Nguyen v. McGrath

• Decision Date: 28 May 2004
• Docket Number: No. C 03-093-CRB.,C 03-093-CRB.
• Citation: 323 F.Supp.2d 1007
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of California
• Parties: Khoa Dang NGUYEN, Petitioner, v. Joseph McGRATH, Warden, Respondent.

323 F.Supp.2d 1007

Khoa Dang NGUYEN, Petitioner, v. Joseph McGRATH, Warden, Respondent.

No. C 03-093-CRB.

United States District Court, N.D. California.

May 28, 2004.

George F. Hindall, Office of the Attorney General, San Francisco, CA, for respondent.

Khoa D. Nguyen, Pelican Bay State Prison, Crescent City, CA, pro se.

Vince Chhabria, Covington & Burling, San Francisco, CA, for petitioner.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER GRANTING PETITION FOR HABEAS CORPUS

BREYER, District Judge.

Over five years ago, a Santa Clara County jury convicted petitioner Khoa Dang Nguyen of three counts of first degree murder. A key piece of evidence against Nguyen was his tape-recorded confession to the crime. On direct appeal, the California Court of Appeal ruled that the confession was elicited in violation of Nguyen's Miranda rights and should not have been admitted at trial. The court nonetheless upheld Nguyen's conviction on the ground that the admission of the confession was harmless error.

Now pending before this Court is Nguyen's petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The question before this Court is not whether Nguyen is guilty or innocent; rather the question is whether the California Court of Appeal's ruling that the admission of Nguyen's confession was harmless error was an objectively unreasonable application of clearly established federal law. After reviewing the papers filed by the parties and the trial transcript, and having had the benefit of oral argument, the Court concludes that the California Court of Appeal's ruling was objectively unreasonable and, therefore, the petition must be granted.

BACKGROUND

The following summary of the facts of this case is based on the statement of facts presented in the California Court of Appeal's opinion, People v. Khoa Dang Nguyen, et al, No. H019770, slip op., *2-*5 (Cal.Ct.App. August 30, 2001), and the Santa Clara County Superior Court trial transcripts. In reviewing the state appellate court's harmless error determination, this Court viewed the evidence presented at trial in the light most favorable to the prosecution. See Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979) ("Once a defendant has been found guilty of the crime charged, the factfinder's role as weigher of the evidence is preserved through a legal conclusion that upon judicial review all of the evidence is to be considered in the light most favorable to the prosecution.").

I. The Murders

The events leading to petitioner's conviction began shortly after midnight on March 11, 1995 when Cuong Do ("Cuong"), a reputed member of the Asian Boys ("AB") gang, was shot at a nightclub in San Jose. After the shooting, several individuals who had been present when Cuong was shot, along with other friends and fellow gang members of Cuong, gathered at petitioner's house. An angry discussion ensued. Some of those present talked about getting the person who shot Cuong. Then, sometime around 2:00 a.m., the group was apparently told that the people responsible for the shooting were at the May Tim Cafe. Petitioner, Khanh Hinh ("Khanh"), Ho Thai Nguyen ("Ho"), Son Troung Nguyen ("Son"), Sunny Van Nguyen ("Sunny"), Jefry Subana ("Subana"), Senh Duong ("Senh") and Quang Minh Tran ("Quang"), armed themselves and drove to the May Tim Cafe.

While the rest of the group waited in the parking lot, Ho went inside the May Tim Cafe. Three young Vietnamese men — Tri Le ("Le"), Truc Nguyen ("Truc"), and Andy Vu ("Vu") — were sitting in the cafe's video game room. Truc was wearing a brown raincoat. Ho came out and talked to the group. Then, Ho and five or six other individuals, one armed with a shotgun and the others armed with handguns, entered the cafe. They began firing. Le, Truc and Vu were shot and killed. All of the shooters fled the scene.

II. The Investigation

Shortly after the shootings, San Jose police investigators questioned petitioner and others believed to be involved in the shootings. They also interviewed several friends and acquaintances of the defendants, including Long Ngo ("Long"), Nam Duong ("Nam"), Linh Nguyen("Linh") and Nick Dang ("Dang"), who were present that night at petitioner's house or the May Tim Cafe. In addition, the police obtained a warrant to search the residence of Lap Tran, where they found a shotgun and several handguns. No fingerprints were found on the guns.

