware that they had recovered Guy's body or that they knew she was dead. SH Tr. 32-33. Shortly after Duncan began speaking with the detectives, he told them that he last saw Guy when they were shopping together and that he had receipts at home from their shopping trip. SH Tr. 11-12, 35-36. At about 7:00 p.m., the detectives and Duncan went together to Duncan's apartment to retrieve the receipts and then returned to the police station. SH Tr. 12, 35-36, 80-81. However, when the detectives examined the receipts, they saw that they reflected purchases made on June 7, while Duncan had said that he last saw Guy when they were shopping together on June 3 or 4. When confronted with this discrepancy, Duncan suggested that he must have taken the wrong receipts, so the detectives and Duncan returned for a second time to Duncan's apartment, where Duncan retrieved a box filled with various papers, including a calendar. SH Tr. 12-13, 37-38, 82.
Although Duncan examined the newly retrieved papers after returning to the police station, he was unable to find any receipts from the shopping trip he had described. SH Tr. 13, 38-39. At approximately 8:45 p.m., the detectives left the precinct to speak with Guy's aunt, leaving Duncan alone in the interview room. SH Tr. 14, 46-47. The detectives returned almost two hours later, at which time they gave Duncan some food. SH Tr. 14, 48. They then left Duncan alone for about 90 minutes. SH Tr. 14, 48. At about midnight, the detectives questioned Duncan again for about 20 minutes. SH Tr. 47-51. At 1:00 a.m., they asked Duncan to tell them about any friends who might know what happened to Guy, or for suggestions about where she might be. SH Tr. 51-53. Duncan was "very cooperative" during this time. SH Tr. 51-52. The detectives left Duncan alone again at about 2:00 a.m. When they returned 30 minutes later, they found Duncan asleep. SH Tr. 54-55. After letting him sleep for another fifteen minutes, the detectives returned to find Duncan awake, and they resumed their questioning at about 2:45 a.m. SH Tr. 54-55.
At about 4:30 a.m., the detectives tried a new tack: Detective Bond told Duncan that Guy's body had been found in a vacant lot, that there was a surveillance camera near the lot, and that Duncan had been caught on videotape dumping Guy's body. SH Tr. 15-16, 63-66. Detective Bond acknowledged at the suppression hearing that this statement was false, but claimed that he made it to provoke a reaction and not necessarily a confession. SH Tr. 16, 65-66. Duncan continued to stand by his earlier statements denying knowledge of what happened to Guy despite Bond's remarks. However, about thirty minutes later, Bond repeated to Duncan that he had been caught on tape dumping Guy's body and told Duncan that the time had come for him to explain what happened. SH Tr. 63, 66-67. At that point, Duncan was on the verge of crying, and Detective Johnson began to console him. SH Tr. 16, 68. The detectives gave Duncan a cigarette and some water. SH Tr. 68-69. Duncan, who was now crying, finally said, "you know, she just kept [expletive deleted] with me." SH Tr. 69.
The detectives then told Duncan to take some time to pull himself together and left him alone for about ten minutes. SH Tr. 16-17, 69-70. When they returned, Duncan, without having been asked a question, stated, "She just kept [expletive deleted] with me and I couldn't take it no more." SH Tr. 17, 70-71. Detective Bond interrupted and read Duncan his Miranda rights from a printed card. SH Tr. 17, 71. Duncan responded by agreeing to waive his rights and make a statement. SH Tr. 18-19, 71-72. He then proceeded to describe how Guy asked him for money to buy crack and how, when he refused, Guy came at him with a baseball bat. Duncan further stated that he reacted by grabbing Guy around her neck with his hands and choking her, and that Guy then went limp and died. SH Tr. 20-21. The statement was reduced to writing and Duncan signed it. SH Tr. 21, 72. Duncan was coherent, did not appear to be high or intoxicated, and was never subjected to physical force or threats. SH Tr. 23.
After Duncan signed the written statement, Detective Bond told Duncan he was going to call the District Attorney's office to arrange for Duncan to make a videotaped statement, but that it was Duncan's decision whether to make the statement or not. SH Tr. 22, 75. Detective Bond promised Duncan he would be treated like a gentleman. He and the other detectives then ate breakfast with Duncan. SH Tr. 77.
Several hours later, at about 9:45 a.m., Duncan met with Assistant District Attorney Paisner, the prosecutor at his trial. SH Tr. 85. Detective Bruton was present as well. SH Tr. 85. Paisner again advised Duncan of his Miranda rights and Duncan responded that he understood them and was willing to make a statement. Duncan then described again, with a video camera recording his statement, how Guy attacked him with a baseball bat and how he responded by grabbing her throat. Respondent Ex. F.
The trial court denied Duncan's suppression motion. Finding Detectives Bond and Bruton credible, the court ruled that Duncan was not in custody when he stated, "She just kept [expletive deleted] with me and I couldn't take it no more," and was properly advised of his Miranda rights before any further interrogation took place. SH Tr. 111-12. Accordingly, all of Duncan's statements were admitted at trial.
The prosecution's case at trial rested in large part upon Duncan's inculpatory statements. Detectives Bond and Bruton described the events leading up to Duncan's written and videotaped statements, including the statements Duncan made without benefit of Miranda warnings. Duncan's written and videotaped statements were presented to the jury as well. Tr. 192-94, 398-99.
Duncan's incriminating statements were corroborated in part by other evidence presented by the prosecution at trial. Dr. Joaquin Gutierrez, a deputy medical examiner, described the results of the autopsy he performed on Guy's body, which indicated that the cause of Guy's death was manual strangulation. Tr. 278-79. Police Officer Thierry Presume testified that she responded to a call for emergency assistance, apparently made by Guy on April 23, 1999, less than two months before her death. According to Presume, Guy seemed scared and distraught, and told Presume that she was...
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