Noguera v. Davis

• Decision Date: 17 November 2017
• Docket Number: Case No. CV94–6417–CAS
• Parties: William A. NOGUERA, Petitioner, v. Ron DAVIS, Warden of California State Prison at San Quentin, Respondent.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Central District of California

290 F.Supp.3d 974

William A. NOGUERA, Petitioner,

v.Ron DAVIS, Warden of California State Prison at San Quentin, Respondent.

Case No. CV94–6417–CAS

United States District Court, C.D. California.

Signed November 17, 2017

Emily J. Groendyke, Celeste Bacchi, Mark R. Drozdowski, Federal Public Defenders Office, Los Angeles, CA, for Petitioner.

Barry J. T. Carlton, CAAG Office of Attorney General, San Diego, CA, Daniel E. Lungren, CAAG—Office of Attorney General of California, Sean K. Kennedy, Federal Public Defenders Office, Los Angeles, CA, for Respondent.

DEATH PENALTY CASE

ORDER

CHRISTINA A. SNYDER, United States District Judge

I. BACKGROUND

Petitioner William A. Noguera is currently in the custody of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation pursuant to a judgment of the Superior Court of California, Orange County, following his April 29, 1987 conviction of the first-degree murder ( Cal. Pen. Code § 187(a) ) of Jovita Navarro, the mother of Petitioner's girlfriend, Dominique. (RT 8312.) The financial gain special circumstance allegation ( Cal. Pen. Code § 190.2, subd. (a)(1) ) was found true. (RT 8313.) The jury also found Petitioner used a dangerous and deadly weapon in the murder of Ms. Navarro ( Cal. Pen. Code § 12022(b) ). (RT 8313–15.)

On May 18, 1987, the penalty phase of Petitioner's capital trial began. The jurors began penalty phase deliberations at 3:05 p.m. on May 21, 1987 and adjourned at 4:30 p.m. (RT 8711.) The following afternoon, on May 22, 1987, the jury returned a verdict of death. (RT 8717–18.) On January 29, 1988, the trial court heard and denied Petitioner's Motion for New Trial and for Modification of the Verdict, heard and denied Petitioner's Request to Strike the Special Circumstance, and sentenced Petitioner to death. (RT 8787–8874.)

On December 28, 1992, the California Supreme Court affirmed Petitioner's conviction and death sentence on direct appeal. See People v. Noguera , 4 Cal.4th 599, 15 Cal.Rptr.2d 400, 842 P.2d 1160 (1992). The California Supreme Court denied Petitioner's petition for rehearing on March 10, 1993. (Dkt. No. 148, Lodgment No. 8.) The United States Supreme Court denied Petitioner's petition for writ of certiorari on June 30, 1994. Noguera v. California , 512 U.S. 1253, 114 S.Ct. 2780, 129 L.Ed.2d 892 (1994).

Petitioner filed his initial state habeas petition in the California Supreme Court on November 16, 1992. (Dkt. No. 148, Lodgment No. 4.) The California Supreme Court summarily denied the petition on September 29, 1993, with three justices noting their opinions that an order to show cause should issue. In re Noguera , No. S029779. (Dkt. No. 336, Lodgment No. 3.)

Almost one year later, Petitioner initiated federal habeas corpus proceedings by filing a Request for Appointment of Counsel and Stay of Execution in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. (Dkt. Nos. 1–2.) The Court appointed Rober Bryan and Nicholas C. Arguimbau on January 27, 1995. (Dkt. No. 11.) Petitioner filed a 91–claim federal habeas petition on July 26, 1996, and, just four days later, Mr. Arguimbau filed an Urgent Motion to Withdraw as Counsel. (Dkt. Nos. 99, 101–104.) The Court granted Mr. Arguimbau's Motion on August 5, 1996. (Dkt. No. 106.) On July 7, 1997, Petitioner moved to stay and abey the federal proceedings pending exhaustion of 31 unexhausted claims in state court. (Dkt. No. 154.) After initially dismissing the petition for failure to exhaust state remedies on October 28, 1997, the Court granted in part petitioner's motion for reconsideration on December 23, 1997, but denied Petitioner's Motion to Hold Proceedings in Abeyance. (Dkt. No. 174.)

On January 12, 1998, Petitioner filed an Amended Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus, excluding the 31 unexhausted claims. (Dkt. Nos. 175–76.) He filed his first exhaustion petition in the California Supreme Court on March 2, 1998, raising the unexhausted claims. (Dkt. No. 336, Lodgment 4.) While the exhaustion petition was pending in state court, the parties proceeded to litigate the merits of the first amended federal petition.¹ Respondent filed an Answer to the Amended Petition on September 9, 1998; and on February 9, 1999, Petitioner filed a Traverse to the State's Answer to the Amended Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus. (Dkt. Nos. 180, 187–88.) On February 23, 1999, Petitioner filed a Motion for Evidentiary Hearing, which the Court denied on April 14, 2000, after a December 10, 1999 hearing. (Dkt. Nos. 190, 211, 216.) In its denial order, the Court ruled that Petitioner was not entitled to an evidentiary hearing on Claims 2, 4, and 60 of the first amended petition because those claims were without merit. (Dkt. No. 216.) The Court determined that, as to the remaining claims, the record was sufficiently developed to decide those claims without evidentiary hearing. (Dkt. No. 216.)

