Meade v. Lavigne
| Decision Date | 30 May 2003 |
| Docket Number | No. 02-CV-70016-DT.,02-CV-70016-DT. |
| Citation | 265 F.Supp.2d 849 |
| Parties | Jamie MEADE, Petitioner, v. Fabian LAVIGNE, Respondent. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Michigan |
Jamie Meade, Kincheloe, MI, Pro se.
Brenda E. Turner, Michigan Department of Attorney General, Habeas Corpus Division, Lansing, MI, for Respondent.
Petitioner Jamie Meade has filed an application for the writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. The habeas petition attacks Petitioner's state court convictions for first-degree murder, accessory after the fact, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony (felony firearm). For all the reasons given below, the habeas petition is denied.
In 1993, Petitioner was tried jointly with co-defendant Brian Barkley, but before separate juries, in the former Recorder's Court for the City of Detroit, Michigan. The jury found Petitioner guilty of firstdegree murder, MICH. COMP. LAWS § 750.316, accessory after the fact to an assault with intent to commit murder, MICH. COMP. LAWS § 750.83, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, MICH. COMP. LAWS § 750.227b.1
The convictions arose from the shooting of Jason Thompson and Evelyn Blythe during a purported marijuana transaction. The evidence produced at trial established that, on January 8, 1993, Petitioner was heard saying that Jason Thompson and Evelyn Blythe needed to be robbed because Jason cheated Petitioner during a previous marijuana transaction.
On the following day, Petitioner, Brian Barkley, Christopher Long, Christopher Chirillo, and Carlton Johnson went to Jason Thompson's house. They left when it became apparent that they did not have enough money for the amount of marijuana that they wanted to acquire. They went to a party store where Petitioner held up a shotgun, pumped it, and said he was preparing to take care of some business. Then the group returned to Jason's house.
Christopher Long, Christopher Chirillo, and Carlton Johnson stayed in the car. Petitioner and Brian Barkley entered Jason's house where he had a bedroom in the basement. Evelyn Blythe saw the men talking. She heard a loud noise and noticed that Jason was dead. Then she heard Petitioner said, "Shoot her," and Barkley shot her. Petitioner ran up the stairs and outside to the getaway car where he told his companions to wait for Barkley. Barkley followed with the gun, which belonged to Petitioner. After both men had returned to the car, Petitioner or Barkley said that they had "popped" (shot) them. Petitioner said that he did not think the girl was dead.
Petitioner possessed marijuana in the car, but he also returned money to Christopher Long. He told Christopher Chirillo to drive to the river, and he threatened to kill everyone in the car if his instructions were not followed. Petitioner and Brian Barkley threw coats and the gun in the river. Then they went to Petitioner's apartment.
The police later retrieved the shotgun from the river. Jason Thompson died from a single gunshot wound to his face. Evelyn Blythe was shot in the shoulder and survived. Petitioner was arrested in Kentucky where he gave a statement to Detective James Curless. He initially denied knowing anything about the murder, but he later admitted to being present when Jason was shot.
Evelyn Blythe, Christopher Long, Christopher Chirillo, Carlton Johnson and others testified against the two defendants. Daniel Beaty's incriminating testimony from the preliminary examination was read into the record, because he committed suicide after the preliminary examination, but before the trial.
Petitioner testified that he and his friends went to Jason's house, left the premises because they did not have enough money for marijuana, and later returned to the house after going to a party store. He said that he heard an unexpected shot from behind him and saw Jason fall. Although he claimed to notice a gun in Brian Barkley's hand, he denied planning a robbery, seeing Barkley shoot, hearing a second shot, or telling Barkley to shoot Evelyn Blythe. According to Petitioner, Barkley admitted that he shot the victims.
The trial court sentenced Petitioner to two years in prison for the felony firearm conviction, followed by concurrent terms of three to five years in prison for being an accessory after the fact to the assault on Evelyn Blythe and life imprisonment for the murder of Jason Thompson. Petitioner raised his first six habeas claims in his appeal of right. The Michigan Court of Appeals remanded the case to the trial court so that Petitioner could file a motion for new trial on his claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. The trial court held an evidentiary hearing and denied Petitioner's motion for new trial. The Michigan Court of Appeals subsequently affirmed Petitioner's convictions in an unpublished, per curiam opinion. See People v. Meade, No. 168565, 1997 WL 33349390 (Mich.Ct.App. Apr.18, 1997).
