Fields v. Jordan

• Decision Date: 01 December 2022
• Docket Number: 17-5065
• Parties: Samuel FIELDS, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Scott JORDAN, Warden, Respondent-Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit

54 F.4th 871

Samuel FIELDS, Petitioner-Appellant,

v.Scott JORDAN, Warden, Respondent-Appellee.

No. 17-5065

United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit.

Argued: May 18, 2022

Decided and Filed: December 1, 2022

ARGUED: Daniel E. Kirsch, OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER, Kansas City, Missouri, for Appellant. Brett R. Nolan, OFFICE OF THE KENTUCKY ATTORNEY GENERAL, Frankfort, Kentucky, for Appellee. ON BRIEF: Daniel E. Kirsch, OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER, Kansas City, Missouri, for Appellant. Brett R. Nolan, Matthew F. Kuhn, OFFICE OF THE KENTUCKY ATTORNEY GENERAL, Frankfort, Kentucky, for Appellee.

Before: BATCHELDER, MOORE, and DONALD, Circuit Judges.

DONALD, J., delivered the opinion of the court in which MOORE, J., joined. BATCHELDER, J. (pp. –––– – ––––), delivered a separate dissenting opinion.

BERNICE BOUIE DONALD, Circuit Judge.

This case stems from the nearly thirty-year-old murder of Bess Horton. The commonwealth's theory of prosecution was that Samuel Fields broke into Horton's residence through a storm window, brutally murdered her in the bedroom, and started burglarizing the residence shortly before law enforcement arrived at the scene. To test the plausibility of the commonwealth's theory, the jury conducted an experiment using a flat-tipped knife submitted into evidence to remove a cabinet door in the jury room (in place of the storm window). Satisfied with the outcome of their experiment, the jurors convicted Fields of intentional murder and sentenced him to death. Fields now seeks a federal writ of habeas corpus, arguing in part that the jury improperly considered extrinsic evidence in violation of the Fifth and Sixth Amendments. For the following reasons, we REVERSE the district court's judgment and CONDITIONALLY GRANT a writ of habeas corpus, unless the commonwealth retries Fields within six months.

I.

On August 18, 1993, Fields started consuming alcohol when he woke up and continued throughout the day. Fields v. Commonwealth , No. 2013-SC-000231-TG, 2014 WL 7688714, at *1 (Ky. Dec. 18, 2014) (" Fields I "). In the evening, Fields and several others—including Minnie Burton (his girlfriend), Phyllis Berry, Scott Trent, and William Sloas—drove to James Berry's house. Id. The group sat in Berry's living room drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana. Id. Fields eventually became so intoxicated that Berry asked the group to leave. Id.

Approximately 11:30 p.m. Fields and Burton went to an apartment occupied by Fields’ mother and brother. Id. Fields and Burton soon got into a fight, prompting Fields to throw furniture, knives, and other objects around the living room. Fields v. White , No. 15-38-ART, 2016 WL 3574396, at *1 (E.D. Ky. June 23, 2016) (" Fields II "). Fields then started crying and saying that "he didn't have any control over his self." Id.

Approximately midnight. Fearful of Fields’ behavior, Burton went home. Id. Burton lived in a duplex owned by Horton. Id. Horton allowed Burton to live rent-free in the duplex in return for running Horton's errands and chauffeuring her around. Id. However, their relationship had recently soured, and Horton had shut off the utilities in an attempt to force Burton out. Id. When Burton returned home that night, she was locked outside. Id.

Approximately 1:35 a.m. Fields left his mother's apartment to look for Burton. Fields I , 2014 WL 7688714, at *1. As Burton sat on her front porch, she heard "a lot of hooting and hollering and what sound[ed] [like] somebody hitting [street] signs real hard ...." Fields II, 2016 WL 3574396, at *2. Fields then appeared with a knife in his hand. Id. He pushed the knife toward Burton and said, "take this. I've killed my brother, John." Id. (Fields had, in fact, not killed his brother.) Burton took the knife and dropped it into some nearby bushes.

Approximately 1:55 a.m. When Fields learned that Burton was locked out, he slammed his hand through her apartment window. Fields I , 2014 WL 7688714, at *1. Burton's neighbor, Elmer Pritchard, heard the noise and called the police to report a break-in at the duplex. Fields II , 2016 WL 3574396, at *2. Officer Larry Green responded to the scene less than two minutes later, but neither Burton nor Fields was there; Burton had fled to a nearby relative's house, and Fields had walked to Horton's house approximately one block over. Fields I , 2014 WL 7688714, at *1-2.

Approximately 2:11 a.m. Green called for backup to help conduct a search, and Sergeant Ron Lindeman responded. Fields II , 2016 WL 3574396, at *2. The officers searched various buildings in the area to no avail. Id.

