Johnson v. Mechling

Decision Date31 March 2008
Docket NumberNo. 4:04-CV-1564.,4:04-CV-1564.
Citation541 F.Supp.2d 651
PartiesLorenzo JOHNSON, Petitioner v. Neal MECHLING, et al., Respondents.
CourtU.S. District Court — Middle District of Pennsylvania

Michael Wiseman, Defender Association of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, for Petitioner.

William R. Stoycos, Office of Attorney General, Harrisburg, PA, for Respondent, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

MEMORANDUM

JOHN E. JONES, III, District Judge.

This matter is before the Court on the petition of Lorenzo Johnson for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. Johnson seeks relief from the life sentence imposed by the Court of Common Pleas of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania for his convictions of first degree murder and criminal conspiracy. For the reasons set forth below, the Court will deny the petition.

I. PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Johnson filed a pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus pursuant to § 2254 on July 19, 2004.1 (Doc. 1.) Johnson filed a pro se memorandum of law in support of his petition on March 6, 2006.2 (Doc. 20.) On July 24, 2006, counsel was appointed to represent Johnson.3 (Doc. 25.) With the assistance of counsel, Johnson filed a supplemental memorandum in support of his petition on March 6, 2007. (Doc. 33.) Johnson also filed a motion for discovery (Doc. 34), which was granted, subject to in camera review (see Docs. 42, 45, 50, 53). The Respondents filed their response to Johnson's petition on December 24, 2007. (Doc. 64.) Johnson filed a reply brief in support of his petition on January 23, 2008. (Doc. 70.) The petition is now ripe for the Court's review.4

II. BACKGROUND

On March 17, 1997, following a three-day jury trial in the Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas, Lorenzo Johnson and co-defendant Corey Walker were found guilty of murder in the first degree and criminal conspiracy to commit murder. (Notes of Trial Testimony, Commonwealth v. Johnson, et al, Nos. 1544 CD 1996 and 2739 CD 1996, Docs. 66-11 to 66-24 [hereinafter N.T.] at 428-29.) Johnson and Walker were both sentenced to mandatory life imprisonment on the murder conviction and concurrent five to ten years of imprisonment on the conspiracy conviction. (N.T. 431-35.)

On March 27, 1997, Johnson's trial counsel filed a post-sentence motion with the trial court on the grounds that "the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to show that Lorenzo Johnson participated in the murder" and that "the verdict returned by the jury was against the weight of the evidence presented at trial, such that it tends to shock one's sense of justice." (Doc. 33-2 at 23, 24.)5 The motion did not cite to any caselaw. Relying only on Pennsylvania law, the Court of Common Pleas denied Johnson's post-sentence motion by order of August 25, 1997. (Id. at 27.)

On April 30, 1998, Johnson, still represented by trial counsel, filed a direct appeal to the Pennsylvania Superior Court, again arguing that the evidence adduced at trial was insufficient as a matter of law to sustain a guilty verdict and that the verdict was against the weight of evidence. (Id. at 34, 41.) Johnson cited only to Pennsylvania law governing these issues. (Id. at 38-39, 47.) On September 28, 1998, the Superior Court affirmed Johnson's and Walker's conviction and sentence. (Doc. 64-6 at 1.) In doing so, the Superior Court applied only Pennsylvania law. (Id. at 5-8.) One judge of the court filed a separate opinion concurring with portion of the decision affirming Walker's convictions, but dissenting from the portion affirming Johnson's convictions. (Id. at 9-10.) This judge did not further elaborate on the reasons for his separate opinion.

Johnson filed a petition for allowance of appeal with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, again arguing that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions and that the verdict was against the weight of the evidence. (Doc. 64-7.) The petition cited no supporting legal authority. On February 26, 1999, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court denied the petition. (Doc. 64-8.)

On December 1, 1999, Johnson filed a pro se petition for relief under Pennsylvania's Post Conviction Relief Act ("PCRA"). (Docs. 66-2, 66-3.) After the appointment of counsel to represent Johnson, an amended PCRA petition was filed on March 21, 2000. (Doc. 64-9.) The amended petition raised several grounds for relief. Johnson argued that the failure of the Commonwealth to disclose the existence of a plea agreement with witness Victoria Doubs violated the due process guarantees of the Pennsylvania and United States Constitutions. (Id. at 15.) Johnson also argued that he was denied the right to counsel guaranteed by the Pennsylvania and United States Constitutions because his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance by (i) failing to object to the trial court's jury instructions and request a standard jury instructions on inconsistent statements and witness credibility; (ii) failing to object to the hearsay testimony; (iii) failing to call Adrian Fluellen to testify; (iv) failing to call Larry Pates to testify; (v) failing to object to a certain remark in the prosecutor's closing argument; and (vi) improperly persuading Johnson not to testify.

