Haynes v. Quarterman

• Citation: 526 F.3d 189
• Decision Date: 23 April 2008
• Docket Number: No. 07-70004.,07-70004.
• Parties: Anthony Cardell HAYNES, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Nathaniel QUARTERMAN, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division, Respondent-Appellee.
• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (5th Circuit)

526 F.3d 189

Anthony Cardell HAYNES, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Nathaniel QUARTERMAN, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division, Respondent-Appellee.

No. 07-70004.

United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

April 23, 2008.

Allen Richard Ellis, Law Offices of A. Richard Ellis, Mill Valley, CA, for Haynes.

Jeremy Craig Greenwell, Austin, TX, for Quarterman.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

Before JOLLY, DENNIS and CLEMENT, Circuit Judges.

DENNIS, Circuit Judge:

This case involves an application for a certificate of appealability ("COA") filed by Petitioner Anthony Cardell Haynes ("Petitioner") to appeal the district court's denial of habeas corpus relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. Petitioner challenges the district court's denial of COA by asserting: (1) the district court erred in denying his COA sua sponte and preemptively; (2) the district court erred in finding Petitioner's ineffective assistance of counsel claims to be procedurally barred; (3) the district court abused its discretion in denying his motion to stay and abate proceedings so as to allow him the opportunity to exhaust his unexhausted claims in state court; (4) the State's prosecution deliberately and purposefully used peremptory challenges to exclude African-Americans from the jury thereby violating his right to a jury process free from racial discrimination; and (5) Haynes's due process rights were violated because the state trial court was unconstitutionally biased against him. We find no reason to dispute the district court's assessment of Haynes's claims, except for Haynes's claim (4) with regards to two potential jurors. In light of the Supreme Court's recent decision in Snyder v. Louisiana, ___ U.S. ___, 128 S.Ct. 1203, 170 L.Ed.2d 175 (2008), we conclude that Haynes is entitled to a COA in connection with his Batson claims in respect to potential jurors Owens and McQueen. See Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 106 S.Ct. 1712, 90 L.Ed.2d 69 (1986).

I. BACKGROUND

The district court set forth the relevant facts as follows:

At around 10:30 p.m. on May 22, 1998, off-duty Houston Police Department Officer Kent Kincaid and his wife left their home in a private vehicle on their way to meet some friends at a sports bar. As they drove past a truck driven by Haynes, something hit and cracked the Kincaid[s'] windshield. Officer Kincaid thought someone threw a rock at his car; Haynes had actually fired a shot at them. Officer Kincaid turned his car around and followed Haynes' vehicle until the two pulled alongside each other.

Officer Kincaid exited his vehicle, approached Haynes who remained sitting in his truck, and said "You hit my window." Haynes replied, "I accidentally threw something at your window." Officer Kincaid said, "I am a police officer. Let's talk about it." After asking for Haynes' license, [O]fficer Kincaid reached towards his back pocket, presumably to retrieve his police identification. Haynes lifted up a pistol, shot [O]fficer Kincaid in the head, and fled the scene. Officer Kincaid died a few hours later.

The police soon arrested Haynes. Haynes confessed to [O]fficer Kincaid's murder. The State of Texas charged Haynes with the capital murder of a peace officer who was "acting in the lawful discharge of an official duty[.]" Tex. Penal Code § 19.03(a)(1). A jury convicted Haynes of capital murder. After a separate punishment hearing, the jury answered Texas's special issues in a manner requiring the imposition of a death sentence. Haynes unsuccessfully sought state appellate and habeas relief from his conviction and sentence.

Haynes v. Quarterman, No. 4:05-CV-3424, 2007 WL 268374, at *1 (S.D.Tex. Jan.25, 2007) (internal footnotes omitted). The district court appointed counsel to help Haynes through the federal habeas process. Haynes filed a habeas petition on October 5, 2005, with the District Court for the Southern District of Texas. The district court denied habeas relief in an opinion on January 25, 2007. At the end of the extensive memorandum opinion, the district court appended a relatively short sua sponte denial of COA essentially reciting the standard of review and then concluding:

Under the appropriate standard the court finds that Haynes has not shown that this court should certify any issue for appellate consideration. This court DENIES Haynes a COA on all the claims raised by his petition.