Approximately 2:23 a.m. The officers noticed a light on and the external garage door open at Horton's residence. Id. Upon further investigation, the officers found a storm window and seventeen screws lying on the porch. Id. ; Fields I , 2014 WL 7688714, at *2. Lindeman entered the house through the window and saw blood on a curtain and comforter. Fields II, 2016 WL 3574396, at *3. He proceeded down the hallway and into the back bedroom where he saw Fields rummaging through a drawer next to Horton's body. Id. Fields had blood on his shirt and pants, and Horton had a knife buried in her right temple with the point of the blade protruding from the opposing temple. Id. ; Fields I , 2014 WL 7688714, at *2. Horton also had defensive wounds on her hands, which were stuffed inside her throat. Fields II , 2016 WL 3574396, at *3. Her throat was slashed almost to the point of decapitation. Id. ; Fields I , 2014 WL 7688714, at *2. Lindeman asked Fields, "What's going on? What are you doing?" Fields II , 2016 WL 3574396, at *3. Fields stated, "Kill me, Ron, just kill me. I stabbed her, and I'm into it big time this time." Id. When Lindeman asked Fields why he did it, Fields replied, "I don't know. I just did it. Kill me. I'm going to prison for the rest of my life." Id. Fields was immediately arrested and found to be in possession of Horton's jewelry, two razor blades, and a butter knife with the point missing and the tip twisted in an unusual way. Id. at *3-4 ; Fields I , 2014 WL 7688714, at *2. (This knife became known as the "twisty knife" throughout trial.)

Approximately 5:17 a.m. The officers took Fields to a hospital approximately thirty minutes away. Fields II , 2016 WL 3574396, at *4. An EMT examined Fields and inquired "where the blood was coming from." Id. According to the EMT, Fields responded, "in no uncertain terms[,] that if [the EMT] had killed some lady that [the EMT] would have blood on [him] as well." Id. Subsequent testing revealed that none of the blood on Fields’ clothing was traceable to Horton and none of the blood in Horton's bedroom was traceable to Fields. At the hospital, the emergency department ordered a blood alcohol test, and the report indicated that Fields had a blood alcohol content of 0.14.

In 2003, Fields stood trial for a second time on one count of murder and one count of first-degree burglary.¹ Fields I , 2014 WL 7688714, at *2. At trial, the commonwealth argued that Fields used the twisty knife to unscrew seventeen paint-covered screws, remove the storm window, and break into Horton's home. Id. Defense counsel conversely argued that Fields was too intoxicated to unscrew the storm window and commit the murder within the short timeframe. Id. During deliberations, the jurors decided to conduct their own experiment by using the twisty knife, introduced into evidence by the commonwealth, to unscrew and remove a cabinet door in the jury room. Id. at *3. After eight hours, the jury found Fields guilty as charged. The matter then proceeded to the penalty phase, and after twelve hours of deliberations, the jury sentenced Fields to death. The Kentucky Supreme Court affirmed.

Fields then moved for post-conviction relief in the state trial court. See Fields I , 2014 WL 7688714, at *2. Following a three-day evidentiary hearing, the trial court denied the motion. Id. The Kentucky Supreme Court again affirmed. Id. Fields then filed the underlying petition for a writ of habeas corpus, alleging thirty claims for relief. See Fields II , 2016 WL 3574396, at *1. The district court denied the petition but certified for appeal one of the requested grounds for relief: the trial court improperly excluded from the sentencing phase evidence of parole-eligibility statistics. Id. at *54. We expanded the certificate of appealability to include four additional claims: (1) the jury's experiment involving evidence not in the record violated Fields’ constitutional rights to confrontation, due process, and a fair trial; (2) trial counsel were ineffective for failing to investigate and present the testimony of James Berry; (3) trial counsel were ineffective for failing to present expert testimony regarding the effects of drugs and alcohol on Fields’ ability to commit the alleged crimes; and (4) trial counsel were ineffective for failing to present additional mitigating evidence at the penalty phase. Because we resolve the jury experiment claim in Fields’ favor, and it is dispositive of the case, we address only that claim herein.

II.

We review a district court's decision regarding a writ of habeas corpus de novo . Ege v. Yukins , 485 F.3d 364, 371 (6th Cir. 2007) (citing Wolfe v. Brigano , 232 F.3d 499, 501 (6th Cir. 2000) ). "Because the district court did not conduct an evidentiary hearing but rather relied on the trial transcript in making its fact findings, we must review the district court's factual findings de novo." Burton v. Renico , 391 F.3d 764, 770 (6th Cir. 2004) (citing Bugh v. Mitchell , 329 F.3d 496, 500 (6th Cir. 2003) ).

The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 ("AEDPA") governs our review of this case. As relevant here, a federal court may grant habeas relief only if the state court's decision on the merits "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’ clearly...