Satterlee v. Wolfenbarger
| Decision Date | 30 June 2006 |
| Docket Number | No. 05-2513.,No. 05-2013.,05-2013.,05-2513. |
| Citation | 453 F.3d 362 |
| Parties | Wynn SATTERLEE, Petitioner-Appellee, v. Hugh WOLFENBARGER, Respondent-Appellant. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit |
ARGUED: Janet A. VanCleve, Office of the Attorney General, Lansing, Michigan, for Appellant. James Sterling Lawrence, Royal Oak, Michigan, for Appellee. ON BRIEF: Janet A. VanCleve, Office of the Attorney General, Lansing, Michigan, for Appellant. James Sterling Lawrence, Royal Oak, Michigan, for Appellee.
Before: MOORE, COLE, and CLAY, Circuit Judges.
These consolidated appeals concern the grant of habeas relief to Petitioner-Appellee Wynn Satterlee, a Michigan state prisoner who was convicted by jury and sentenced after his trial counsel failed to inform him of a favorable plea offer. The district court initially granted a conditional writ, ordering the state to reinstate the plea offer that Satterlee never received. When the state failed to comply, the district court granted an unconditional writ, ordering Satterlee's immediate release and the expungement of his record of conviction.
In No. 05-2013, the state challenges the judgment granting the conditional writ, arguing that Satterlee failed to exhaust state-court remedies and that the district court made a clearly erroneous factual finding. Because the state's arguments are without merit, we AFFIRM.
In No. 05-2513, the state challenges the judgment granting the unconditional writ, arguing that the remedies of immediate release and expungement exceeded the district court's power. Because the state's arguments are once again without merit, we AFFIRM, albeit with instructions to clarify an ambiguity in the unconditional writ, which is discussed below. We REMAND for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
Satterlee was convicted by a Michigan jury of conspiring to deliver more than 650 grams of cocaine and was sentenced to twenty to thirty years' imprisonment. Satterlee appealed on grounds not relevant here. The Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed, and the Michigan Supreme Court denied leave to appeal. People v. Satterlee, No. 217262, 2000 WL 33521090 (Mich. Ct.App. Mar.28, 2000); People v. Satterlee, 462 Mich. 902, 659 N.W.2d 227 (2000) (table decision).
Satterlee moved for relief from judgment pursuant to Michigan Court Rule 6.502, arguing, inter alia, that he was denied his Sixth Amendment right to the effective assistance of counsel under Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984), and Hill v. Lockhart, 474 U.S. 52, 106 S.Ct. 366, 88 L.Ed.2d 203 (1985), when his trial attorney, David Dodge, failed to relay to Satterlee a favorable plea offer that he would have accepted. The state trial court denied relief, and both the Michigan Court of Appeals and the Michigan Supreme Court denied leave to appeal. Joint Appendix ("J.A.") at 93 (Circuit Court decision);1 J.A. at 199 (Court of Appeals decision); People v. Satterlee, 468 Mich. 894, 661 N.W.2d 241 (2003) (table decision).
Satterlee filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The district court conducted an evidentiary hearing, where Dodge, John Cipriani (the state prosecutor in Satterlee's case), Satterlee, and Margaret Satterlee (Satterlee's mother) testified. Satterlee v. Wolfenbarger (Satterlee I), 374 F.Supp.2d 562, 570-74 (E.D.Mich.2005) (); J.A. at 270-385 (Evid. Hr'g Tr.). The district court made two findings of fact: (1) "the prosecutor made a plea offer on the day of trial to allow petitioner to plead guilty in exchange for a sentence of six to twenty years"; and (2) "the plea offer of six to twenty years was never communicated to petitioner by his attorney David Dodge." Satterlee I, 374 F.Supp.2d at 568-69. These factual findings were based largely on the determination that Satterlee, his mother, and Cipriani were more credible than Dodge. Id.
The district court concluded that "there is a reasonable probability that petitioner would have accepted the plea offer that was made in this case." Relying on our decision in Griffin v. United States, 330 F.3d 733 (6th Cir.2003), which had in turn relied on Strickland and Hill, the district court granted a conditional writ based on Satterlee's ineffective-assistance-of-counsel ("IAC") claim. Id. at 567, 569. The district court gave the state sixty days to reinstate the six-to-twenty-year plea offer. Id. at 569-70. The state appeals this order in No. 05-2013, arguing that Satterlee failed to exhaust state-court remedies and that the district court made a clearly erroneous factual finding.
