Morgan v. Woods
| Decision Date | 15 December 2010 |
| Docket Number | CASE NO. 08-15069 |
| Parties | GEORGE MORGAN, Petitioner, v. JEFFREY WOODS, Respondent. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Michigan |
HONORABLE DENISE PAGE HOOD
OPINION AND ORDER DENYING THE HABEAS CORPUS PETITION
Petitioner George Morgan has filed a pro se application for the writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. The habeas petition challenges Petitioner's convictions for second-degree murder, assault with a dangerous weapon (felonious assault), and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony (felony firearm). Petitioner alleges in his first and second claims that there was insufficient evidence to support his murder and assault convictions. Petitioner's third claim alleges that the trial court should have ascertained whether Petitioner wanted to waive his right to a jury trial after the court disclosed that it had read the transcript of the preliminary examination. In his fourth and final claim, Petitioner alleges that his appellate attorney was ineffective for failing to raise Petitioner's third claim in the appeal of right. The Court has determined from a review of the record that the evidence was sufficient to support Petitioner's convictions, that Petitioner's waiver of a jury trial was voluntary and intelligent, and that appellate counsel was not ineffective for failing to raise Petitioner's third claim regarding the voluntariness ofhis waiver of a jury trial in the appeal of right. Consequently, Petitioner is not entitled to habeas corpus relief, and his petition will be denied.
Petitioner was charged in Wayne County, Michigan with first-degree (felony and premeditated) murder, kidnaping, felonious assault, and felony firearm. The charges arose from the fatal shooting of Petitioner's girlfriend, Leona Love, and the pointing of a gun at Ms. Love's friend, LaTonya Champion. Petitioner waived his right to a jury trial and was tried before a Wayne County circuit judge.
Ms. Champion testified at trial that she and Ms. Love went to a wedding reception and to a mutual friend's house on the night of March 28-29, 1998. They returned to Ms. Champion's home in Highland Park about 2:00 a.m. on March 29, 1998. As they got out of the car, Petitioner jumped from Ms. Champion's porch onto the top of her car. When she screamed, Petitioner turned toward her, pointed a gun at her head, and told her to "shut up." Petitioner then grabbed Ms. Love by the hair, pointed a gun at her head, and dragged her around the back of the car. Petitioner threatened to kill Ms. Love if Ms. Champion called the police. Ms. Champion did not believe Petitioner's threat. She ran in the house and called the police as Petitioner was pulling Ms. Love across the street. She hung up on the police and then went to the home of Ms. Love's mother. The two of them proceeded to Petitioner's home.
Ruby Love, who was Leona Love's mother, testified that she called the 911 operator after Ms. Champion called her and told her that Petitioner had taken Ms. Love from her house at gunpoint. Mrs. Love subsequently called Petitioner's home and asked to speakwith her daughter. Petitioner answered her call and said, "She's dead." Ms. Champion then arrived at Mrs. Love's home, and the two of them went to Petitioner's house where an officer hinted that Mrs. Love's daughter was dead.
Petitioner's sister, Robin Morgan, testified that Petitioner called her about 2:30 a.m. on March 29, 1998, and asked her to call an ambulance and get help for Ms. Love because he thought he had shot her. Ms. Morgan called an ambulance and the 911 operator and proceeded to Petitioner's home. She waited for the police to arrive and directed them to Petitioner's house where she identified the victim. Ms. Morgan claimed that Petitioner had a drinking problem and that he was abusive toward women when he was under the influence of alcohol.
Police Officer Charles Richey was dispatched to 20467 Charest Street in Detroit on March 29, 1998. He discovered a woman lying on the floor with a gunshot wound to her head. The medical examiner's report indicated that Ms. Love died from a single, close-range gunshot to her forehead and that the manner of death was homicide. Superficial blunt force injuries were the apparent result of a struggle before the fatal gunshot wound was inflicted.
Petitioner's mother, Ruthie Morgan, testified that Petitioner came to her house on Schroeder Street in Detroit at approximately 3:00 a.m. on March 29, 1998. Petitioner informed Mrs. Morgan and his sister that he thought he had killed his girlfriend, but that he did not mean to shoot her. Petitioner then went down the street to his brother's house. When Petitioner and his brother returned to Mrs. Morgan's house, family members tried to convince Petitioner to put down his gun. The family called the police, and officers arrived as Petitioner and his brother were standing in the dining room.
