Robinson v. Whitley

• Decision Date: 10 September 1993
• Docket Number: No. 90-4554,90-4554
• Citation: 2 F.3d 562
• Parties: Joseph Avery ROBINSON, Petitioner-Appellant, v. John P. WHITLEY, Warden, Louisiana State Penitentiary, Respondent-Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

Page 562

2 F.3d 562

Joseph Avery ROBINSON, Petitioner-Appellant, v. John P. WHITLEY, Warden, Louisiana State Penitentiary Respondent-Appellee.

No. 90-4554.

United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit.

Sept. 10, 1993.

Rehearing Denied Oct. 8, 1993.

M. Sean Royall, Baker & Botts, Houston, TX (Court-appointed), for petitioner-appellant.

Charles Brandt, Lafayette, LA, for respondent-appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana.

Before DAVIS and DeMOSS, Circuit Judges, and ZAGEL ¹, District Judge.

DeMOSS, Circuit Judge:

On April 23, 1984, a jury in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, convicted Joseph Avery Robinson of aggravated rape. The trial judge sentenced Robinson to life in prison at hard labor, without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. The Louisiana court of appeals for the third circuit affirmed his conviction on direct appeal, State v. Robinson, 480 So.2d 329 (La.App. 3rd Cir.1985), and the Louisiana supreme court denied writ without comment. State v. Robinson, 498 So.2d 13 (La.1986).

Robinson chose not to collaterally attack his conviction through the state system, but instead sought federal habeas corpus relief. Based on a magistrate's report, the district court denied relief, and we affirm.

BACKGROUND

In the early morning hours of September 30, 1980, between 4:30 and 5:00 a.m., Mr. Jackie Wallace was returning from work when he surprised a burglar in his home in Opelousas, Louisiana. Mr. Wallace chased the burglar across his front lawn and to the man's car. The burglar jumped into a blue Chevrolet, locked the doors and sped away. Mr. Wallace managed to record the license plate number of the car.

Inside, Mr. Wallace discovered his wife's pocket book on the kitchen table and the contents scattered about. As the Wallaces began to make an accounting of their belongings, they discovered that the only item missing was a pair of Mrs. Wallace's pantyhose, which she had left lying on the living room couch.

Wallace described the intruder as a black male, wearing a dark shirt and blue bandanna. The Wallaces' dog discovered in their yard a bundle of money amounting to $36. The bills were lying next to a bush, about four feet from where the intruder had exited the Wallaces' home. Mr. Wallace recalled that in the process of fleeing the house, the burglar was digging around in his pocket, apparently searching for his car keys.

In the meantime, Robinson accidentally drove his car into a ditch in front of the home of Mrs. Lutha Breaux. Mrs. Breaux testified that around 5:45 on the morning of September 30, Robinson came to her front door and asked for help in getting his car out of the ditch. Because her husband owned a small car, they were unable to render assistance. However, Mr. Roland Guidry, a neighbor of the Breauxs, pulled the car from the ditch at precisely 7 o'clock that morning.

Less than half a mile away, Mrs. Charlene Hoffpauir and her four-year-old son were alone in their trailer. Around 7:30 that morning, Mrs. Hoffpauir was in the process of dressing for work when her son came in and told her that a man wearing a mask was peering into a window of their home. A few moments later, Mrs. Hoffpauir heard the door to her trailer come ajar. As she walked towards the door, a man wearing a pantyhose mask and wielding a large knife confronted her.

The man threatened her with the knife and forced her into the bedroom of the trailer. He forced her to the floor, pulled her hands behind her back, and tied her wrists with pantyhose. Using her gown as a gag, he raped her in front of her child.

When he had finished, the man got up and walked around the trailer, briefly removing his mask. Mrs. Hoffpauir managed to get a partial look at her attacker's face. She also heard him rummaging through her jewelry box. When all became quiet, she arose, found her son, and went to the front door of her trailer and screamed for help. A few moments later, her sister-in-law, who lived nearby, ran to the trailer and cut the pantyhose from her wrists.

When the authorities arrived, Mrs. Hoffpauir described her attacker as a light skinned black male, about 5'5" tall, with a slim build, weighing approximately 110 to 120 pounds. She said he had a mustache, sideburns and possibly a beard. She said he was wearing light-colored jean pants and a dark checkered shirt.

The detectives at the scene discovered footprint impressions near the window through which the child had observed the man peering. A crime scene technician made plaster casts of the impressions.

