Shamsuddin v. Smith
| Decision Date | 03 January 2022 |
| Docket Number | 9:20-CV-0955 (DNH) |
| Citation | 578 F.Supp.3d 328 |
| Parties | Latif SHAMSUDDIN, Petitioner, v. Brandon J. SMITH, Superintendent, Greene Correctional Facility, Respondent. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of New York |
LATIF SHAMSUDDIN, Petitioner, Pro Se, 17-A-3697, Greene Correctional Facility, P.O. Box 975, Coxsackie, NY 12051.
HON. LETITIA JAMES, Attorney for Respondent, New York State Attorney General, OF COUNSEL: MARGARET A. CIEPRISZ, ESQ., Ass't Attorney General, 28 Liberty Street, New York, NY 10005.
DECISION and ORDER
Pro se petitioner Latif Shamsuddin ("Shamsuddin" or "petitioner") seeks federal habeas corpus relief pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. Dkt. No. 1 ("Pet."). Respondent ("Smith" or "respondent") was directed to answer the petition, Dkt. No. 5, and thereafter filed an opposition to petitioner's request for relief, Dkt. No. 9, Memorandum of Law in Opposition; Dkt. No. 10, Answer; Dkt. No. 11, State Court Records. Petitioner has filed a traverse.1 Dkt. No. 18. For the reasons that follow, Shamsuddin's habeas petition is denied and dismissed.
In September 2016, Shamsuddin was charged in an indictment with burglary in the second degree after he entered a guest room at the Hilton Hotel in the City of Albany and stole a guitar. People v. Shamsuddin , 167 A.D.3d 1334, 90 N.Y.S.3d 376 (2018).
Shamsuddin's trial was held in May 2017. T. at 37.2 The People relied on the testimony of several witnesses including Mirnia Quinde, a housekeeper for the Hilton Hotel. Id. at 342-343. Quinde testified that while she was cleaning the bathroom in Room 410 on August 15, 2016, at approximately 3:45 p.m., Shamsuddin entered the room and claimed to be a guest in the room. Id. at 344-346. Shamsuddin told her he needed to use the bathroom. Id. at 346. Quinde left the room, went into the hall, and Shamsuddin closed the door. T. at 347. After two or three minutes, Shamsuddin exited the room with a guitar that Quinde recalled seeing in the room, wedged in the small space between the bed and the wall. Id. at 346-348. Quinde returned to the room to finish cleaning and noticed that the water in the toilet was not running. T. at 348. Later that day, as Quinde was cleaning another room, two men asked her "[w]here is the guitar?" Id. When Quinde responded, the third man came and took it, the men replied, "[n]o, there wasn't a third person." Id. at 349.
Shana Callaghan, an employee at Modern Body Art, also testified for the prosecution. T. at 371. Callaghan was working in the shop on August 15, 2016 at approximately 4:00 p.m. when Shamsuddin came in and asked if anyone was a musician. Id. at 372-373. Callaghan noticed he was holding a guitar case with the word, "Gibson" on it and asked if he was interested in selling the guitar. Id. When Callaghan asked him how much he wanted, the man said "$45.00" and Callaghan bought the guitar. Id. Later that day, Callaghan wondered if the deal was "too good to be true" and took it to a friend at a guitar shop. T. at 373. The friend told her the guitar was worth, at least, $1500. Id. at 374. Callaghan went home and called the Albany Police Report and spoke with Detective Haggerty. Id.
Detective Haggerty testified that he received a call from Callaghan, who told him she purchased a guitar from a man for $45. T. at 446-447. Not long after, the Hilton reported a burglary and stolen guitar. Id. at 448. Haggerty asked Callaghan to bring the guitar to the police department. Id. at 449. The owner identified the guitar and it was returned to him. Id. at 450. As part of the investigation into the burglary, Haggerty asked another detective to conduct a video canvas. T. at 451. The detective returned with multiple videos that captured a suspect traveling, on foot, with the guitar. Id. Haggerty "pull[ed] still images from the video" and issued a crime bulletin. Id. at 452. As a result of the bulletin, Shamsuddin was taken into custody. Id. at 459-460. A redacted copy of the videotape of Haggerty's interview with Shamsuddin, which the parties stipulated to admit into evidence, was played for the jury.3 T. at 276, 461-462.
Shamsuddin testified that, on August 15, 2016, he was homeless, estranged from his wife, and smoked crack "over five times." T. at 517, 525, 526. Shamsuddin went to the Hilton Hotel that day to get a get a drink of water and use the bathroom. Id. at 526. Shamsuddin also hoped to "bump" into his wife, who worked for "HEAT; New York State" at 40 Lodge Street, the same address as the hotel. Id. at 520, 526. Because his wife worked at that location for 18 years, Shamsuddin had entered the Hilton Hotel "hundreds of times." Id. at 520-521.
