Lambert v. Maass
| Decision Date | 27 October 1994 |
| Docket Number | No. 93-36055,93-36055 |
| Citation | 39 F.3d 1187 |
| Parties | NOTICE: Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3 provides that dispositions other than opinions or orders designated for publication are not precedential and should not be cited except when relevant under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, or collateral estoppel. William Edward LAMBERT, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Manfred F. MAASS, Respondent-Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit |
Before: THOMPSON and LEAVY, Circuit Judges, and TASHIMA, District Judge. *
William Edward Lambert appeals the district court's denial of his 28 U.S.C. Sec. 2254 habeas corpus petition, challenging his conviction on three counts of kidnapping in the first degree, rape in the first degree with a firearm, and menacing. He claims that (1) evidence of prior bad acts was improperly admitted at his trial in violation of his right to due process; (2) his right against self-incrimination was violated by introduction of his inculpatory statements at trial; and (3) the trial court enhanced his sentence under Oregon's "dangerous offender" statute, Oregon Revised Statute 161.725, based on insufficient evidence.
We have jurisdiction under 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1291 and we affirm.
About six months after Lambert married Susanna Stevenson, he began a cycle of physical and sexual abuse against her daughter, Denise Foster. Denise, who was fourteen years old at the time of trial, initially did not inform anyone of the abuse. Eventually, however, she told her mother about Lambert's physical, though not about his sexual, misconduct. Denise was taken into foster care, but she returned home two weeks later pursuant to an agreement between Susanna and the Children's Services Department, which required Susanna to remove Lambert from the home. With Susanna's permission, however, Lambert moved into another house that she owned across the street.
On the evening of January 20, 1989, Susanna, at his request, visited Lambert's residence. Lambert pretended to be in the bathroom by running water in the shower, but instead stole across the street and into Denise's bedroom. Once there, he climbed on top of her while she was asleep. She got out from under him with the help of her brothers and sisters. By that time, Susanna had returned to the home and forced Lambert to leave.
Early the next morning, Lambert again persuaded Susanna to come to his house. When she arrived, he forced her at gunpoint to call Denise and prompt her to come over as well. After Denise arrived, Lambert threatened her with a shotgun and raped her.
Before long, both women managed to escape. Lambert was arrested soon thereafter. The police advised him of his Miranda rights and he stated that he understood them. Later, he read a waiver form aloud and signed it. He then made various incriminating statements.
Prior to trial, Lambert moved to suppress his statements to the police on the ground that they were involuntary. His motion was denied. Over Lambert's objection, the trial court also permitted the state to introduce evidence of his prior sexual misconduct with Denise. Lambert was convicted on all counts, and the trial court sentenced him to an enhanced sentence under Oregon's "dangerous offender" statute.
We review de novo the district court's decision to grant or deny a petition for habeas corpus. Adams v. Peterson, 968 F.2d 835, 943 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 113 S.Ct. 1818 (1992). However, "[t]o the extent it is necessary to review findings of fact, the clearly erroneous standard applies." Thomas v. Brewer, 923 F.2d 1361, 1364 (9th Cir.1991).
Whether a state trial court correctly applied its own rules of evidence is not a matter cognizable on federal habeas corpus. Estelle v. McGuire, 112 S.Ct. 475, 480 (1991); Jammal v. Van de Kamp, 926 F.2d 918, 919 (9th Cir.1991). However, if "the admission of evidence so fatally infected the proceedings as to render them fundamentally unfair," habeas corpus relief is available. Jammal, 926 F.2d at 919. Lambert claims that admission of evidence that he engaged in prior acts of sexual misconduct with Denise Foster compromised his due process right to a fair trial by "permitting [the jury] to find him guilty merely because they felt it was his character to commit sexual assault."
As a preliminary matter, the government argues Lambert's due process claim is not appropriate for federal habeas corpus review because it was not adequately raised and litigated in state court. Although Lambert relied partly on the Due Process Clause in his state trial court motion to exclude evidence of his prior acts, he appealed the denial of that motion to the Oregon appellate court based only on state evidence law.