Id. at *37 (emphasis in original). Haynes now seeks a COA from this court to challenge the district court's denial of habeas relief.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

A petitioner must obtain a COA before appealing the district court's denial of habeas relief. 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c). "This is a jurisdictional prerequisite because the COA statute mandates that `[u]nless a circuit justice or judge issues a certificate of appealability, an appeal may not be taken to the court of appeals....'" Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322, 336, 123 S.Ct. 1029, 154 L.Ed.2d 931 (2003) (Miller-El I)(quoting 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1)). Under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 ("AEDPA"), a COA may not issue unless "the applicant has made a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right." Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 483, 120 S.Ct. 1595, 146 L.Ed.2d 542 (2000) (quoting 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)). According to the Supreme Court, this requirement includes a showing that "reasonable jurists could debate whether (or, for that matter, agree that) the petition should have been resolved in a different manner or that the issues presented were `adequate to deserve encouragement to proceed further.'" Id. at 484, 120 S.Ct. 1595 (quoting Barefoot v. Estelle, 463 U.S. 880, 893 n. 4, 103 S.Ct. 3383, 77 L.Ed.2d 1090 (1983)). As the Supreme Court explained:

The COA determination under § 2253(c) requires an overview of the claims in the habeas petition and a general assessment of their merits. We look to the district court's application of AEDPA to petitioner's constitutional claims and ask whether that resolution was debatable amongst jurists of reason. This threshold inquiry does not require full consideration of the factual or legal bases adduced in support of the claims. In fact, the statute forbids it. When a court of appeals side steps this process by first deciding the merits of an appeal, and then justifying its denial of a COA based on its adjudication of the actual merits, it is in essence deciding an appeal without jurisdiction.

Miller-El I, 537 U.S. at 336-37, 123 S.Ct. 1029.

In sum, Petitioner need not show that his habeas petition will ultimately prevail on the merits in order for this court to issue a COA. Id. at 337, 123 S.Ct. 1029. In fact, the Supreme Court has specifically instructed that a court of appeals should not deny a COA simply because the petitioner has not demonstrated an entitlement to relief. Id. Instead, "`where a district court has rejected the constitutional claims on the merits, the showing required to satisfy § 2253(c) is straightforward: The petitioner must demonstrate that reasonable jurists would find the district court's assessment of the constitutional claims debatable or wrong.'" Id. at 338, 123 S.Ct. 1029 (quoting Slack, 529 U.S. at 484, 120 S.Ct. 1595). "Any doubt regarding whether to grant a COA is resolved in favor of the petitioner, and the severity of the penalty may be considered in making this determination." ShisInday v. Quarterman, 511 F.3d 514, 520 (5th Cir.2007) (citing Fuller v. Johnson, 114 F.3d 491, 495 (5th Cir. 1997)).

For claims that were adjudicated on the merits in state court, "[o]ur role is to determine not whether [petitioner] is entitled to relief, but whether the district court's conclusion that the state court adjudication was not contrary to or an unreasonable application of clearly established federal law is one about which jurists of reason could disagree or as to which jurists could conclude that the issues presented are adequate to deserve encouragement to proceed further." Jackson v. Dretke, 450 F.3d 614, 616 (5th Cir.2006).

III. ANALYSIS

A. Remand is Unwarranted To Correct Any Alleged Error in the District Court's Denial of COA

Haynes presents two independent arguments alleging error in the district court's sua sponte denial of COA. First, he contends the district court cannot sua sponte deny a COA, and second, he contends the district court did not provide a sufficient statement of reasons for its denial of COA.

The first argument is without merit. We have clearly held that the district court's denial of COA sua sponte is "perfectly lawful." Alexander v. Johnson, 211 F.3d 895, 898 (5th Cir.2000).

In Alexander, we also suggested that a district court's sua sponte denial of COA was proper, in part, because "[the petitioner] points to no legal support for his contention that his rights were violated by the district court's sua sponte denial of COA without prior briefing and argument by counsel." Id. In his second argument, Haynes specifically contends that the district court's sua sponte denial violates the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 22(b)(1) because it does not supply adequate individualized reasons for its denial. Haynes contends that because of this violation, the district court's sua sponte denial is improper. Rule 22(b)(1) states, "[i]f an applicant files a notice of appeal the district judge who rendered the judgment must either issue a certificate of appealability or state why a certificate should not issue." (emphasis added). We have not explicitly ruled on what is required under Rule 22(b)(1), but other Circuit courts have rejected pro forma blanket denials. In Herrera v. Payne, 673 F.2d 307, 307 (10th Cir.1982), the Tenth Circuit vacated a blanket denial of a COA even though the denial referred to the extensive analysis in the court's decision to deny habeas relief. See also Brown v. Booker, 622 F.Supp. 993, 994 & n. 2 (E.D.Va.1985). In...