Shamsuddin testified that he entered the hotel, walked to the elevator and pushed the down button. T. at 527. However, when Shamsuddin entered the elevator, it went up instead of down. Id. at 527. When the elevator doors opened, Shamsuddin followed the crowd of people off of the elevator onto the fourth floor. Id. at 527, 539.
Shamsuddin walked down a corridor and saw an open room. T. at 528. Shamsuddin asked the maid if he could use the bathroom and she agreed. Id. Shamsuddin did not recall telling the maid that Room 410 was his room. Id. at 541. The maid closed the door to the bathroom and Shamsuddin "handle[d] [his] business." Id. at 528. When Shamsuddin exited the bathroom, he saw the guitar and grabbed it. T. at 541. Shamsuddin testified that he "figured I could get some money for [the guitar] and I can keep running the streets and get high." Id. at 529. Shamsuddin sold the guitar in a tattoo shop. Id. at 530.
Shamsuddin testified he was apprehended by Officer Babcock who, T. at 531. Shamsuddin did not recall complaining about "broken ribs" to the police during his interview. Id. at 545.
During summation, Shamsuddin's counsel told the jury that Shamsuddin sustained "three broken ribs" when he was "brought down" and advised that the judge would instruct them that "you are the determination [sic] as to whether or not a confession was innocent." T. at 583. Shamsuddin's counsel also stated, and told the jury that Callaghan "ma[de] up this elaborate, weird story[.]" Id. at 583, 585, 589, 590.
During his summation, the prosecutor emphasized the lack of evidence supporting Shamsuddin's testimony that his wife worked anywhere near the Hilton. T. at 593-594. The prosecutor told the jury that "the defendant needs to have a reason to be in the Hilton, there is no reason for him to be in the Hilton" and stated, Id. at 594.
The prosecutor also stated "[d]efense attorney wants to make this about credibility" and urged the jury to, "please, please make this about credibility." Id. at 596. The prosecutor asked the jury to consider what motive Quinde and Callaghan would have to lie and stated that Shamsuddin had "zero credibility." Id. at 596-597, 600, 606. The prosecutor also asked the jury to "consider why is it that the Albany Police Department records interviews[.]" Id. at 600. Counsel continued, T. at 600.
Petitioner's counsel repeatedly objected to the prosecutor's summation. The trial court overruled counsel's objections related to Shamsuddin's wife's employment and the prosecutor's characterization of the defense strategy (T. at 594, 596) and sustained the objections related to Quinde's "interest," references to police brutality, and characterizations of Shamsuddin's credibility. T. at 597, 600, 606.
The prosecutor played portions of Shamsuddin's police interview for the jury. T. at 610-612. Shamsuddin's trial counsel objected to the prosecutor taking portions of the video out of context. T. at 594, 596, 600, 611, 612. The trial court overruled the objection. Id. at 614.
Ultimately, the jury found Shamsuddin guilty of burglary in the second degree. T. at 682.
On July 11, 2017, Shamsuddin filed a counseled motion to set aside the verdict pursuant to New York Criminal Procedure ("CPL") § 330.30. SR. at 32-40.4 Petitioner's CPL § 330.30 motion claimed that the prosecutor's summation was improper and prejudicial in the following respects: (1) the prosecutor vouched for the credibility of his witnesses; (2) the prosecutor denigrated petitioner's counsel and petitioner; (3) the prosecutor engaged in "burden shifting;" and (4) the prosecutor misrepresented the evidence. Id.
On August 24, 2017, the Albany County Court denied Shamsuddin's CPL § 330.30 motion. SR. at 69-72. First, the court noted that, during summation, defense counsel accused Ms. Quinde and Ms. Callaghan of lying. Id. at 70, 71. Thus, the court found that the prosecutor's comments concerning the witness’ motives and credibility, "when viewed as a response to defense counsel's summations, [ ] did not rise to the level of reversible error." Id.
Second, the court held that the prosecutor did not "denigrate" petitioner's counsel or petitioner, but rather, counsel responded to defense counsel's statements related to petitioner's broken ribs and "groundwork for an inference of police brutality and a challenge to the voluntariness of the defendant's admissions." SR. at 69-72.
Third, the court found no merit to petitioner's claim that the prosecutor impermissibly shifted the burden of proof because Shamsuddin elected to take the stand in support of his defense. SR. at 71. The court concluded that the...
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