Federal habeas corpus is available only after all state avenues of relief have been exhausted. 28 U.S.C. Sec. 2254(b) (1988). However, exhaustion of state remedies requires only that a petitioner "fairly present[ ] the substance of his federal claim to the state courts." Henry v. Estelle, 993 F.2d 1423, 1425 (9th Cir.1993). See also McQueary v. Blodgett, 924 F.2d 829, 833 (9th Cir.1991). "[A] federal claim is fairly presented if the petitioner has described the operative facts and legal theory upon which his claim is based." Henry, 993 F.2d at 1425 (quoting Tamapua v. Shimoda, 796 F.2d 261, 262 (9th Cir.1986)). Thus, "to state a federal due process claim it is not necessary to invoke 'the talismanic phrase due process of law' or cite 'book and verse on the federal constitution.' " Id. at 1426 (quoting Tamapua, 796 F.2d at 263). So long as a petitioner makes "essentially the same arguments" before the state and federal courts, the exhaustion requirement is satisfied. Id.
In his direct appeal, Lambert asserted that the government introduced evidence of his prior sexual acts with Denise Foster, in violation of Oregon Evidence Code Sec. 404(3), to prove his predisposition to commit the charged crime. He presently claims that introduction of this evidence violated his right to a fair trial by permitting the jury to convict him based on his sordid character and prior bad acts, rather than on a reasoned determination that the prosecution had established his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Under either theory, the threshold question is whether the "other acts" evidence was in fact offered to prove Lambert's propensity to commit sexual assault. Thus, we conclude that Lambert presented "essentially the same argument" to the Oregon Court of Appeals and we are free to address the merits of his habeas claim.
Traditionally, evidence of prior bad acts, when used to show a propensity to behave accordingly, is excluded at trial in order to "force the jury, as much as humanly possible, to put aside emotions and prejudices ... and decide if the prosecution has convinced them, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the defendant is guilty of the crime charged." McKinney v. Rees, 993 F.2d 1378, 1384 (9th Cir.1993).
[T]he underlying premise of our criminal justice system [is] that the defendant must be tried for what he did, not who he is. Under our system, an individual may be convicted only for the offense of which he is charged and not for other unrelated criminal acts which he may have committed. Therefore, the guilt or innocence of the accused must be established by evidence relevant to the particular offense being tried, not by showing that the defendant has engaged in other acts of wrongdoing.
United States v. Hodges, 770 F.2d 1475, 1479 (9th Cir.1985). Other crimes evidence "is said to weigh too much with the jury and to so overpersuade them as to prejudge one with a bad general record and deny him a fair opportunity to defend against a particular charge." Michelson v. United States, 335 U.S. 469, 476 (1948).
We have held, however, that due process is violated "[o]nly if there are no permissible inferences the jury may draw from the evidence." McKinney, 993 F.2d at 1384 (quoting Jammal, 926 F.2d at 920). Although prior bad acts evidence cannot be used to demonstrate a criminal predisposition, such evidence is admissable for purposes of proving other relevant facts, including motive, identity, knowledge, opportunity, intent, and lack of accident or mistake. See, e.g., United States v. Hadley, 918 F.2d 848 (9th Cir.1990) (), cert. dismissed as improvidently granted, 113 S.Ct. 486 (1992). Moreover, a defendant cannot complain about the admission of bad acts evidence when he himself opens the door, either by introducing the subject or by advancing a theory that makes his prior acts relevant on an issue other than criminal propensity. See, e.g., United States v. Bailleaux, 685 F.2d 1105, 1110 (9th Cir.1982) (); United States v. Sarault, 840 F.2d 1479, 1485-86 (9th Cir.1988) (); United States v. Lewis, 837 F.2d 415, 418-19 (9th Cir.) (same), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 923 (1988); United States v. Hooten, 662 F.2d 628, 634-35 (9th Cir.) (same), cert. denied, 455 U.S. 1004 (1981).
In this case, the government did not introduce evidence of Lambert's prior acts to show his propensity to engage in sexual misconduct, either in general or with Denise specifically. 1 Rather, the evidence was offered to refute Lambert's claim that Denise and her mother fabricated their testimony concerning the kidnappings and rape because their earlier complaints that Lambert physically abused Denise...
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...the subject or by advancing a theory that makes his prior acts relevant on an issue other than criminal propensity.” Lambert v. Maass, 39 F.3d 1187 (9th Cir. 1994). Thus, admission of the testimony was not erroneous, much less suggestive of judicial misconduct or bias. See Larson, 515 F.3d ......