Stinson v. Wakefield

• Decision Date: 01 February 2012
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 4:07-cv-01237
• Parties: CHARLES HOWARD STINSON, Plaintiff v. DAVID J. WAKEFIELD, et al., Respondents
• Court: U.S. District Court — Middle District of Pennsylvania

CHARLES HOWARD STINSON, Plaintiff

v.DAVID J. WAKEFIELD, et al., Respondents

Civil Action No. 4:07-cv-01237

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA

Dated: February 1, 2012

(Chief Judge Kane)

MEMORANDUM

Petitioner Charles Howard Stinson ("Stinson"), an inmate presently confined at the Huntingdon State Correctional Institution ("SCI Huntingdon") in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, initiated the above action pro se by filing a petition for writ of habeas corpus ("petition") pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. (Doc. No. 1.) The petition is fully briefed and ripe for disposition. For the reasons set forth herein, the petition will be denied.

I. BACKGROUND

A. State Court Proceedings

The relevant background of the circumstances surrounding Stinson's arrest, conviction, and sentencing, was summarized by the Pennsylvania Superior Court in its February 19, 1999 opinion disposing of his direct appeal nunc pro tunc from his judgment of sentence as follows:

The charges in this case arose out of a series of break-ins taking place at Tall Trees Apartments in the early morning hours of August 18, 1989. Sometime after midnight, Ralph Deleo heard noises coming from his bedroom at 1802 Tall Trees Apartments. N.T., 3/12-14/90, at 32, 33. When he entered the bedroom, Mr. Deleo saw the curtains moving in front of the window. Id. at 33. Suspecting someone was outside the window, he shouted a warning. Id. After hearing no other noises, he approached the window and saw that it had been broken and the screen was missing. Id. He telephoned the Dunmore police who arrived approximately fifteen minutes later. Id. at 36. The next day, Mr. Deleo discovered that a plant from the windowsill was missing. Id. at 39.

Dunmore Police Lieutenant William Gowden testified that he investigated several break-ins at Tall Trees Apartments. On the scene, Lieutenant Gowden observed the damage to Mr. Deleo's apartment, as well as damage to other apartments. Id. at 111. At 1701 Tall Trees, Lieutenant Gowden found a screen partially pried off the apartment's window. Id. at 111-12. At 1303 Tall Trees, Lieutenant Gowden found pry marks on a sliding glass door. Id. at 112. When he arrived at 1102, Lieutenant Gowden noticed that the window screen had been pried, but was not removed from the casing. Id.

At 1003 Tall Trees, the apartment of Elizabeth Barrett, Lieutenant Gowden observed that a screen had been pulled out and seriously damaged. Id. at 113. Once again, Lieutenant Gowden noticed pry marks on the screen. Id. Lieutenant Gowden also observed similar damage to screens and windows at apartment numbers 303, 203, 202 and 102. Id.

Elizabeth Barrett, a resident of Tall Trees, testified that in the early morning hours of August 18, 1989, she heard a noise that sounded similar to the wind blowing the window shade. Id. at 159. Elizabeth's mother, who uses a wheel chair, called out to her. At that time, Elizabeth told her mother that somebody was at the window. Id. When her mother started to get up, the women heard the sound of a tearing screen. Id. When they reached the window, the screen appeared 'pried up' but they could see no intruder. Id.

Elizabeth telephoned the residence of her brother Joseph Barrett, who lived in the next apartment. Id. Because Mr. Barrett was not available for trial, the Commonwealth presented his preliminary hearing testimony. According to Mr. Barrett's preliminary hearing testimony, his son received the telephone call. Mr. Barrett stated:

So I got up and I heard my wife say to my son, 'Where are you going?' And he said, 'somebody is trying to break into grandmon's [sic] apartment." Well, I threw on my pants and my shoes, I ran in -into - I'm sorry. I ran into the living room, put on my shoes and my son was going to the front door and he stopped. And I can see there was somebody coming out of the woods in front of him, and I started saying, 'Get up there fast.'

So this guy is coming out of the woods towards my son, and I thought they were going to confront one another, and they got to the door, and the guy turned and started walking parallel with the tree line.

Id. at 153-54.

Mr. Barrett testified that he 'got a glimpse' of the person emerging from the woods. Id. at 154. When asked if he saw the person present at the preliminary hearing, Mr. Barrett responded "I see a guy that looks like him only he had longer hair, the guy I had seen . . . . I'd say he resembles him real good except for the fact that his hair was a lot longer. I only looked real quick and then he turned and walked sideways." Id. at 154, 157. Although he thought the person looked suspicious, Mr. Barrett stated that the person was not near the apartment of his mother and Elizabeth Barrett. Id. at 155. Finally, Mr. Barrett acknowledged that he could not state with 100 percent accuracy that [Stinson] was the man he saw on August 18, 1989. Id. at 157.

