Lancaster v. Cook
| Decision Date | 20 February 1991 |
| Docket Number | No. 90-4113,90-4113 |
| Citation | 930 F.2d 34 |
| Parties | Unpublished Disposition NOTICE: Tenth Circuit Rule 36.3 states that unpublished opinions and orders and judgments have no precedential value and shall not be cited except for purposes of establishing the doctrines of the law of the case, res judicata, or collateral estoppel. Ronald Dean LANCASTER, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Gerald COOK, Warden, Utah State Prison, Respondent-Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Tenth Circuit |
Before STEPHEN H. ANDERSON, TACHA and BRORBY, Circuit Judges.
After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined unanimously that oral argument would not materially assist the determination of this appeal. See Fed.R.App.P. 34(a); 10th Cir.R. 34.1.9. The cause is therefore ordered submitted without oral argument.
Mr. Lancaster, an inmate in the state prison, appeals pro se the denial of his pro se petition for habeas corpus relief.
Mr. Lancaster, while serving a sentence of five years to life in the Utah State Prison, attacked and injured a guard with a homemade knife. He was convicted, under Utah law, of aggravated assault by a prisoner. It is this conviction that Mr. Lancaster now challenges in his petition for habeas corpus, which he filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Sec. 2254.
Mr. Lancaster appealed his conviction to the Utah Supreme Court, which affirmed the conviction in a unanimous opinion. State v. Lancaster, 765 P.2d 872 (1988).
Mr. Lancaster raised six issues in his habeas petition: (1) pretrial amendment of the indictment failed to give him proper notice and thus deprived him of due notice; (2) evidence presented at trial was insufficient to sustain his conviction; (3) his double jeopardy protection was violated; (4) his conviction was obtained with the use of perjured testimony; (5) prosecutorial misconduct; and (6) the statute under which he was convicted was unconstitutional in that it was overbroad. The district court, after referring the issues to a magistrate for a report and recommendation, decided all issues adversely to Mr. Lancaster.
On appeal to this court, Mr. Lancaster raises nine issues: (1) denial of a full and fair hearing, both in the Utah Supreme Court and the United States District Court; (2) defective information; (3) improper amendment of the information; (4) judicial bias in the state district court; (5) prosecutorial misconduct in using perjured testimony; (6) prosecutorial misconduct for withholding exculpatory evidence; (7) insufficient evidence to sustain the conviction; (8) the constitutionality of the Utah statute; and (9) he was denied the right to confront a medical witness.
Considering Mr. Lancaster's first claim, that the district court denied him a full and fair hearing, an evidentiary hearing is not necessary if the questions presented can be answered from the record before the district court. In the case before us, the record amply supports the decision of the district court. Considering the charge that the Utah Supreme Court denied Mr. Lancaster a full and fair hearing, this was neither raised before nor decided by the district court. Therefore, we will not decide this issue on appeal. United States v. Mitchell, 783 F.2d 971, 975 (10th Cir.), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 860 (1986). We note that Mr. Lancaster claims that the issues he raised before the Utah Supreme Court were "distorted, misrepresented and therefore never fully and fairly raised" and all of his claims were not addressed. Had Mr. Lancaster properly raised this issue, his claim would have been denied as he failed to show any specific facts as to how his claims were distorted and misrepresented and which of his claims were not addressed.
We have considered each of Mr. Lancaster's remaining arguments and have considered the law he has cited. We remain unpersuaded and in substantial agreement with the district court.
The certificate of probable cause is granted.
We AFFIRM the judgment of the district court for substantially the same reasons set forth in the magistrate's reports dated December 28, 1989 and June 28, 1990, and the orders of the district court dated March 19, 1990 and July 18, 1990, copies of all of which are attached hereto.
The mandate shall issue forthwith.
GERALD COOK, Warden, Utah State Prison, Respondent.
march 19, 1990.
The petitioner, Ronald Dean Lancaster, an inmate at the Utah State Prison, filed a petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus under 28 U.S.C. Sec. 2254. He challenges his conviction of Aggravated Assault by a Prisoner in the Utah state courts. The Utah Supreme Court unanimously affirmed his conviction. State v. Lancaster, 765 P.2d 872 (1988). The court referred the case to the United States Magistrate pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Sec. 636(b)(1)(B). The respondent moved to dismiss the petition claiming that the petitioner was not entitled to the relief he demanded. The court received the Magistrate's Report and Recommendation on December 28, 1989, and the petitioner timely filed objections to the Magistrate's Report and Recommendation.
