Medina v. Diguglielmo
| Decision Date | 02 June 2005 |
| Docket Number | No. Civ.A. 04-CV-128.,Civ.A. 04-CV-128. |
| Citation | 373 F.Supp.2d 526 |
| Parties | Jose MEDINA, Petitioner, v. David DIGUGLIELMO, et al., Respondents. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Pennsylvania |
Jose Medina, Graterford, PA, pro se.
Thomas W. Dolgenos, District Attorney's Office, Philadelphia, PA, for Respondents.
Jose Medina ("Medina") petitions this court for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. For the following reasons, Medina's petition is granted.
On November 12, 1992, after a jury trial before the Honorable Juanita Kidd Stout in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, Medina was found guilty of first degree murder, robbery and possession of instruments of crime in connection with the October 18, 1991 death of William Bogan ("Bogan") and was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.1
At trial, the Commonwealth presented evidence that Bogan was stabbed in the heart near Mutter and Gurney Streets in Philadelphia. (Tr. 11/6/92 at 189-90, 206.) The stab wound was ultimately caused by a knife with a six-inch, single-edged blade. (Id. at 207.) Although this wound was fatal, Bogan was able to run for about two blocks before collapsing in the street. (Tr. 11/6/92 at 150, 189, 212-13.) When the police found Bogan in the intersection of Hope and Gurney Streets, he was already dead. (Tr. 11/6/92 at 172-73.)
On the night that Bogan was killed, Philadelphia police stopped Medina at approximately 9:30 pm at Mutter and Cambria Streets. (Tr. 11/6/92 at 166-67.) A police officer stopped and frisked Medina because Medina, dressed in a white sweatshirt, matched the description in a radio report about a male in a white sweatshirt carrying a knife. (Id. at 176.) The officer found no weapons on Medina and let him go. (Id. at 166-67.) Several minutes later, after discovering the body of Bogan, the police found Medina in a local bar and arrested him. (Id. at 172-74.) No blood was found on Medina's white sweatshirt. (Id. at 181.) No knife was ever recovered. Medina I at 19.
At trial, the Commonwealth presented the testimony of Hector Toro ("Hector"), Maria Caraballo ("Caraballo"), and Michael "Marcos" Toro ("Marcos").2 Hector was 10 years old on the date of the incident. (Tr. 11/5/92 at 39-81.) Hector testified that he and his brother, Marcos, saw Medina at a neighborhood store (the "Chinese store") at approximately 8:30 or 9:00 pm on October 18, 1991. (Id. at 43-46.) Hector testified that Medina had a knife and that Medina stated that he was going to kill someone. (Id.) Hector testified that after Medina left the store, Hector and Marcos also left the store and returned to their grandmother's house on Mutter Street. (Id. at 46-47.) While Hector's testimony was unclear as to his exact activities after he returned to his grandmother's house, his testimony indicated that, at some point, Hector left his grandmother's house, went to the corner of Mutter and Gurney Streets, and saw Bogan's body in the street. (Id.) Hector did not witness Bogan being stabbed. (Id. at 47-48.)
Maria Caraballo ("Caraballo"), a neighbor of the Toro brothers, also testified at trial. (Tr. 11/6/92 at 146-64.) Caraballo was sitting on the front steps of her house on the evening of the murder. (Id. at 147-50.) At approximately 9:15 or 9:30 pm, she saw Bogan run past her house while holding his chest. (Id. at 150.) Caraballo tried to follow Bogan to offer assistance but could not find him. (Id. at 151.) As she returned to her house, she saw Medina looking underneath a car parked across the street. (Id. at 152-53.) Although Caraballo saw Bogan running by her house, she did not see him being stabbed. (Id. at 156.)
Marcos, who was 11 years old at the time of the incident and 12 years old at the time of trial, was the only trial witness who testified about the substantive homicidal act itself. (Tr. 11/5/92 at 83, 97, 105); Medina I at 3, 8-11. At the beginning of Marcos's testimony, when asked, "Do you know the difference between telling the truth and telling a lie," Marcos answered, "No." (Tr. 11/5/92 at 83.) Marcos then proceeded to testify that he saw Medina stab Bogan. (Id. at 97.) However, upon cross-examination, Marcos confirmed his preliminary hearing testimony that he did not actually see Medina stab Bogan and that he only assumed Medina stabbed Bogan because of what his brother Hector had told him and because he had seen Medina with a knife earlier in the day. (Id. at 110-11.) At no point did Medina's trial counsel object to Marcos Toro's competency to testify.
Because it is central to Medina's claims, I will take the time to review in detail Marcos's preliminary hearing and trial testimonies. At the preliminary hearing held on November 26, 1991, Marcos testified that, while looking out of his window, he saw Medina stab Bogan:
[By the prosecution, Ms. Ponterio]
Q. Tell the Judge what you saw when you looked out your window?
A. The dude [Bogan] with his hands on his heart.
. . . . .
