Miller v. Stovall

• Decision Date: 15 July 2009
• Docket Number: Case No. 05-73447.
• Citation: 641 F.Supp.2d 657
• Parties: Sharee Paulette MILLER, Petitioner, v. Clarice STOVALL, Warden, Robert Scott Correctional Facility, Respondent.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Michigan

Page 657

641 F.Supp.2d 657

Sharee Paulette MILLER, Petitioner, v. Clarice STOVALL, Warden, Robert Scott Correctional Facility, Respondent.

Case No. 05-73447.

United States District Court, E.D. Michigan, Southern Division.

July 15, 2009.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Bridget M. McCormack, Kimberly A. Thomas, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, for Petitioner.

Debra M. Gagliardi, Michigan Department of Attorney General, Lansing, MI, for Respondent.

ORDER DENYING RESPONDENT'S MOTION TO STAY AND GRANTING PETITIONER'S MOTION TO SET BAIL

VICTORIA A. ROBERTS, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

This case is before the Court on motion by Clarice Stovall ("the Warden") to Grant Stay of Writ of Habeas Corpus Pending Appeal, and Sharee Miller's Motion to Set Bail. The Warden's motion is DENIED; Ms. Miller's motion is GRANTED.

II. BACKGROUND

On November 9, 1999, Sharee Miller's husband, Bruce Miller, was shot and killed at B & D Auto, his auto shop business in Mt. Morris, Michigan. Three months later, Miller's lover, Jerry Cassaday, committed suicide at his home in Odessa, Missouri. Miller was charged with conspiracy to commit murder and murder in the second degree after evidence emerged linking her and Mr. Cassaday to Mr. Miller's killing.

Miller was tried in Genesee County, from December 13 to 22, 2000. At trial, Jerry Cassaday's brother Michael testified that, three months before his death, Jerry told him, "look, Mike, anything ever happens to me there is—there is a briefcase under—under the bed at home.... [G]et a hold of the briefcase and you will know what to do with it then." (Trial Tr. vol. II, 356, Dec. 14, 2000.) When he learned of his brother's death, Michael Cassaday went to his apartment, looked under the bed and found the briefcase, with four sealed envelopes attached to it. One envelope carried the name of an attorney, with address and telephone numbers, and a handwritten instruction: "Mike, do not open alone." (Id. at 347.) Another letter was addressed to Jerry Cassaday's mother and father. Michael Cassaday arranged a meeting with the family and the attorney, at which the briefcase and letters were opened. (Id. at 348.) Inside the briefcase were, among other things, print-outs of electronic "instant messages" between Miller and Jerry Cassaday, in which they discussed killing Bruce Miller.

Over the defense's objection, the trial court admitted into evidence the letter addressed to Mr. Cassaday's mother and father ("the suicide note"). The note described Mr. Cassaday's relationship with Miller and explained that she had twice gotten pregnant with his children, but each time Bruce Miller beat her and caused her to miscarry. Mr. Cassaday also claimed he murdered Mr. Miller with Sharee Miller's assistance, stating: "I drove there and killed him. Sharee was involved and helped set it up, I have all the proof and I am sending it to the police, she will get what's coming.... [S]he just wanted all her money and no more husband, well she got her wish, but she is soon to learn that she can't do that to people." (Pet. Ex. A.)

The remaining facts are summarized by the Michigan Court of Appeals:

[N]umerous email communications between Miller and Cassaday were recovered from Cassaday's computer hard drive. Cassaday and Miller wrote the emails between August and November 1999 and they reveal the extent of their relationship, their future plans to marry, Miller's false claim that she was pregnant, and her desire to kill her husband. At trial, Miller denied any involvement in her husband's murder. However, based on the above evidence, prosecutors argued that Miller manipulated Cassaday into killing her husband by claiming that her husband abused her. Prosecutors also presented evidence that, on two occasions, Miller falsely told Cassaday that she was pregnant with his children, but that the unborn babies died from her husband's abuse.

People v. Miller, No. 233018, 2003 WL 21465338, at *1, 2003 Mich.App. LEXIS 1495, at *2-3 (Mich.Ct.App. June 24, 2003) (unpublished).

The Court of Appeals's summary omits reference to an important circumstance, which Miller details in her statement of facts:

Within 24 hours of Bruce Miller's death the police had a suspect: John Hutchinson. Both Hutchinson and Bruce Miller were the targets of an ongoing criminal investigation by the Genesee County Auto Investigation Network for tampering with Vehicle Identification Numbers (VIN). Though Hutchinson denied any involvement with the VIN switching, he was ultimately charged with two felony counts before pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge. Harold Hutchinson, John Hutchinson's brother and an employee at B & D, testified that prior to the murder, John Hutchinson had threatened to "dispose of" Bruce Miller because of both the criminal investigation and a dispute over a loan. Harold Hutchinson also testified that around 7:00 p.m. on the night of the murder, John Hutchinson told Harold Hutchinson on the phone that he had "disposed of Bruce Miller." Harold Hutchinson understood John to mean that John had killed Bruce Miller.