On March 14, 1995 at approximately 4 p.m., petitioner was brought to the police station. Ten hours later, at 2 a.m., Sergeant Chuck Hahn ("Hahn") began to question him. Shortly thereafter, the petitioner made a statement. In the redacted statement that was admitted as evidence at trial, petitioner told police the following: He was at his house when some of his friends came over and told him that Cuong had been shot earlier that night. Clerk's Transcript ("Clerk's Tr.") at 514-16. He became angry and upset because Cuong was "like a brother" to him. Id. at 517. His friends were also angry and upset. Id. at 518. His friends did not know who shot Cuong, but someone said the shooter had been wearing a brown or mustard-colored shirt or jacket. Id. at 520. Petitioner's friends wanted to drive around and look for the person responsible for the shooting, but he told them to wait since they did not know where to look. Id. at 518. Then, someone phoned or came over, and said that the person responsible for Cuong's shooting was at the May Tim Cafe. Id. at 519. Sometime around 2 a.m., he got into a car with three of his friends and drove to the May Tim Cafe. Id.

After initially denying that he entered the May Tim Cafe, petitioner admitted he and some of the others entered the cafe armed with guns, id. at 529; that he was the only person armed with a shotgun, id. at 538; and that he pointed his shotgun toward the game room and fired once, id. at 537. Petitioner claimed that he closed his eyes when he fired his shotgun and did not see whether he hit anyone. Id. at 538.

III. The Trial

On September 30, 1976, petitioner and seven co-defendants were each charged with three counts of murder with a multiple murder special circumstance. It was further alleged that petitioner and five of the other co-defendants had personally used a firearm in the commission of the crime. The defendants were later severed into two groups and tried in Santa Clara County Superior Court. Petitioner was tried with Khanh, Ho, Son, and Sunny.

A. The Prosecution's case

At trial, the prosecution based its case on the theory that the murders at the May Tim Cafe were "a gang style execution" committed in retaliation for the shooting of Cuong. Reporter's Trial Transcript ("Trial Tr.") at 1455. In his opening statement, the prosecutor told the jury that defendants were motivated by "intense loyalty, either out of friendship or for gang involvement to" Cuong. Reporter's Transcript, Jury Selection and Opening Statements ("Opening Statement") at 414. In closing, the prosecutor explained:

All the evidence is that Ho Nguyen is [a gang member], but that Cuong Do got a lot of respect, and these defendants all knew him and retaliated for that reason. And it's this type of triple murder killing two innocent people for the price of one that makes that kind of statement, that makes gangs feared and the reason the defendants did in this case. That's the only explanation.

Trial Tr. at 1456. The prosecutor added that Cuong was shot because of "a gang war that was going on between the Asian Boys and [Asians Kicking Ass].... That's what the motive is in this case." Id. at 1791. Later, he also told the jury that, in shooting the three victims in the May Tim Cafe, the defendants were "making a statement of power intimidation, retaliation for the Asian Boys gang." Id. at 1792. In his closing, however, the prosecutor conceded that petitioner was not a member of the AB or any other gang. Id. at 1455-56, 1793.

To support the charges of first degree murder, the prosecutor argued that the murders were "part of an ongoing conspiracy ... that was started" at Khoa's house. Id. at 1470, 1473. As further support for the argument that the murders were premeditated, the prosecutor emphasized that, as the defendants entered the cafe, they covered their faces and guns in order to shield them from the cafe's video security cameras. Id. at 1460, 1475, 1784-85.

The prosecution relied heavily on petitioner's statement to the police to prove that he planned and participated in the murders. In his opening statement, the prosecutor said:

Khoa Nguyen is interviewed on March 15th....

... He was at home ... when people came over after 12:30, after 1:00 in the early morning hours. He admits that a bunch of friends did come over, and they left home around 2:00 a.m.

He is not in the AB gang, but he admits that Cuong Do was like a brother to him. When the police ask him about that relationship, he said he was very friendly with him.

He and his friends were mad and wanted to drive around and look for Cuong Do's shooter, someone he doesn't know who told him the shooter was at the May Tim Cafe and he heard he wore a brown jacket.

He initially doesn't tell the police all the truth. He says he doesn't know what happened at the May Tim Cafe, but when pressed, he remembers that someone did go inside and come out.

CQ was there, and at some point in time, someone said, let's go. He went in with the others ... and someone fired....

Later on, he admits he did fire his shotgun, one round of that shotgun. He doesn't have any idea, doesn't know if this is Cuong Do's shooter or not that he killed, but he himself was responsible for the death of one person directly...."

Opening Statement at 441-42.

In his closing argument, the prosecutor asked rhetorically, "Who describes the conspiracy at Khoa's house?" Trial Tr. at 1471. Answering his own question, he told the jury: "We have three witnesses, Khoa himself admits his own involvement being in the house and seeing his friends came [sic.] over and talk about Cuong...