Jones v. Murphy
| Decision Date | 29 August 2012 |
| Docket Number | Docket No. 10–3997–pr. |
| Parties | Jermaine JONES, Petitioner–Appellant, v. Peter MURPHY, Warden, Respondent–Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Randolph Z. Volkell, Merrick, NY, for Petitioner–Appellant.
Marjorie Allen Dauster, Senior Assistant State's Attorney, Rocky Hill, CT, for Respondent–Appellee.
Before: POOLER, RAGGI, and LYNCH, Circuit Judges.
Petitioner-appellant Jermaine Jones was convicted of murder by a Connecticut jury in 2004. The Connecticut Supreme Court affirmed his conviction by opinion in 2007. In 2010, Jones filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 in the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut. That court (Janet C. Hall, Judge ) denied the petition, and this Court granted a certificate of appealability as to some of his claims. Jones argues that the state trial court's decision to exclude him from the courtroom violated his federal constitutional right to be present at his trial, and that police interrogation shortly after the murder violated his Miranda rights.
We find that any error in initially excluding Jones was harmless because he did not miss any critical stage of the trial as a result of that exclusion. Furthermore, because the subsequent decision to continue Jones's exclusion was attributable to his own violent conduct, the Connecticut Supreme Court reasonably applied United States Supreme Court precedent in upholding the trial court's decision. Jones's two claims of improper police procedure in his interrogation are also meritless. One claim misapprehends Supreme Court precedent; the other was never raised in state court and is thus unavailable for review in federal court. We therefore affirm the denial of the writ.
The facts of the underlying crime are essentially undisputed. A more detailed recitation is available in the Connecticut Supreme Court's opinion. See State v. Jones, 281 Conn. 613, 916 A.2d 17, 21–22 (2007).
In June 2001, Jones lived with his then girlfriend, Erica Minnifield, in Hartford, Connecticut. On June 22, 2001, Jones and Minnifield traveled to Waterbury to visit friends and family. Minnifield, without Jones, then went to a shopping mall with Thomas Williams, the victim, and purchased clothing. Later that evening, Jones saw Minnifield wearing new clothing and suspected that another man had purchased it for her. While being driven back to Hartford together later that night by a friend, Jones confronted Minnifield about the new clothing. During the confrontation, Jones threatened Minnifield with a knife and cut her on the arm. When the couple arrived at home, Minnifield ran into a neighbor's yard, but Jones found her and dragged her back into the house. He then cut her pants from her body using the same knife. Minnifield fled the next morning.
Later that day, Jones saw Minnifield driving with Williams and became enraged. Jones went with a friend to look for Williams. When they found him, Jones approached Williams and cocked a handgun hidden in his jacket. Jones then asked Williams, “[Y]o, you gonna stop fucking around with my girl?” Williams laughed and asked Jones what he meant. Jones told him that he would kill Williams if he saw him again with Minnifield. Jones then removed the handgun from his jacket and shot Williams four times. Williams died shortly thereafter.
Jones was arrested at his home on June 27, 2001, between 9:00 and 10:00 a.m. Scott Stevenson, a detective with the Waterbury Police Department, executed the arrest warrant and, after searching the home, brought Jones back to the police station, where he was to be interviewed by detectives assigned to the case, between noon and 1:00 p.m. Because those detectives were not available, Stevenson was assigned to guard Jones in the interview room, the door of which did not lock. Stevenson was not instructed to interview Jones or ask him any questions.
Because it was lunchtime, Stevenson ordered food for himself and Jones, and the two men had a long conversation on various topics unrelated to the arrest. Eventually, Jones, unprompted, said that he hadn't killed anyone. Stevenson ignored the statement, but shortly thereafter, Jones said, “I know you guys think it's about the girl.” According to the Connecticut Supreme Court, State v. Jones, 916 A.2d at 40 (alterations omitted).
Following that statement, Stevenson left the room to ask how to proceed; he was instructed to deliver Miranda warnings and then seek a confession. Stevenson advised Jones of his rights, and Jones then provided an oral confession. After signing an acknowledgment that he knew his rights, Jones signed a written confession as well. Jones also helped the police to find the murder weapon by telling police to speak to his brother, who knew the weapon's whereabouts. When his brother was initially unwilling to aid police, Jones spoke to him on the phone, after which his brother led police to the weapon.
On January 27, 2004, the trial court held a hearing on Jones's motion to suppress his confession. The court also heard arguments about whether and to what extent the prosecution would be permitted to discuss Jones's threats to Minnifield and Minnifield's knife injuries. The parties agreed, and the court ruled, that Minnifield's “injuries [could] be noted,” since they were relevant to understanding the sequence of events, but that the knife should not be mentioned as the source, as Jones was not charged with assaulting Minnifield.
On January 30, the court denied the motion to suppress the confession. Jones attempted personally to dispute the court's ruling, but the court told Jones that he could appeal the ruling later. On the way back to jail that evening, Jones, angry at the ruling, punched his hand through a Plexiglas window. The trial court learned of this incident during pretrial proceedings on February 2, 2004, the first day of trial.
The prosecution called Minnifield as one of its first few witnesses on February 2. During the course of Minnifield's testimony, the assistant state's attorney asked Minnifield several questions that went beyond the scope of the court's order concerning Jones's possession and use of the knife. Defense counsel did not object. During a recess, the court admonished the assistant state's attorney. Defense counsel explained that he had not objected at the time because he did not want to draw the jury's attention to the testimony, but he requested a cautionary instruction. The court agreed that such an instruction was the proper remedy and subsequently delivered it.
At the beginning of proceedings on February 3, before the jury entered the courtroom, defense counsel alerted the court that Jones would like to seek a mistrial on the basis of Minnifield's testimony. Defense counsel then informed the court that although counsel was satisfied that the court had adequately resolved the issue, Jones was not, and “as a result of what [Jones] considered to be [ ] the prejudicial impact of [ ] Minnifield's testimony,” Jones “would choose personally at this point not to go further with the proceedings.”
To the extent there was any ambiguity about the meaning of counsel's statement, Jones himself made clear that he wanted leave the courtroom. Jones addressed the court himself, stating that in light of the court's rulings, “I don't even want to be here then.” A colloquy ensued between the court and Jones. The court warned Jones that “[t]he case is going to proceed, you know, without you” and that Jones was “going to be prejudiced by this.” The court also repeatedly asked if Jones understood what he was doing. The colloquy culminated in the following exchange:
After the recess, and after a further discussion with counsel, the court excused the jury for the remainder of the day. The court also had a discussion with the chief marshal, Anthony Candido, about Jones's behavior. Candido informed the court that after he was removed, Jones had made threatening comments that he would “continue to fight” and would “bring you people down” and had refused to place his hands behind his back. Candido also noted that one marshal had to be sent to the hospital as a result of injuries sustained in attempting to restrain Jones. Candido recommended that Jones be kept in full restraints if he returned.
The court stated:
I'm very concerned, having observed ... the defendant over the course of jury selection, especially after...
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