The petitioner raises six objections to the Magistrate's recommendation that the case be dismissed. First, petitioner argues that the Magistrate failed to address whether the statute under which the petitioner was convicted, Utah Code Ann. Sec. 76-5-103.5(2), is unconstitutionally vague and overbroad. Second, the petitioner claims that the information did not specifically charge him with an offense. Third, in a related argument, petitioner claims that he was convicted on a defective information. Petitioner was originally charged with a capital felony under section 76-5-103.5(2)(b) which requires serious bodily injury to the victim, but the state court judge amended the information to charge a first degree felony under section 76-5-103.5(2)(a), which does not require serious bodily injury as an element. Fourth, petitioner alleges that the evidence introduced at trial was insufficient to sustain the conviction. Finally, in his fifth and sixth objections petitioner claims prosecutorial misconduct in As to the first claim, that the statute under which the petitioner was convicted is unconstitutionally vague and overbroad, the court finds that neither the respondent Motion to Dismiss or the Magistrate's Report and Recommendation squarely addressed these issues. Therefore, the petition, in so far as it raises these issues, should not be dismissed.
that the prosecutor knowingly used perjured testimony to convict the petitioner.
As to the remaining infirmities petitioner alleges, however, the court is persuaded that the Magistrate adequately addressed each of these grounds. Moreover, the court has carefully reviewed the file, the state court transcripts, and the Utah Supreme Court's decision affirming the petitioner's conviction where many of the arguments petitioner raises here were also raised, argued, and rejected. In addition, the court has examined the case law cited by the Magistrate and by the respondent in his Memorandum. In all instances, the court finds, in accordance with the Magistrate, that the petitioner has not adequately stated any valid constitutional infirmity. Therefore, the court hereby adopts as its own the findings contained in the Magistrate's Report and Recommendation.
The petition is ordered dismissed in all respects except for the claim that Utah Code Ann. Sec. 76-5-103(2)(b) is unconstitutionally vague and overbroad. Consistent with the general order of reference the court previously signed on January 18, 1989, the is hereby referred back to the Magistrate.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
GERALD COOK, Warden, Utah State Prison, Respondent.
Case No. 89-C-3 A.
July 18, 1990.
The petitioner, Ronald Dean Lancaster, an inmate at the Utah State Prison, filed a petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus under 28 U.S.C. Sec. 2254. He challenges his conviction in the Utah state courts of Aggravated Assault by a Prisoner, in violation of Utah Code Ann. Sec. 76-5-103.5(2)(a). The Utah Supreme Court unanimously affirmed his conviction. State v. Lancaster, 765 P.2d 872 (1988). The court referred the case to the United States Magistrate pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Sec. 636(b)(1)(B). The magistrate submitted a report and recommendation on December 28, 1989, and the petitioner timely filed objections to the report and recommendation. The court adopted as its own, the findings contained in the magistrate's report and recommendation and ordered the petition dismissed in all respects except for the claim that Utah Code Ann. Sec. 76-5-103.5 is unconstitutionally vague and overbroad. The court found that neither the respondent's Motion to Dismiss nor the magistrate's report and recommendation addressed petitioner's claim that the statute is unconstitutionally vague and overbroad. The court again referred the matter to the magistrate under 28 U.S.C. Sec. 636(b)(1)(B) for additional consideration of this claim. The magistrate submitted his report and recommendation pursuant to this second reference on June 23, 1990. The magistrate recommended that petitioner's claim of unconstitutionality be dismissed and that respondent's motion to dismiss the petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus be granted. Subsequently, petitioner filed an objection to the magistrate's report and recommendation.
Before the court are petitioner's claim that Utah Code Ann. Sec. 76-5-103.5 is unconstitutionally vague and overbroad, and respondent's motion to dismiss the petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus. Having thoroughly reviewed this matter, the court is now prepared to rule.
Mr. Lancaster claims...
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