Meanwhile, the Opelousas police department continued their investigation of the Wallace burglary. Using the license plate number provided from Mr. Wallace, they discovered that the car was registered to Robinson. Armed with this information, the police obtained a warrant for Robinson's arrest.

The police arrived at Robinson's sister's house around 10:30 that morning. They discovered Robinson's blue Chevrolet bearing the license number Wallace had provided. When Robinson exited the house, the police placed him under arrest and advised him of his rights.

Robinson matched both Mrs. Hoffpauir's and Mr. Wallace's descriptions. He was wearing a dark-colored plaid shirt and light-colored jean pants, and he was barefoot. Robinson explained that his tennis shoes had become full of mud and were in the washing machine. Robinson's brother-in-law retrieved Robinson's shoes from the washing machine and gave them to the police. The police discovered a blue bandanna in Robinson's car. Robinson also complained of losing $36.

On October 7, 1980, Robinson was charged with the aggravated rape of Charlene Hoffpauir. Ten days later, he escaped from police custody and fled to Houston, Texas. Once there, Robinson assumed the name of Cedric Shelton and committed several crimes for which he was arrested. Thereafter, Robinson was released from custody in Texas and returned to Louisiana on August 4, 1982. He was indicted for the aggravated rape of Mrs. Hoffpauir on August 31, 1982. His case went to trial on April 10, 1984.

At trial, Hoffpauir identified Robinson as her rapist. She also identified the shirt taken from Robinson upon his arrest as the shirt worn by her rapist. The prosecution further established that Robinson burglarized the Wallace's house, stealing only a pair of pantyhose. It also proved that the hose stolen in the burglary were the same ones used to secure Mrs. Hoffpauir's wrists during her rape. The prosecution also proved that the plaster casts taken from the footprint impressions outside of the trailer matched perfectly with the tread and wear patterns of Robinson's shoes. The evidence further placed Robinson less than a half of a mile from Mrs. Hoffpauir's trailer only thirty minutes before the rape. Finally, the prosecution decimated Robinson's alleged "alibi."

Robinson's petition for federal habeas corpus relief alleges no less than twelve violations of his constitutional rights. Of the twelve, only two merit our discussion here. Robinson claims that the trial court denied him due process of law by erroneously admitting evidence of the Wallace burglary in the trial of the Hoffpauir rape. He also claims that the state violated his Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial. We address these claims in turn.

Other Crimes Evidence

Robinson predicates his due process claim on an evidentiary ruling by the trial court. Preliminarily, Robinson must show the ruling to have been error under Louisiana state law. This he cannot do.

Louisiana law generally prohibits the admission of "other crimes" evidence, that is, evidence of criminal conduct uncharged in the subject indictment. State v. Prieur, 277 So.2d 126, 128 (La.1973). However, it has also recognized exceptions to this general rule. One such exception permits evidence of other crimes to be admitted when it is probative of a defendant's identity. See State v. Davis, 389 So.2d 71, 72-73 (La.1980). In other words, when the offense charged involves a system, such evidence is admissible to prove the continuity of offense. Another exception permits the admission of such evidence when it forms part of the res gestae of the charged offense. Prieur, 277 So.2d at 128.

Contrary to allegations contained in Robinson's brief, a careful review of the record reveals that the state sought to have evidence concerning the Wallace burglary admitted under both the system and res gestae exceptions. And in further contrast with Robinson's characterizations, the record shows that the trial court admitted the "other crimes" evidence on both of these grounds.

Because we find the burglary evidence to be clearly admissible as res gestae evidence, we express no opinion as to its admissibility under the other exception. At the time of Robinson's trial, La.R.S. 15:447 provided in relevant part:

Res gestae are events speaking for themselves under the immediate pressure of the occurrence, through the instructive, impulsive and spontaneous words and acts of the participants.... What forms any part of the res gestae is always admissible in evidence.

La.R.S. 15:448 also provided:

To constitute res gestae the circumstances and declarations must be necessary incidents of the criminal act, or immediate concomitants of it, or form in conjunction with it one continuous action.

In State v. Haarala, 398 So.2d 1093, 1097 (La.1981) the Louisiana supreme court provided insight into the admission of res gestae evidence.

The general prohibition against the use of other crimes evidence does not bar admission of criminal acts which are an inseparable part of the whole deed. [citation omitted] In Louisiana, such acts are denominated as part of the res gestae and admitted under the authority of La.R.S. 15:447-448. A very close connexity between the charged offense and the other crimes evidence sought to be introduced under the res gestae exception is required. [citation omitted] ... This Court has...