Following an evidentiary hearing, the Court of Common Pleas denied each of Johnson's claims on the merits by order of April 29, 2002. (Doc. 33-2 at 74.) Johnson appealed to the Superior Court, reasserting the same grounds for relief. (Doc. 66, 66-5.) By order of July 17, 2003, the Superior Court affirmed the denial of Johnson's PCRA petition. (Doc. 33-2 at 93.) The court first found that Johnson's due process claim had not been raised on direct appeal, and therefore was not preserved for PCRA review and was waived. The Superior Court adopted the trial court's merits analysis in rejecting Johnson's other claims. Johnson filed a petition for allowance of appeal with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court (Doc. 66-9), which the Court denied on April 2, 2004 (Doc. 64-12).6

III. STANDARD OF REVIEW

Title 28 U.S.C. § 2254, as amended by the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 ("AEDPA"), Pub.L No. 104-132, 110 Stat. 1214 (1996), provides the standards for federal courts reviewing state court judgments challenged by petitions for writ of habeas corpus.

Before a federal court may review the merits of a § 2254 petition, the petitioner must demonstrate exhaustion of state court remedies and lack of procedural default. Section 2254(b) provides that "[a]n application for a writ of habeas corpus on behalf of a person in custody pursuant to the judgment of a State court shall not be granted unless it appears that the applicant has exhausted the remedies available in the courts of the State." 28 U.S.C. § 2254(b)(1)(A). "An applicant shall not be deemed to have exhausted the remedies available in the courts of the State ... if he has the right under the law of the State to raise, by any available procedure, the question presented." 28 U.S.C. § 2254(c). To exhaust available state court remedies, a petitioner must "fairly present" his claim through one complete round of the state's established appellate review process in order to give the state courts one full opportunity to resolve any constitutional issues.7 Nara v. Frank, 488 F.3d 187, 197 (3d Cir.2007).

If a petitioner fails to fairly present a claim to the state courts, and state procedural rules bar him from now doing so, the exhaustion requirement is satisfied because there is literally "an absence of available State corrective process" under 28 U.S.C. § 2254(b). Whitney v. Horn, 280 F.3d 240, 252-53 (3d Cir.2002). In such a case, however, the petitioner has procedurally defaulted his claim, and federal courts may not consider the merits of such a claim unless the petitioner establishes "cause and prejudice" or a "fundamental miscarriage of justice" to excuse the default. Id. Even when a petitioner properly exhausts a claim, a federal court may not review it on the merits if a state court's decision rests on a violation of a state procedural rule that is independent of the federal question presented and adequate to support the judgment. Id.; Leyva v. Williams, 504 F.3d 357, 365-66 (3d Cir.2007).

If the petitioner has exhausted available state remedies and the claims raised in the petition are not in procedural default, a federal court may reach the merits of the petition. The federal court's review, however, is limited by the deference owed to the state courts' decisions on the merits. Section 2254(d) provides:

An application for a writ of habeas corpus on behalf of a person in custody pursuant to the judgment of a State court shall not be granted with respect to any claim that was adjudicated on the merits in State court proceedings unless the adjudication of the claim —

(1) 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

(2) resulted in a decision that was based on an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented in the State court proceeding.

28 U.S.C. § 2254(d).

The "contrary to" or "unreasonable application" of federal law standard of review mandated by § 2254(d)(1) requires a three-step process. See Outten v. Kearney, 464 F.3d 401, 413 (3d Cir.2006). First, the court must identify the "clearly established Federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court of the United States" applicable to the petitioner's claims. Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. 362, 389-91, 120 S.Ct. 1495, 146 L.Ed.2d 389 (2000); Outten, 464 F.3d at 414. "That statutory phrase refers to the holdings, as opposed to the dicta, of [the Supreme] Court's decisions as of the time of the relevant state-court decision." Id. at 412.

Next, the court must determine whether the state-court decision was "contrary to" the identified federal law. Outten, 464 F.3d at 413. A state-court decision is contrary to federal law if the state court applies a rule that contradicts...

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