Another resident of Tall Trees, Edwin Blackburn, Ph.D., testified that he heard an intruder in the early morning hours of August 18, 1989. Id. at 198-99. Dr. Blackburn awoke when he heard his wife scream at which time he saw a man silhouetted in the bedroom. Id. Dr. Blackburn jumped out of bed, told the intruder to leave, and wrestled with the man. Id. When the two reached the living room, Dr. Blackburn maneuvered the intruder to the sliding glass door, then threw the man out of the door. Id. After the intruder left, Dr. Blackburn discovered that he had been stabbed. Id. at 200. As a result of the stabbing, Dr. Blackburn suffered injuries to his heart and left lung. Id. at 207. He continues to have difficulty breathing. Id.

At the hospital, Dr. Blackburn described the intruder as an Hispanic looking male approximately five feet, ten inches tall. Id. at 202. In court, Mr. Blackburn identified [Stinson] as the intruder, but stated that since the incident, [Stinson] had cut his hair, cleaned, and shaved his face. Id. at 203. Dr. Blackburn had previously identified [Stinson] from a photo array presented by police. Id. To the best of his recollection, Dr. Blackburn viewed the photo array while he was in the intensive care unit at the hospital. Id. at 216.

During cross-examination, Dr. Blackburn admitted that he wears glasses, but did not have them on at the time of the incident. Id. at 211. Dr. Blackburn knew that the assailant's hair was longer than hisown, but did not recall the hair being down to the assailant's shoulders. Id. at 214. Finally, Dr. Blackburn testified that he could not recall the specific hair color of the assailant. Id. at 213.

On March 14, 1990, Stinson was convicted by a jury sitting in the Court of Common Pleas of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, of aggravated assault, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, three counts of burglary, eleven counts of criminal trespass, nine counts of criminal attempt to commit burglary, and loitering and prowling at night. (Doc. No. 39 at 4-5¹ .) He subsequently was sentenced to an aggregate term of imprisonment of not less than ten nor more than twenty years. (Id. at 10.)

As recounted by the Pennsylvania Superior Court in disposing of Stinson's appeal nunc pro tunc from his judgment of sentence, his counsel filed a direct appeal on his behalf that ultimately was dismissed as a result of the failure to file a brief. (Id. at 36-37.) Stinson's newly appointed counsel then filed a petition to reinstate Stinson's direct appeal rights, which the Pennsylvania Superior Court granted, but the appeal again was dismissed for the failure to file a brief. (Id. at 37.) However, the dismissal was without prejudice to Stinson's ability to pursue a claim under Pennsylvania's Post Conviction Relief Act, 42 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. §§ 9541-9546, and he subsequently filed a PCRA petition seeking the reinstatement of his direct appeal rights. (Id.; Doc. No. 39 at 9-14.) By order dated January 2, 1997, the trial court granted his petition. (Id. at 33.)

Stinson then filed a direct appeal nunc pro tunc from his judgment of sentence to the Pennsylvania Superior Court. (Id. at 34.) He raised the following issues for review:

[1.] Did the Trial Court err when it allowed hearsay testimony to be presented as to identification of the Defendant by Joseph Barrett and, thereafter, allowed the preliminary hearing testimony of Joseph Barrett to be presented to the jury as an unavailable witness under 42 Pa. C.S.A. § 5917 and, in the alternative, did Trial Counsel render ineffective assistance in failing to object to same.

[2.] Did the Trial Court err when it allowed the Commonwealth to introduce a fingerprint exhibit and a photo array into evidence or, in the alternative, did Trial Counsel render ineffective assistance sufficient to warrant a new trial?

[3.] Whether the evidence presented at the time of trial was sufficient to support the jury's verdict in the present manner?

[4.] Did Trial Counsel render ineffective assistance in failing to object and request a curative instruction as to improper and prejudicial comments rendered by Counsel for the Commonwealth during opening and closing statements.

[5.] Did Trial Counsel render ineffective assistance of counsel in failing to move to suppress the photographic identification and subsequent in-court identification of the Defendant by Dr. Blackburn and Mr. Barrett in that same was unreliable and tainted.

(Id. at 41.) By memorandum and order dated February 19, 1999, the Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmed the judgment of sentence; however, the Superior Court concluded that the record was insufficient to dispose of all but one of Stinson's ineffective assistance claims² , and thus it remanded the case to the trial court for an evidentiary hearing on those claims. (Id. at 55.) The Court instructed that, if, on remand, the trial court found ineffectiveness, Stinson's sentence should be vacated and a new trial granted. (Id.)

Stinson filed a Petition for Allowance of Appeal from the Superior Court's February 19,1999 decision, which was denied by the ...