When the conditional writ's sixty-day deadline passed, Satterlee applied for his immediate release, to which the state responded by filing a motion in the district court for a stay pending its appeal in No. 05-2013. The district court denied the state's motion for stay and granted Satterlee an unconditional writ, ordering his immediate release and the expungement of the record of his conviction. Satterlee v. Wolfenbarger (Satterlee II), No. Civ. 03-71682-DT, 2005 WL 2704877 (E.D.Mich. Oct.19, 2005). The state appeals this order in No. 05-2513, arguing that the remedies of immediate release and expungement exceeded the district court's power.
In a habeas proceeding, we review de novo the district court's legal conclusions, including its ultimate decision to grant or deny the writ, and we review for clear error its factual findings. Burton v. Renico, 391 F.3d 764, 770 (6th Cir.2004), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 126 S.Ct. 353, 163 L.Ed.2d 62 (2005); Sawyer v. Hofbauer, 299 F.3d 605, 608 (6th Cir.2002).
The state first argues that Satterlee did not satisfy the exhaustion requirement. A writ of habeas corpus may not be granted unless the petitioner has exhausted available state-court remedies. 28 U.S.C. § 2254(b)(1). In order to satisfy the exhaustion requirement, "a petitioner's claim must be `fairly presented' to the state courts before seeking relief in the federal courts." Whiting v. Burt, 395 F.3d 602, 612 (6th Cir.2005) (citing Baldwin v. Reese, 541 U.S. 27, 29, 124 S.Ct. 1347, 158 L.Ed.2d 64 (2004); Picard v. Connor, 404 U.S. 270, 275, 92 S.Ct. 509, 30 L.Ed.2d 438 (1971)). "It is sufficient if `the substance of a federal habeas corpus claim' be presented to the state courts, and there are instances in which `the ultimate question for disposition' will be the same despite variations in the legal theory or factual allegations urged in its support." Id. at 612-13 (quoting Picard, 404 U.S. at 277-78, 92 S.Ct. 509). Whether a habeas petitioner has satisfied the exhaustion requirement is a question of law that we review de novo. E.g., Morris v. Dretke, 413 F.3d 484, 491 (5th Cir.2005); Stevens v. Delaware Corr. Ctr., 295 F.3d 361, 368 (3d Cir.2002); Greene v. Lambert, 288 F.3d 1081, 1086 (9th Cir.2002); Fortini v. Murphy, 257 F.3d 39, 44 (1st Cir.2001), cert. denied, 535 U.S. 1018, 122 S.Ct. 1609, 152 L.Ed.2d 623 (2002).
The state concedes that Satterlee's legal theory — that he was denied his Sixth Amendment right to the effective assistance of counsel under Strickland and Hill when his trial attorney failed to relay a favorable plea offer — was fairly presented to the state courts. Appellant Br. (05-2013) at 20. Its exhaustion argument is instead premised on the contention that Satterlee did not fairly present to the state courts the factual allegations underlying his legal theory. According to the state, although the district court granted the writ based on Dodge's failure to relay a six-to-twenty-year offer made the morning of trial ("morning offer"), before the state courts Satterlee relied on Dodge's failure to relay a different offer — one that Dodge allegedly sent via letter to Satterlee a week before trial ("letter offer"). Thus, the state argues, Satterlee did not fairly present his IAC claim to the state courts.
The state's argument is without merit, as it is wrong on the facts. Although his IAC argument in the state postconviction proceedings focused on the letter offer, Satterlee also notified the state courts of the morning offer:
There will be some factual disputes to be resolved at a hearing. The letter of David Dodge of November 30, 1998, which Defendant received only after being convicted and sentenced, refers to a plea offer of 3 to 7 years. Yet, present counsel spoke by telephone with prosecutor John Cipriani, and Mr. Cipriani states that there was never a plea offer of 3 to 7 years, but that there was a plea offer of 6 to 20 years. (See affidavit of James Lawrence). Something peculiar is going on here, where attorney Dodge after sentence comes up with letters never before seen by Defendant, allegedly advising him of an offer, yet the prosecutor says that offer was never made. At this point, Defendant and his counsel are unsure of who to believe, prosecutor Cipriani or attorney Dodge, who directly contradict each other. An evidentiary hearing is clearly needed.
J.A. at 104 (Br. in Supp. of Mot. for Relief from J. at 2 n. 1) (emphases added), 155 (Br. in Supp. of Application for Leave to Appeal at 5 n. 1) (emphases added). Therefore, Satterlee informed the state courts of Dodge's failure to relay both plea offers, and the relief eventually granted by the district court was based on one of them. Accordingly, Satterlee fairly presented both the legal and factual bases of his IAC claim to the state courts.2
The state next objects to a factual finding made by the district court. We review for clear error a factual finding made pursuant to a habeas court's evidentiary hearing. Carter v. Mitchell, 443 F.3d 517, 535 (6th Cir.2006); Sawyer, 299 F.3d at 608. "`A finding is clearly erroneous when although there is evidence to support it, the reviewing court...
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