Stalnaker v. Bobby
| Decision Date | 12 November 2008 |
| Docket Number | No. 1:07 CV 2204.,1:07 CV 2204. |
| Citation | 589 F.Supp.2d 905 |
| Parties | Michael A. STALNAKER, Petitioner, v. David BOBBY, Warden, Respondent. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Ohio |
Walter A. Lucas, Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs, Akron, OH, Dale A. Nowak, Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs, Cleveland, OH, for Petitioner.
Hilda Rosenberg, Office of the Attorney General, Cincinnati, OH, for Respondent.
Before the Court is the Report and Recommendation (the "R & R") of Magistrate Judge Greg White. (ECF No. 9.) Pending is the Petition Under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 for Writ of Habeas Corpus By A Person In State Custody (the "Petition"), filed on July 23, 2007 by Petitioner Michael A. Stalnaker. (ECF No. 1.) The Magistrate Judge recommends that the Petition be denied as to Ground One but conditionally granted as to that part of Ground Two resting on a Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296, 124 S.Ct. 2531, 159 L.Ed.2d 403 (2004) claim that Stalnaker was improperly sentenced to "non-minimum" prison terms. Stalnaker and Respondent have each filed Objections to the R & R. (ECF Nos. 11, 13.) For the following reasons, the Objections are DENIED and the Report and Recommendation is ADOPTED.
On December 5, 2003, the Lake County Grand Jury charged Stalnaker with five counts of rape, six counts of gross sexual imposition, and six counts of furnishing alcohol to a minor. Stalnaker pleaded not guilty to the charges and the matter proceeded to a jury trial where he was found guilty as charged. On May 6, 2004, the trial court sentenced Stalnaker to an aggregate prison term of thirty-three years.
On June 15, 2004, Stalnaker timely appealed the conviction to Ohio's Eleventh District Court of Appeals ("state appellate court"), alleging seven assignments of error. See State v. Stalnaker, 2005-Ohio-7042, 2005 WL 3610430 (Ohio App. 11 Dist. Dec. 29, 2005).1 On June 24, 2004, the United States Supreme Court decided Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296, 124 S.Ct. 2531, 159 L.Ed.2d 403 (2004) finding a violation of the Sixth Amendment right to trial by jury where the state sentencing statute permitted a judge to increase the defendant's sentence based upon factual finding of the judge rather than the jury. On December 29, 2005, the state appellate court affirmed Stalnaker's convictions and sentences.
On January 9, 2006, Stalnaker filed a motion for reconsideration pursuant to App.R. 26(A), which was denied by the state appellate court on January 27, 2006. Also on January 9, 2006, Stalnaker filed a Notice to Certify Conflict with the state appellate court regarding his fifth assignment of error, which raised two claims: 1) whether his sentence was unconstitutional under O.R.C. § 2929.14(B) because it was based on improper judicial fact-finding which increased the sentence beyond the statutory minimum; and 2) whether the imposition of consecutive prison terms was unconstitutional. The state appellate court found a conflict existed only as to the first issue and certified the question to the Ohio Supreme Court.2 While the certified question was pending, Stalnaker filed a Notice of Appeal with the Ohio Supreme Court.3
On February 27, 2006, the Ohio Supreme Court decided State v. Foster, 109 Ohio St.3d 1, 845 N.E.2d 470 (2006), in which the Court applied Blakely to Ohio's sentencing statutes and found portions thereof to be unconstitutional, including O.R.C. §§ 2929.14(B) and (E). On April 26, 2006, the Ohio Supreme Court dismissed the certified question, finding that no conflict existed. State v. Stalnaker, 109 Ohio St.3d 1420, 846 N.E.2d 531, 2006-Ohio-1967 (2006) (table) (cause dismissed). Furthermore, the Ohio Supreme Court dismissed Stalnaker's appeal, ruling that it did not involve any substantial constitutional question. State v. Stalnaker, 109 Ohio St.3d 1420, 846 N.E.2d 531, 2006-Ohio-1967 (April 26, 2006) (table) (appeal not allowed).
On July 23, 2007, Stalnaker filed the instant Petition asserting two grounds for relief:
1. Petitioner's trial counsel provided ineffective assistance of counsel, in violation of the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, by pursing a bizarre trial strategy that invited the introduction of an avalanche of "bad acts" evidence that tended to establish the accused's criminal propensity and, in effect, sealed Petitioner's conviction.
2. Petitioner was sentenced in violation of Petitioner's constitutional rights under the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution based upon judicial findings which were not admitted by Petitioner or proved to the jury beyond a reasonable doubt, contrary to the rule announced by the United States Supreme Court in Blakely v. Washington,
(ECF No. 1.) Respondent filed a Return of Writ (ECF No. 5), and Stalnaker filed a Traverse (ECF No. 8).