Q. And where did you see him first?
A. I don't know.
Q. Okay. What did you see him doing, the white dude [Bogan]?
A. I didn't see that part.
Q. Okay. Tell us the part that you saw? Did you see Harry [Medina] when you were looking out your window?
Mr. Silverstein [defense counsel]: Objection. Leading nature.
The Court: Overruled.
By Ms. Ponterio:
Q. You can answer?
A. Yes.
Q. Okay. And what was Harry doing?
A. Chasing after him.
Q. Okay. You are saying chasing after the white dude?
A. A-huh.
Q. Okay. Did Harry catch up to the white dude?
A. No.
Q. Do you know what I mean by catch up?
A. Yes.
Q. Okay. What did you see Harry do with the white dude?
A. Stabbed him.
(Tr. 11/26/91 at 8-10.) However, on cross-examination at the preliminary hearing, Marcos testified that he did not actually see Medina stab Bogan:
[By defense counsel]
Q. Now, you said you looked out the window and you saw this white gentleman [Bogan] holding his heart; is that right?
A. Yes.
Q. Did you see anything happen before that?
A. No.
Q. You didn't see anything happen before that?
A. (Witness shakes head)
. . . . .
Q. Did you see Harry [Medina] when this white fellow was running down the street holding his heart?
A. No.
Q. You did not see Harry?
A. No.
. . . . .
Q. In fact, you didn't see Harry stab the guy, did you?
A. My brother did.
Q. Your brother did. And you are only telling us what your brother told you; is that right?
A. A-huh.
Q. And you didn't eyewitness Harry do anything; right? Am I correct? You have to say yes or no?
A. Yes.
Q. And you only assumed that because you saw a knife at the restaurant; is that right?
A. A-huh.
Q. So everything you said about Harry stabbing the white dude is either something that your brother told you or you made up because you figured he did it because he had a knife; right?
A. Yes.
(Id. at 21-23.)
Medina's trial began on November 5, 1992, approximately one year after the preliminary hearing. Marcos's trial testimony started with the prosecutor's examination of Marcos's understanding of the duty to speak the truth:
Q. [By the prosecution, Ms. Sweeney] Do you know what it means to tell the truth?
A. [By Marcos] Yes. Q. What does it mean?
A. (No response.)
Q. Let me ask it the other way. Do you know what it means to tell a lie?
A. No.
Q. Do you know the difference between telling the truth and telling a lie?
A. No.
Q. You just told the jury and the judge when you put your hand on the Bible you were going to tell the truth?
A. Truth.
Q. What does the truth mean?
THE COURT: First of all, let's sit up straight and take our hand down. What happens to you if you tell a lie?
(No response.)
THE COURT: What happens to you? Take your hand down and look at me. Tell me what will happen to you if you tell a lie?
(No response.)
. . . . .
THE COURT: Tell me what will happen to you if you tell a lie?
What would the teacher — what would your mother do to you?
What would your father do to you? What would happen to you?
BY MS SWEENEY [the prosecution]:
Q. Marcos, you have to give an answer if you know the answer. What would happen to you if you tell a lie? Do you get rewarded?
A. No.
Q. Do you get a prize for telling a lie?
A. No.
Q. Do you get in trouble for telling a lie?
A. Yes.
Q. What about when you tell the truth? If you tell the truth? If you tell the truth, is that a good thing to do?
A. No.
THE COURT: It is not good to tell the truth?
A. Yes.
MS. SWEENEY: Sit back. Nobody is going to hurt you. Sit back.
If you want some water, if you want a Kleenex or if you say, "Boy I need a break," you just let us know. All right?
Q. We want you to tell the truth about what you may have seen and heard about a year ago involving the white dude [Bogan]. Do you know what I am talking about?
A. No.
MR. DALY [defense counsel]: I object to the leading nature of the question.
Marcos testified on direct examination that he saw Bogan stab Medina. However, Marcos's description of Medina's and Bogan's actions contradicted itself:
BY MS. SWEENEY [prosecution]:
Q. Marcos, after you went home to your house, what did you see happen which is why you came to court today?
A. (Pause.) Because he stabbed somebody.
Q. Who stabbed somebody?
A. Harry [Medina].
. . . . .
Q. Where did Harry stab the white man [Bogan]? By that, I mean where on the white man did the defendant Harry stab?
A. Chest.
Q. Show me where. Point to it?
A. (Witness indicates.)
Q. Indicating right there. Did you see the white man fall down?
A. Yes.
Q. Where?
A. Gurney.
Q. After you saw him, meaning the white man, fall down on Gurney Street, did you see anybody do anything?
A. No.
Q. What...
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