The morning after the murder, before learning of Bruce Miller's death, John Hutchinson's step-son Anthony Birch told police that, on the night of the murder, John Hutchinson was not home between 5:30 and 7:30, and that when John Hutchinson returned home he was acting "strange."

The prosecution successfully barred Mrs. Miller from introducing into evidence results of a polygraph test that indicates that John Hutchinson was "deceptive" when denying his involvement in Bruce Miller's murder.

(Pet. 9-10 (internal citations omitted)).

The jury convicted Miller of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and second-degree murder as an aider and abettor. The trial court sentenced her to life in prison on the conspiracy conviction, and a concurrent term of 54 to 81 months for the second degree murder conviction, which she has entirely served.

After exhausting state court remedies, Miller filed for habeas corpus. The Court conditionally granted the writ on August 27, 2008, and gave the State 60 days to initiate steps to retry Miller, or release her. Miller v. Stovall, 573 F.Supp.2d 964, 983 (E.D.Mich.2008).

On September 25, the Warden filed a timely notice appealing the Court's Order to the Sixth Circuit. On November 14, the Warden filed this motion for stay pursuant to Fed. R.App. P. 23, asking the Court to keep Miller in custody pending resolution of the appeal (Doc. # 47). Miller opposes the stay request, but argues that if the Court is inclined to find in the Warden's favor, the Court should grant her bond (Doc. # 50). Concurrently, Miller moved on November 17 for the Court to set bail for the duration of the appeal (Doc. # 48). The Warden filed its opposition on November 21 (Doc. # 49).

III. ANALYSIS

Although this matter is pending before the Sixth Circuit, this Court retains jurisdiction to enter a stay or set bail, pursuant to Fed. R. App. P. 23(c):

While a decision ordering the release of a prisoner is under review, the prisoner must—unless the court or judge rendering the decision, or the court of appeals, or the Supreme Court, or a judge or justice of either court orders otherwise—be released on personal recognizance, with or without surety.

Rule 23(c) creates a presumption that a prisoner granted habeas relief will be released. Hilton v. Braunskill, 481 U.S. 770, 774, 107 S.Ct. 2113, 95 L.Ed.2d 724 (1987). This presumption may be overturned, however.

The Supreme Court holds that the same standards governing stays of civil judgments apply to the release of habeas petitioners pending appeal. Id. at 776, 107 S.Ct. 2113. Miller's motion to set bail and the Warden's motion for stay both concern her potential release; therefore, the same analysis applies to both.

The traditional factors to review when determining whether to stay an order pending appeal are:

(1) whether the stay applicant has made a strong showing that he is likely to succeed on the merits; (2) whether the applicant will be irreparably injured absent a stay; (3) whether issuance of the stay will substantially injure the other parties interested in the proceeding; and (4) where the public interest lies.

Id.; Workman v. Tate, 958 F.2d 164, 166 (6th Cir.1992). In addition, courts must consider whether the petitioner poses a risk of flight, the potential danger to the public if she is released, and "[t]he State's interest in continuing custody and rehabilitation." Braunskill, 481 U.S. at 777, 107 S.Ct. 2113. The Supreme Court advises that, in general,

The interest of the habeas petitioner in release pending appeal ... will be strongest where the factors mentioned [above] are weakest. The balance may depend to a large extent upon determination of the State's prospects of success in its appeal. Where the State establishes that it has a strong likelihood of success on appeal, or where, failing that, it can nonetheless demonstrate a substantial case on the merits, continued custody is permissible if the second and fourth factors in the traditional stay analysis militate against release. Where the State's showing on the merits falls below this level, the preference for release should control.

Id. at 777-78, 107 S.Ct. 2113, (citations omitted).

On appeal, the district court's ruling benefits from a presumption of correctness, which "may be overcome in the appellate court `for special reasons shown.'" Workman, 958 F.2d at 166 (quoting Braunskill, 481 U.S. at 774, 107 S.Ct. 2113).

The first order of business is to determine whether to stay habeas pending appeal. If the Court decides to release Miller, it must consider whether to set bail.

A. The Warden's Motion for Stay

The Warden argues the Braunskill factors support staying Miller's release until the Sixth Circuit decides the appeal. Miller counters the motion is untimely, because the Warden filed it after the writ's conditions expired. In the alternative, Miller requests the Court to release her...