Sanchez v. Hedgpeth

• Decision Date: 28 February 2010
• Docket Number: No. EDCV 07-01003 AG (SS).,EDCV 07-01003 AG (SS).
• Citation: 706 F.Supp.2d 963
• Parties: Samuel B. SANCHEZ, Petitioner,v.Anthony HEDGPETH, Warden, Respondent.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Central District of California

706 F.Supp.2d 963

Samuel B. SANCHEZ, Petitioner,
v.
Anthony HEDGPETH, Warden, Respondent.

No. EDCV 07-01003 AG (SS).

United States District Court,
C.D. California.

Feb. 28, 2010.

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Samuel B. Sanchez, Soledad, CA, pro se.

James D. Dutton, Office of Attorney General of California, San Diego, CA, for Respondents.ORDER ADOPTING FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGEANDREW J. GUILFORD, District Judge.

Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636, the Court has reviewed the Petition, all of the records and files herein, and the Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation. The time for filing Objections to the Report and Recommendation has passed and no Objections have been received. Accordingly, the Court accepts and adopts the findings, conclusions and recommendations of the Magistrate Judge.

Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED THAT:

1. The Petition is DENIED and Judgment shall be entered dismissing this action with prejudice.

2. The Clerk shall serve copies of this Order and the Judgment herein by United States mail on Petitioner and on counsel for Respondent.

REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION OF UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGESUZANNE H. SEGAL, United States Magistrate Judge.

This Report and Recommendation is submitted to the Honorable Andrew J. Guilford, United States District Judge, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636 and General Order 05-07 of the United States District Court for the Central District of California.

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I. INTRODUCTION

On August 10, 2007, Samuel B. Sanchez (“Petitioner”), a California state prisoner proceeding pro se, filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus by a Person in State Custody (the “Petition”) and a Memorandum of Points and Authorities in Support of the Petition (the “Pet. Memo.”). On November 7, 2007, Respondent ¹ filed an Answer to the Petition (the “Answer”) and a Memorandum of Points and Authorities in Support of the Answer (the “Ans. Memo.”). Respondent lodged eighteen documents including a two-volume copy of the Clerk's Transcript (“CT”) and a two-volume copy of the Reporter's Transcript (“RT”) from Petitioner's trial proceedings in the Riverside County Superior Court. On December 7, 2007, Petitioner filed a Traverse to the Answer (the “Traverse”). On December 11, 2007, Petitioner filed a Memorandum of Points and Authorities in Support of the Traverse (the “Trav. Memo.”). For the reasons discussed below, it is recommended that the Petition be DENIED and that this action be DISMISSED with prejudice.

II. PRIOR PROCEEDINGS

On March 10, 2004, a Riverside County Superior Court jury found Petitioner guilty of second degree robbery in violation of California Penal Code (“Penal Code”) section 211 and possession of a firearm by a felon in violation of Penal Code section 12021(a)(1). (1 CT 250, 252). The jury also found true the allegation that Petitioner personally used a firearm within the meaning of Penal Code sections 12022.53(b) and 1192.7(c)(8). (1 CT 251). Two of the counts were bifurcated from the initial trial and on April 9, 2004, Petitioner pled guilty to two counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor in violation of Penal Code section 261.5(c).² (2 CT 333-36). The trial court then imposed an indeterminate term of fifty years to life in state prison plus an additional term of twenty-one years. (2 CT 339).

On March 10, 2005, 2005 WL 555580, the California Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court's judgment. (Lodgment 8, Opinion of the California Court of Appeal (“Lodgment 8”) at 1, 23). Petitioner thereafter filed a petition for review in the California Supreme Court, which was denied on June 8, 2005, “without prejudice to any relief to which [Petitioner] might be entitled [under] ... Blakely v. Washington [, 542 U.S. 296, 124 S.Ct. 2531, 159 L.Ed.2d 403 (2004) ].” (Lodgment 9, Petition for Review (“Lodgment 9”); Lodgment 10, California Supreme Court Order (“Lodgment 10”)).

On June 23, 2006, Petitioner filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the Riverside County Superior Court, which was denied on August 2, 2006, without comment or citation to authority. (Lodgment 11, Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (“Lodgment 11”); Lodgment 12, Riverside County Superior Court Order (“Lodgment 12”)). On November 2, 2006, Petitioner filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the California Court of Appeal, which was denied on November 9, 2006, without comment or citation to authority. (Lodgment 13, Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (“Lodgment 13”); Lodgment 14, California Court of Appeal Order (“Lodgment 14”)).