Police Officer Daniel Cretu testified that he was sent to 525 Schroeder Street at about 3:30 a.m. on March 29, 1998. The nature of the police run was suicide. Officer Cretu found Petitioner and family members at the house. Petitioner identified himself and stated that he had a loaded gun in his pocket. After Officer Cretu retrieved the gun from Petitioner's pocket, Petitioner stated that he had shot his girlfriend. On the way to the police station, Petitioner informed Officer Cretu and another officer that he did not mean to shoot his girlfriend and that the weapon had accidentally fired when he and the victim got into a verbal argument on Charest Street. Petitioner stated that he had tried to revive Ms. Love after the gun went off, but that she was unresponsive. He then drove to his mother's house on Schroeder Street where Officer Cretu found him. Officer Cretu smelled alcohol on Petitioner, but he did not think that Petitioner was drunk.
Police Officer David Moore took a statement from Petitioner at police headquarters. Petitioner explained to Officer Moore that he and Ms. Love had been living together, but that they were having a problem with their relationship. He wanted her to make something of her life and she could not understand that. They had argued one day before he left for work. When he arrived home on Saturday morning, March 28, she was gone. He found a note on the table explaining why she had left him. He was upset about her leaving and figured that, if he could talk with her, they would get back together. He went to Ms. Champion's house about 2:00 a.m. because he knew Ms. Love would be there. He parked down the street from the house, knowing that the two women would not answer the door if they looked out the window and saw his car. As he was about to knock on the door, Ms. Love and Ms. Champion drove up in Ms. Champion's car. He jumped off the porch onto the hood of Ms. Champion's car, pointed a pistol at Ms. Love, and told her that she wasgoing with him. He walked her down the street to his car and drove to his house. He still had the gun in his hand, and Ms. Love followed him into the house. Once inside, he grabbed Ms. Love by the collar while still holding the gun. Ms. Love resisted and stumbled to the floor. He got on top of her, and the two of them struggled over the gun. As they struggled, the telephone rang and the gun fired. The telephone call was from Ms. Love's mother. He told her what had happened and apologized for accidentally shooting Ms. Love. He then went to his mother's house and admitted that he had shot and possibly killed Ms. Love. He called two friends and asked his mother to contact his sisters and brothers. Shortly afterward, the police arrived and ordered him to hand over the gun.
Lieutenant Samuel Carter also interviewed Petitioner. Petitioner informed Lieutenant Carter that he took a gun to Ms. Champion's house because there were men there, and he was protecting himself. He claimed that he took Ms. Love from the house at gunpoint because he wanted her to do what he told her to do, and he did not want any trouble. He also admitted that he had straddled Ms. Love after she fell to the floor in his house.
The only defense witness was Petitioner's brother, Robert Morgan, Jr., who testified that Petitioner came to his house about 2:30 or 3:00 a.m. on March 29, 1998, and announced that he had shot his girlfriend. Petitioner had a gun in his hand and stated that he did not mean to do it. They went to their mother's house where Petitioner was ranting and raving and claiming that he was going to jail for life and planned to kill himself. Robert told Petitioner not to kill himself, but he could not convince Petitioner to put down his gun. Meanwhile, their sister called the police, who took the gun from Petitioner upon their arrival. Mr. Morgan claimed that he could smell alcohol on Petitioner that night.
On November 23, 1998, the trial court, sitting as trier of fact, acquitted Petitioner of kidnaping and first-degree murder, but found Petitioner guilty of: (1) second-degree murder, Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.317, as a lesser-included offense to first-degree murder; (2) felonious assault, Mich. Comp. Laws§ 750.82; and (3) felony firearm, Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.227b. The trial court sentenced Petitioner as a habitual offender to two years in prison for the felony firearm conviction, followed by concurrent terms of twenty-five to fifty years in prison for the murder conviction and two to four years in prison for the felonious assault conviction.
In an appeal of right, Petitioner challenged the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his murder and assault convictions. The Michigan Court of Appeals found no merit in the claims and affirmed Petitioner's convictions in an unpublished, per curiam opinion. See People v. Morgan, No. 217126 (Mich. Ct. App. Nov. 21, 2000). On June 26, 2001, the Michigan...
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