Searcy v. Jaimet
| Decision Date | 23 June 2003 |
| Docket Number | No. 02-4010.,02-4010. |
| Citation | 332 F.3d 1081 |
| Parties | Derrick SEARCY, Petitioner-Appellee, v. Danny D. JAIMET, Warden, Hill Correctional Center, Respondent-Appellant. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit |
Steven J. Winger (argued), Jenner & Block, Chicago, IL, for Petitioner-Appellee.
Lisa A. Hoffman (argued), Office of the Attorney General, Chicago, IL, for Respondent-Appellant.
Before CUDAHY, MANION, and KANNE, Circuit Judges.
Derrick Searcy filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He claimed that his conviction for first-degree murder was tainted by the violation of his Sixth Amendment right to a broad opportunity to cross-examine witnesses regarding their motivation to testify against him. The district court agreed that the Illinois state court had indeed violated Searcy's Confrontation Clause rights and granted his petition. Because we do not believe that the Illinois state court's decision regarding the scope of Searcy's cross-examination rights was either contrary to or an unreasonable application of clearly established federal law, we reverse.
Petitioner Searcy was tried and convicted by a jury in Cook County Circuit Court on the charge of first-degree murder in the death of Edward Bowman. The State's case against Searcy rested heavily on the testimony of two "occurrence" witnesses who were present during the events leading up to the murder of Bowman.
The first witness, Clarence Johnson, testified that on June 6, 1994, he saw Searcy and Bowman arguing, that Searcy hit Bowman during their argument, and that Searcy repeatedly told Bowman that he was going to kill him. Johnson went on to testify that he witnessed a second altercation between Searcy and Bowman later that same day, this time on the front porch of Searcy's home. During this second argument, Searcy pulled a gun from his shoe and chased Bowman around the side of Searcy's house into the alley. Johnson said he saw Searcy fire two shots at Bowman as he chased him, neither of which hit Bowman. Once Bowman and Searcy reached the alley, Johnson could no longer see them, but he said he heard five more shots a few seconds later. After hearing the shots, Johnson went to the alley where he found Bowman lying on the ground.
The State's second primary witness was Michael Brooks, who was with Johnson during the events of June 6th. Brooks also testified to seeing Searcy and Bowman arguing early in the day and to witnessing the second argument at Searcy's home. Like Johnson, Brooks said he saw Searcy chase Bowman to an alley adjoining Searcy's home and saw Searcy fire two shots at Bowman (he was unaware if those shots actually hit Bowman). Brooks testified that some five to ten seconds later he heard five more shots, all coming at the same time. He testified to being the first person to arrive at the scene of the shooting, where he found Bowman lying in the alley. Brooks said that Bowman spoke to him at that time, telling him, "Uhh, I'm not going to make it."
The police arrived to find Bowman dead at the scene. At the time, neither Johnson nor Brooks told the police that they believed that Searcy had shot Bowman. Brooks did tell a detective about the earlier confrontation between Searcy and Bowman, but not that he saw Searcy shooting at Bowman in the later incident. Johnson testified that he then drove home and called Bowman's son, Marlonn Boyd, to tell him about the murder of his father. They later returned to the scene, where Brooks said he and Johnson told Marlonn that Searcy had killed his father.
On May 1, 1995, almost one year after Bowman's death, the police arrested Searcy on an unrelated matter. Based on the police interviews of Johnson and Brooks on the day of Bowman's death, Searcy was ultimately charged with Bowman's murder. The State's case against Searcy rested primarily on the testimony of Johnson and Brooks, who testified at trial as to what they allegedly witnessed on the day Bowman was killed.
Given the centrality of the testimony of Johnson and Brooks to the State's case, a key part of Searcy's defense was to call into question their credibility by highlighting discrepancies in their accounts. For example, Searcy pointed out that the medical examiner testified that Bowman had been shot six times in the face. According to both the medical examiner and the defense's expert neurologist, the fourth shot to Bowman's head likely caused immediate death, conflicting with Brooks's account of Bowman talking to him after he had been shot. The defense also offered the testimony of Tonita Mills, who said that on the day Bowman was killed, she saw Brooks arguing with a man in the alley behind Searcy's house. After she turned away from the argument, she heard several gunshots. As she ran away from the scene, she saw Johnson driving up. She testified that she did not see Searcy at any point that afternoon.
In addition to noting inconsistencies in Johnson's and Brooks's accounts, Searcy also wanted to inquire into their possible biases and motivations in testifying. The defense's theory was that Brooks was the actual shooter of Bowman, with Johnson as his accomplice, because Brooks had learned that Bowman was acting as a police informant, providing information about Brooks's drug-dealing activities. Searcy sought to question them about the fact that after Bowman had been arrested for possession of drugs, he began negotiations with the police to become an informant. He also wanted to cross-examine both Brooks and Johnson about their alleged membership in a gang that sold drugs in competition with Bowman.
