Hockett v. Duckworth, 91-3139
| Decision Date | 26 July 1993 |
| Docket Number | No. 91-3139,91-3139 |
| Citation | 999 F.2d 1160 |
| Parties | Ralph S. HOCKETT, II, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Jack R. DUCKWORTH and Indiana Attorney General, Respondents-Appellees. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit |
Rick C. Gikas (argued), Kopack & Gikas, Merrillville, IN, for petitioner-appellant.
David A. Nowak (argued), Michael A. Schoening, Deputy Attys. Gen., Linley E. Pearson, Atty. Gen., Office of Attorney Gen., Federal Litigation, Indianapolis, IN, for respondents-appellees.
Before COFFEY and RIPPLE, Circuit Judges, and ESCHBACH, Senior Circuit Judge.
Ralph Hockett, II appeals the district court's denial of his pro se petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 challenging his Indiana state court convictions for murder, burglary, robbery and arson. Hockett argues that the district court erred in dismissing his habeas petition without holding an evidentiary hearing to explore his claim that his attorneys rendered ineffective assistance of counsel. We affirm.
On May 12, 1980, Clyde T. Meyers was murdered, robbed and his house set on fire. Meyers died from trauma caused as a result of being struck in the head and torso with a blunt instrument and stabbed in the back with a sharp object. Sgt. Rodney Jones of the Indiana Sheriff's Department investigated the murder and concluded that Meyers' walking crutch was the blunt instrument used to inflict the fatal injuries. Robert Brunner, a witness to the fire at Meyers' house, advised Sgt. Jones and his investigating officers that he observed a gold Chrysler automobile leaving the driveway of Meyers' home shortly before the fire started and later identified Hockett as the driver of the Chrysler. Martha Matthews, a neighbor of Meyers', saw Hockett and a gold Chrysler motor vehicle in the vicinity of Meyers' house about forty-five minutes before the fire started.
Suspecting Hockett was involved in the Meyers murder, Sgt. Jones and several other sheriff's department officers arrested Hockett at his home on several outstanding traffic warrants. After he was arrested and taken into custody, Hockett signed a waiver of rights and made a statement to the police admitting he was in Meyers' residence when one or more of Meyers' assailants used Meyers' crutch to murder him. Hockett also during the questioning admitted having in his possession two of the victim's hurricane lamps, as well as an owl figurine, and two television sets of Meyers'. Based on Hockett's statement, Sgt. Jones procured a search warrant for Hockett's residence. During the execution of the search warrant, Jones discovered two television sets, two hurricane lamps and an owl figurine in Hockett's residence that Ivan Meyers (Meyers' brother) and Linda Bee (Meyers' granddaughter) identified as belonging to Meyers. In oral argument, Hockett's counsel conceded that there were "blood stains on ... items [of personal property] stolen" from Meyers found in the police search of Hockett's home. When asked how Hockett possessed blood-stained pillowcases from the victim's room, Hockett's attorney replied in oral argument that he received the pillowcases after the murder. In the state court's post-conviction hearing, Hockett's trial counsel, Richard Gilroy, testified that Hockett "had some pillowcases in his home that had blood of the same type of the victim[, which] ... were taken in th[e] ... search of his home." Similarly, Hockett's other trial attorney, Preston Breunig, stated at the hearing that he believed the victim's blood-stained pillowcases were found in Hockett's apartment. Jones' search of Hockett's home also uncovered a pair of Hockett's tennis shoes that appeared to contain splotches of blood. Carol Kohlmann, a forensic serologist employed by the Indianapolis Police Department Crime Laboratory, testified in the state post-conviction hearing that a preliminary test for blood on the toe of Hockett's right tennis shoe gave a positive reading for blood. Kohlmann ran an additional test on the substance on the tennis shoe, but was unable to obtain a positive confirmation of the blood for there was an insufficient amount of the substance left on the shoe after the original testing procedure.