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On December 7, 2006, Petitioner filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the California Supreme Court, which was denied on May 23, 2007, without comment or citation to authority. (Lodgment 15, Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (“Lodgment 15”); Lodgment 16, California Supreme Court Order (“Lodgment 16”)).

On December 12, 2006, Petitioner filed a second petition for writ of habeas corpus in the California Supreme Court, which was denied on May 28, 2007, with a citation to In re Miller, 17 Cal.2d 734, 112 P.2d 10 (1941). (Lodgment 17, Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (“Lodgment 17”); Lodgment 18, California Supreme Court Order (“Lodgment 18”)). The instant Petition was filed on August 10, 2007.

III. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

The following facts, taken from the California Court of Appeal's unpublished decision, have not been rebutted with clear and convincing evidence and must, therefore, be presumed correct. 28 U.S.C. § 2254(e)(1).

On December 9, 2002, employees of the Kirby vacuum cleaner company were demonstrating and selling carpet-cleaning equipment door to door in a residential area of Moreno Valley. There were five or six employees participating, supervised by David Schmidt, the manager. One of the employees, Lauren Sanchez, also was Schmidt's girlfriend. (Sanchez was not related to [Petitioner].)

Near the end of the day, Schmidt and Sanchez drove in the company van to a restaurant to get something to eat. While at the restaurant, they received several phone calls from their office manager telling them that they needed to go pick up Kirby employee Audrey Williams from one of the houses on the route, where she had been demonstrating equipment. Schmidt and Sanchez left the restaurant and drove to the house. Williams came out of the house, and she and Schmidt starting putting the equipment in the van.

While they were loading the equipment, Lajamara Jenkins came out of the house and starting [sic] yelling at Schmidt. Jenkins was upset that he had not come promptly to pick up Williams. It was 8:30 to 9:00 p.m. by this time.

Jenkins asked Schmidt how much money he had. Schmidt asked, “What, are you trying to rob me or what?” [Petitioner], who had come out of the house in the meantime, came around the van and stood on one side of Schmidt while Jenkins stood on the other. [Petitioner] asked Schmidt again how much money he had.

Schmidt kind of smirked and asked [Petitioner] if he was trying to rob him. [Petitioner] pulled a gun and held it to Schmidt's temple. Jenkins asked Schmidt to open his wallet. [Petitioner] told Schmidt to do as Jenkins said.

Schmidt opened his wallet and let Jenkins take his money. As [Petitioner] and Jenkins left the scene, [Petitioner] yelled something like, “Don't be doing this in my hood.”

Schmidt, Sanchez, and Williams left in the van to go pick up the other Kirby employees. Sanchez called 911 on her cell phone and reported the incident.

On December 11, 2002, police found [Petitioner] and Jenkins inside the house at the address at which the robbery had occurred. They also found a gun in the backyard that resembled the one described by the eyewitnesses to the robbery.

(Lodgment 8 at 2-3).IV.

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PETITIONER'S CLAIMS ³

In the Petition, Petitioner raises five grounds for federal habeas relief. First, Petitioner contends that his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance by failing to: (A) “challenge the tainted in court identification”; (B) raise the issue “that Petitioner's Miranda rights were violated”; (C) “make an adequate and timely proffer of alleged victim's bad act-priors to impeach his veracity”; (D) “request limited jury instruction [s]”; (E) “object during trial to evidence that was suppressed”; and (F) demonstrate “that alleged witness participated to [sic] this alleged robbery.” (Petition at 5) (emphasis added). Second, Petitioner contends that the trial court violated his constitutional right to self-representation because: (A) “discovery motions were not fully honored”; (B) the trial court “failed to admonish the district attorney for malfeasance/misconduct”; and (C) the trial court “denied Petitioner the compulsory process for obtaining a defense witness in his favor.” ( Id.). Third, Petitioner contends that his sentence violates a 1991 plea agreement. ( See id. at 6). Fourth, Petitioner contends that his appellate counsel rendered ineffective assistance by failing to raise Grounds 1, 2, and 3 on appeal. ( See id.). Fifth, Petitioner contends that the trial court violated his constitutional rights by: (A) excluding evidence of the victim's prior bad acts; (B) failing to sua sponte give the jury a limiting instruction regarding Petitioner's prior conviction; and (C) imposing consecutive sentences based on facts not found by the jury beyond a reasonable doubt. ( See id.).

V. STANDARD OF REVIEW

The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (“AEDPA”), which effected amendments to the federal habeas statutes, applies to the instant Petition because Petitioner filed it after AEDPA's effective date of April 24, 1996. Lindh v. Murphy, 521 U.S. 320, 336, 117 S.Ct. 2059, ...