Petitioner presented the same claims to the Michigan Supreme Court. On March 31,1998, the supreme court denied leave to appeal because it was "not persuaded that the questions presented should be reviewed ...." People v. Meade, 456 Mich. 952, 577 N.W.2d 688 (1998). The supreme court denied reconsideration on July 28, 1998.
Petitioner alleges that he raised his remaining habeas claims in a motion for relief from judgment filed on July 13,1999. The trial court denied the motion on the grounds that Petitioner's "newly discovered evidence" was inadmissible hearsay and that he had failed to show "good cause" for not raising his remaining claims in prior appeals. See People v. Meade, No. 93001540-02 (Wayne County Cir. Ct. July 19, 1999).
Petitioner appealed the trial court's decision in a pro se application for leave to appeal. The Michigan Court of Appeals denied leave to appeal, stating that Petitioner had "failed to meet the burden of establishing entitlement to relief under [Michigan Court Rule] 6.508(D)." People v. Meade, No. 228463 (Mich.Ct.App. Apr. 13, 2001). On December 21, 2001, the Michigan Supreme Court denied Petitioner's subsequent application for leave to appeal for the same reason. People v. Meade, 465 Mich. 935, 638 N.W.2d 755 (2001).
Petitioner signed and dated his habeas corpus petition on December 26, 2001. He recently filed a supporting brief, which asserts the following grounds for relief:
I. The Michigan Court of Appeals clearly erred in concluding that there was sufficient evidence of Petitioner's intent and participation as an aider & abettor in a first degree felony murder contrary to clearly established federal law and basing it on an unreasonable determination of facts presented at trial.
II. Petitioner was denied a fair trial under ... both the federal and state constitutions when the prosecutor: (A) told the jury in his opening statement that a witness would testify that Petitioner confessed to shooting the deceased, but did not produce the witness for testimony; (B) south to impeach a defense witness by alleged misconduct not resulting in a conviction; (C) introduced evidence that a murder warrant for the petitioner had been approved by the prosecutor's office and a judge; (D) impressively (sic) questioned the defendant about the credibility of prosecutions witnesses; and (E) personally vouched for his case and made denigrating remarks about the defendant in the closing argument.
III. The standard order of deliberation instruction based on People v. Handley, 415 Mich. 356, 329 N.W.2d 710 (1982), violates Petitioner's federal and state constitutional right to be presumed innocent and coerced the jury's verdict as charged.
IV. Petitioner Meade was deprived of his right to the effective assistance of counsel, guaranteed by the United States and Michigan Constitutions by the deficient performance of trial counsel that denied him of a fair trial.
V. Petitioner was denied his right to a fair trial and confrontation when the prosecution/police failed to comply with the discovery order by (A) the late disclosure of a taped statement taken from the Petitioner and introduced at trial, and (B) suppressing a tape recorded statement of the prosecution's sole eyewitness.
VI. The trial court's off-record ruling precluding evidence explaining that the witness Daniel Beaty was unavailable because he committed suicide denied Petitioner of his right to due process and a fair trial.
VII. The state's asserted procedural default defense does not preclude habeas review of Petitioner's claims raised on collateral review, because Petitioner was denied a full and fair hearing on the adjudication of his claims of constitutional error by the state appellate courts.
VIII. The state's appellate court's adjudication of Petitioner's motion for relief from judgement resulted in a decision that was "contrary to" and involved an "unreasonable application" of, clearly established federal law when it refused to review his constitutional claim of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel, raised on appeal for the first time, nevertheless, review it as "cause" for falling to raise claims of constitutional error in prior appeals.
IX. Petitioner was denied his right to a fair trial and due process under state and federal constitutions, when the trial court misinstructed the jury as to the law; during reinstruction omitted all the elements of aiding and abetting, omitted mere presence defense, and lesser included offense of accessory after the fact.
X. Petitioner was denied due process and a fair trial guaranteed by the United States Constitution when prosecution/police violated discovery by (A) suppressing impeachment evidence of Daniel Beaty recovering a shotgun shell from Chirillo's apartment, and (B) withheld three (3) audio statements of Angela Clark, Ricky Hall and Dutch Clark until days into...
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