On September 24, 2008, Magistrate Judge White issued an R & R recommending that the Court dismiss the Petition as to Ground One but conditionally grant the Blakely claim contained in Ground Two. (ECF No. 9.) The Magistrate Judge concluded that the state appellate court correctly found that trial counsel's strategy did not amount to ineffective assistance of counsel, and that in any event there was no prejudice to Petitioner because the evidence of his guilt was overwhelming. In light of this conclusion, the Magistrate Judge also denied Petitioner's request to expand the record in support of the ineffective assistance of counsel claim. However, the Magistrate Judge did conclude that the state appellate court unreasonably applied federal law in affirming a greater-than-minimum sentence4 based upon the trial court's finding of facts not admitted by Petitioner nor submitted to and found by the jury.
Stalnaker and Respondent both filed timely Objections to the R & R (ECF Nos. 11, 13). Stalnaker argues that the Magistrate Judge erroneously concluded that trial counsel was not deficient because, reviewing the record as a whole, trial counsel's strategy was "bizarre" and not "objectively reasonable". (ECF No. 13 at 2-3.) Stalnaker further argues that the Magistrate Judge erroneously concluded that Petitioner was not prejudiced by trial counsel's strategy, as the evidence against Stalnaker was not overwhelming enough to negate counsel's conduct, and that the Magistrate Judge should have granted Petitioner's request for an expansion of the record to support the ineffective assistance of counsel claim. Finally, Petitioner objects to the Magistrate Judge's suggestion that Stalnaker's consecutive sentence claim was procedurally defaulted.
Respondent, on the other hand, objects to the Magistrate Judge's conclusion that the greater-than-minimum sentence predicated on judicial fact-finding violated Blakely. Specifically, Respondent argues that any Blakely error was harmless because upon re-sentencing the judge would impose the same sentence or a greater sentence.
The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, Pub.L. No. 104-132, 110 Stat. 1214 (1996) ("AEDPA"), governs the standards of review for state court decisions involving habeas corpus petitions. AEDPA provides that federal courts cannot grant a habeas petition for any claim that the state court adjudicated on the merits unless the adjudication: "(1) resulted in a decision that was contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established federal law as determined by the Supreme Court of the United States; or (2) resulted in a decision that was based upon an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented in the state court proceeding." 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d). See also, Miller v. Francis, 269 F.3d 609, 614 (6th Cir.2001).
The United States Supreme Court outlined the proper application of § 2254(d) in Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. 362, 120 S.Ct. 1495, 146 L.Ed.2d 389 (2000). To justify a grant of habeas relief under the "contrary to" clause, "a federal court must find a violation of law clearly established by holdings of the Supreme Court, as opposed to its dicta, as of the time of the relevant state court decision." Miller, 269 F.3d at 614 (internal quotations omitted) (quoting Williams, 529 U.S. at 412, 120 S.Ct. 1495). Meanwhile, "under the `unreasonable application' clause, a federal habeas court may grant the writ if the state court identifies the correct governing legal principle from Court's decisions but unreasonably applies that principle to the facts of the prisoner's case." Id. (quoting Williams, 529 U.S. at 412, 120 S.Ct. 1495). The proper inquiry for the "unreasonable application" analysis is whether the state court decision was "objectively unreasonable." Williams, 529 U.S. at 409-11, 120 S.Ct. 1495; McAdoo v. Elo, 365 F.3d 487, 493 (6th Cir.2004). If the state court never addressed an issue raised, this Court must review that issue de novo. Burton v. Renico, 391 F.3d 764, 770 (6th Cir.2004). Where, as here, the last state court decision is silent or neglects to explain its reasons for not granting the requested relief, this Court may assume that it relied on the last reasoned state court decision. Ivory v. Jackson, 509 F.3d 284, 291-92 (6th Cir.2007) (citations omitted). Thus, the Eleventh District Court of Appeals' rationale will be taken as the state court's basis for denying relief. Id.
Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1), the Court conducts a de novo review of those portions of the R & R to which Stalnaker and Respondent objected. 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1); Flournoy v. Marshall, 842 F.2d 875 (6th Cir.1988). Stalnaker's Petition asserts two grounds for relief. The Court will discuss the objections pertaining to each ground in turn.
In habeas petitions, the question of ineffective assistance of counsel is a...
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State v. Stalnaker, CASE NO. 2013-L-006
...{¶5} One year after the end of the Supreme Court proceedings, appellant filed a federal habeas corpus action. In Stalnaker v. Bobby, 589 F.Supp.2d 905 (N.D.Ohio 2008), the district court held that appellant's constitutional rights were violated when the trial court engaged in improper judic......
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State v. Stalnaker
...assistance; and (2) that he was sentenced in violation of his constitutional rights contrary to Blakely. Stalnaker v. Bobby, 589 F.Supp.2d 905, 911 (N.D.Ohio 2008). The Northern District granted appellant's petition as to the second ground of his petition resting on a Blakely claim that he ......