The parties filed supplemental briefs on the remaining claims in the first amended petition and, on August 31, 2001, the parties appeared for oral argument on the remaining claims. (Dkt. Nos. 225, 236, 227, 228, 245.) During oral argument, the Court noted that, on careful examination of the record and in view of changes in the law since the Court's October 28, 1997 Order, some of the claims in the first amended petition which the Court believed to be exhausted, might not be exhausted. The Court invited supplemental briefing, and the parties filed additional briefs on the question. (Dkt. Nos. 247, 248, 250.)

Meanwhile, the California Supreme Court denied petitioner's exhaustion petition on October 17, 2001. In re Noguera , No. S068360. (Dkt. No. 336 Lodgment 8.) Subsequently, on November 29, 2001, Petitioner filed a Motion for Leave to File Second Amended Petition. (Dkt. No. 249.) On April 9, 2003, the Court dismissed the first amended petition as a partially unexhausted, "mixed" petition and denied the motion to file the second amended petition because it included the same unexhausted claims as the first amended petition. (Dkt. No. 256; see also, Dkt. No. 262.) The Court also invited Petitioner to file a fully exhausted Third Amended Petition; and, on June 9, 2003, Petitioner simultaneously filed petitions in state and federal court. (Dkt. No. 258; Dkt. No. 336, Lodgment 9.) On July 28, 2003, this Court granted Petitioner's Motion to Hold Proceedings in Abeyance Pending Determination by State Court of Petitioner's Exhaustion Petition. (Dkt. Nos. 258, 259, 262, 263.) While Petitioner's third state petition was pending, he filed a fourth state petition on August 29, 2005. (Dkt. No. 336, Lodgment 13.) The third and fourth state habeas petitions were both denied on October 10, 2007. In re Noguera, No. S116529; In re Noguera , No. S136826. (Dkt. No. 336, Lodgments 12 & 15.) Petitioner notified the Court of the denials in a letter dated October 20, 2007, and this Court vacated the stay on November 5, 2007. (Dkt. Nos. 272, 273.)

On February 22, 2008, this Court again stayed the proceedings in this action due to Petitioner's then-pending request for substitution of federal habeas counsel and, on March 3, 2008, Robert R. Bryan filed a Request to Withdraw as Attorney for Petitioner. (Dkt. Nos. 284, 292.) The Court appointed the Federal Public Defender as advisory counsel on March 4, 2008, and on July 21, 2008, granted Bryan's request to withdraw. (Dkt. No. 286, 305.) The Office of the Federal Public Defender for the Central District of California was appointed as counsel for Petitioner on August 14, 2008. (Dkt. No. 307.)

Petitioner filed the operative Fourth Amended Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus on March 9, 2009. (Dkt. Nos. 317, 318.) Respondent filed an Answer on November 6, 2009, and Petitioner filed a Traverse on January 19, 2010. (Dkt. Nos. 330, 338.) The parties began litigating discovery issues in 2010. However, after the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Cullen v. Pinholster , 563 U.S. 170, 131 S.Ct. 1388, 179 L.Ed.2d 557 (2011), on April 4, 2011, this Court ordered Respondent to file a motion to dismiss, identifying on a claim by claim basis those claims Respondent contends are subject to summary dismissal without discovery or an evidentiary hearing. (Dkt. No. 351.) Respondent filed a Motion to Dismiss on February 6, 2012. (Dkt. No. 355.) Petitioner filed an Opposition to Respondent's Motion to Dismiss on June 20, 2012, and Respondent filed a reply on October 16, 2012. (Dkt. No. 361.) On November 2, 2012, Petitioner filed a Surreply, and Respondent filed a Reply Response to the Surreply on November 26, 2012. (Dkt. Nos. 366, 368.)

On March 7, 2013, the case was reassigned from the calendar of Judge Stotler to the calendar of Judge Snyder for all further proceedings. (Dkt. No. 369.)

II. STATEMENT OF FACTS

This factual summary is taken in large part from the California Supreme Court's summary of the facts in its December 28, 1992 opinion. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 2254(d)(2), (e)(1), the state court's summary of facts is presumed correct. To the extent that Petitioner does not present clear and convincing evidence to the contrary, the Court adopts the factual recitations set forth by the state appellate court. See Vasquez v. Kirkland , 572 F.3d 1029, 1031 n. 1 (9th Cir. 2009) ("We rely on the state appellate court's decision for our summary of the facts of the crime.")

A. Guilt Phase Evidence

1. The murder of Jovita Navarro: the prosecution's case

Sometime between 11:30 on the night of April 23, 1983, and 4:30 the following morning, Jovita Navarro was murdered in the bedroom of her La Habra bungalow. La Habra police found Jovita's body after being summoned by a "911" call from Mindy Jackson, Jovita's next-door neighbor. After securing the area, investigating officers went to the Jackson residence where they interviewed Dominique Navarro, Jovita's 16–year–old daughter. Dominique told them she had returned from a date with her then–18–year–old boyfriend around 2:00 that morning; after chatting briefly with her mothe...