Searcy argued that his evidence would show that when Bowman was arrested for drug dealing in 1994, in the presence of someone named Clinton Boyd (who was a neighbor of Johnson), he told police that Michael Brooks was a drug dealer and the one for whom the police were looking. Searcy was prepared to call as a witness Chicago Police Officer Donald Washington, who would testify to the events surrounding Bowman's arrest, as well as his subsequent negotiations with Bowman over the terms of a deal to act as a police informant. He also offered the testimony of Tonita Mills, who the defense said would testify to buying drugs from Brooks and Johnson on numerous occasions. Ultimately, the defense sought to argue that Brooks became aware of Bowman's informant activities (through Clinton Boyd talking with his neighbor Johnson, who would then talk to Brooks), providing a motivation for him to murder Bowman.
Before the opening statements in Searcy's trial, the State moved in limine to prevent the defense from offering any evidence about the issue of Bowman working as a police informant. The State was apparently concerned that the defense's theory was to create reasonable doubt as to Searcy's guilt by giving the jury another potential villain, regardless of any evidence backing up accusations against Brooks. The trial court eventually ruled that Searcy could not cross-examine Johnson or Brooks regarding the informant issue unless he could provide a foundation for that line of questioning—by, for example, showing that they knew that Bowman was informing on them.1
The trial court did permit the defense to examine both witnesses outside the presence of the jury on the informant issue as a means of laying the foundation for such testimony. During this voir dire of Johnson and Brooks, Johnson admitted to knowing Bowman, but said that he had never had a conversation with Clinton Boyd regarding Bowman's arrest. Instead, the communication between Johnson and Clinton Boyd was limited to an occasional "hello and goodbye." Johnson also testified that no one ever told him that Bowman was considering informing on Brooks. Brooks testified that he also knew Bowman, but denied knowing that Bowman sold drugs or that Bowman had been arrested for drug possession in 1994. Brooks further testified that he had no knowledge that Bowman was considering becoming a police informant against him. Brooks became quite agitated when asked by defense counsel if he was aware that Bowman had told the Chicago police that he was a drug dealer—so agitated, in fact, that the trial judge had to warn Brooks to "calm down" and "restrain [himself]."
Given that the two witnesses did not admit to knowing that Bowman was negotiating with police to become an informant against Brooks, and that Searcy was unable to meet the trial court's requirement that he prove such knowledge by other competent evidence, the trial court granted the government's in limine motion and precluded Searcy from inquiring into the informant issue during examination of Johnson and Brooks in the presence of the jury.
The jury ultimately found Searcy guilty of first-degree murder, and the court sentenced him to 42 years imprisonment. Searcy then took his case to the Illinois Court of Appeals, which affirmed the conviction. That court found that the trial court had not erred in precluding examination into the informant issue, noting that while the Sixth Amendment's Confrontation Clause "guarantees the opportunity for effective cross examination[,] testimony under cross-examination may be excluded as irrelevant if it is remote, uncertain or conjectural." People v. Searcy, 776 N.E.2d 343, 2000 WL 33908773, slip op. at 16 (Ill.Ct.App. Aug.2, 2000). The court went on to note that given the defense's offer of proof, "[i]t was speculative whether Clinton Boyd overheard Bowman's statements about Brooks ... it was conjectural whether Brooks or Johnson knew what Mr. Bowman stated to the police or that he was becoming an informant." Id. at 16-17. Given the chain of speculation required to reach the conclusion that Brooks was motivated to kill Bowman because of his informant activities, the court concluded that "[w]ithout such evidence [of Brooks's or Johnson's...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Corcoran v. Buss
...identify the "clearly established Federal law" that Corcoran argues was offended by the Indiana state court decision. Searcy v. Jaimet, 332 F.3d 1081, 1087 (7th Cir.2003). We then determine "whether the state court's decision was either `contrary to' or `involved an unreasonable application......
-
Arredondo v. Pollard
...the unreasonable application prong of the habeas statute, "substantial deference is due state court determinations." Searcy v. Jaimet, 332 F.3d 1081, 1089 (7th Cir.2003). Thus, I must uphold the state court decision if it is "`at least minimally consistent with the facts and circumstances o......
-
Van Patten v. Deppisch
...1495, 146 L.Ed.2d 389 (2000).2 We review the district court's decision rejecting Van Patten's habeas petition de novo. Searcy v. Jaimet, 332 F.3d 1081, 1087 (7th Cir.2003). The Sixth Amendment's right-to-counsel guarantee recognizes "the obvious truth that the average defendant does not hav......
-
Leslie v. Roberson
...for example, "for which there is no proper foundation . . . or into matters that are unduly speculative." Searcy v. Jaimet, 332 F.3d 1081, 1090 (7th Cir. 2003). At trial, the court sustained the State's objection when defense counsel questioned Officer Rodriguez about whether he was current......
-
Trial
...trial court must give the defendant the maximum opportunity to cross-examine and test the credibility of the witness. Searcy v. Jaimet , 332 F.3d 1081, 1092 (7th Cir. 2003), although this does not mean that the defendant will be “given every opportunity, no matter how speculative, confusing......