On May 16, 1980, Hockett was charged with murder and three counts of burglary, robbery, and arson, all in connection with Meyers' murder. The State sought the death penalty for Hockett's role in Meyers' fatal injuries. Hockett initially entered pleas of not guilty to the four count indictment. Prior to trial, the State offered Hockett the following plea agreement:
In return for the guilty pleas, the State agreed to drop its request for the death penalty.
On August 25, 1981, Hockett appeared in the state trial court for a hearing on his motion to suppress evidence. 1 Prior to this suppression hearing, Breunig and Gilroy, Hockett's trial attorneys, spent approximately 1 to 1.5 hours discussing with their client the overwhelming evidence incriminating him in the offenses charged and explaining the maximum and minimum possible sentences he could receive should he accept or refuse the plea agreement. Hockett claims that one of the items of evidence the attorneys told him was in the State's possession was a pair of his tennis shoes stained with the murder victim's blood. Hockett testified that he agreed to plead guilty to the four count indictment after his attorneys told him they had seen his tennis shoes stained with the victim's blood because "then I knew that if the State had a pair of tennis shoes to go in front of a jury, that I would in all likelihood go to the electric chair."
During the suppression hearing in the trial court, Hockett's attorneys requested leave to withdraw the petitioner's pleas of not guilty to the indictment and enter a plea of guilty to the four counts pursuant to the terms of the plea agreement. At this time, Hockett stated 1) that he understood that by pleading guilty he would forfeit his rights to a jury trial and to confront his accusers, 2) that he had an opportunity to consult with counsel before entering his guilty pleas, and 3) that he was voluntarily and knowingly pleading guilty to murder, robbery, burglary and arson. When the court asked, "Has anybody promised you, threatened you, coerced you, in any way to enter this plea," the petitioner answered, "No, sir." The record reveals that prior to his guilty plea hearing, Attorney Gilroy advised Hockett of the "penalties ... for which ... he was charged, [and] the crimes for which he was charged." Further, Gilroy stated that he "discussed [with Hockett] all of the penalty possibilities, maximum, minimum, and ... discussed ... the fact that he was charged with a crime punishable by death in the electric chair." The prosecutor, Greg Harrison, gave a factual basis for the guilty plea and also stated that witness Robert Brunner observed Hockett leaving Meyers' residence in a Chrysler automobile shortly before the fire started; that Hockett admitted to being present when Meyers was killed; and that he admitted to leaving with one of Meyers' television sets after the murder. On September 21, 1981, the state court accepted Hockett's guilty pleas.
Before his sentencing hearing, Hockett requested that Breunig send him a copy of the laboratory report of the tests run on his tennis shoes and the items of Meyers' personal property found at Hockett's house. Breunig agreed to copy Hockett's file, including the laboratory report, and Hockett received copies of the file and the laboratory report after the date of sentencing. During his sentencing hearing, Hockett testified that he was voluntarily and knowingly pleading guilty to the charged offenses. The trial court sentenced Hockett to 35 years imprisonment for the murder count and 30-year terms of imprisonment for each of the burglary, robbery, and arson counts, all to run concurrently. Hockett signed a plea agreement and was informed at his guilty plea hearing that this was the sentencing recommendation of the state.
On September 2, 1985, approximately four years after Hockett entered his plea of guilty, he filed a Petition for Post-Conviction Relief in the Indiana court system claiming that he was denied effective assistance of counsel and that he did not knowingly and voluntarily plead guilty in 1981 to the murder, burglary, robbery and arson counts because he was inaccurately advised by his attorneys that the State had in its possession a pair of Hockett's tennis shoes stained with the murder victim's blood. The post-conviction trial court held an evidentiary hearing on Hockett's claims. At the hearing, Hockett stated that one of his attorneys, Breunig, advised him before the motion-to-suppress hearing that he (Breunig) had seen the blood-stained tennis shoes. Hockett claims that his other attorney, Gilroy, joined in the conversation about the tennis shoes and that both attorneys informed him "that the State had in their possession a pair of tennis shoes with the victim's blood on it."
Further, the post-conviction record reveals that in Hockett's guilty plea hearing, the prosecutor erroneously stated:
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