Tunstall v. Hopkins
| Decision Date | 27 December 2000 |
| Docket Number | No. C97-4069.,C97-4069. |
| Citation | 126 F.Supp.2d 1196 |
| Parties | Simon Curtis TUNSTALL, Petitioner, v. Frank HOPKINS, NSP Warden, Herbert Maschner, ISP Warden, Respondents. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Iowa |
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. INTRODUCTION .........................................................1198
A. Factual and Procedural Background ................................1198
B. Tunstall's Habeas Corpus Petition ................................1199
C. Judge Zoss's Report and Recommendation ...........................1199
II. LEGAL ANALYSIS .......................................................1200
A. Standard of Review ...............................................1200
B. The Requirements of § 2254(d)(1) ............................1200
1. "Clearly established federal law as determined by the Supreme
Court of the United States" .......................................1202
2. Application of the law to Tunstall's claim ....................1204
III. CONCLUSION ...........................................................1207
Thomas Jefferson wrote, "Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter." Letter from Jefferson to Col. Edward Carrington, January 16, 1787.1 In a twist on Jefferson's observation, this court must decide what happens when newspapers and government collide in the course of a state criminal trial. Specifically, in this federal habeas corpus action, petitioner Simon Curtis Tunstall contends that his Sixth Amendment right to trial by an impartial jury on state charges of first-degree murder and burglary was compromised when a juror viewed a prejudicial newspaper article about his trial in the jury room in the middle of trial.
This matter is before the court pursuant to petitioner Simon Curtis Tunstall's (hereinafter "Tunstall") petition for a writ of habeas corpus, filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. In his petition, Tunstall challenges his February 18, 1987, conviction for first-degree murder and first-degree burglary in the Iowa District Court for Woodbury County. Tunstall contends, inter alia, that the trial court erred in failing to meet its constitutional obligation to voir dire the jurors concerning a newspaper article published during trial that contained allegedly prejudicial information about Tunstall, which in turn deprived him of due process and his right to a fair and impartial jury.
On August 31, 1986, defendants Tunstall, Steven Frasier, and James Simpson were each charged with murder and burglary stemming from the shooting death of Jeffrey Jones in Sioux City, Iowa.2 Each defendant pled not guilty and proceeded to a joint trial in the Iowa District Court for Woodbury County. On the second day of trial, attorney Duane Hoffmeyer, who represented Tunstall's co-defendant James Simpson, informed the trial court that he had seen a juror reading THE SIOUX CITY JOURNAL, which contained an article about the trial, in the jury room. Hoffmeyer moved for a mistrial on the basis that the newspaper article contained information that was unduly prejudicial, and information that the trial court had ruled inadmissible. In addition to moving for a severance and change of venue, Tunstall joined in the motion for mistrial, arguing that the article inaccurately portrayed him as a pimp, and inaccurately stated that he had hit the victim with a piece of furniture and that he was a cousin of the two other co-defendants. Co-defendant Frasier also joined in the motions for mistrial, severance, and change of venue. The trial court denied all of the defendants' motions. On February 18, 1987, a jury found Tunstall guilty of first-degree murder and first-degree burglary, co-defendant Frasier guilty of first-degree murder and first-degree burglary, and co-defendant Simpson guilty of second-degree burglary. On March 30, 1987, the trial court denied Tunstall's post-trial motions and sentenced him to life imprisonment on the murder conviction and a term not to exceed twenty-five years on the burglary conviction, with the sentences to be served concurrently. On direct appeal, the Iowa Court of Appeals affirmed Tunstall's conviction, and the Iowa Supreme Court later denied further review. State v. Tunstall, 442 N.W.2d 280 (Iowa App.1989); State v. Tunstall, No. 87-501 (Iowa, March 31, 1989). Tunstall is currently in the custody of the Iowa Department of Corrections at the penitentiary in Fort Madison, Iowa. He is serving a life sentence.
On August 1, 1997, Tunstall filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. In his original and amended petition,3 Tunstall asserted myriad issues for consideration, including:
1. The trial court erred in failing to voir dire the jury panel to determine whether any of the jurors had read a newspaper article concerning Tunstall's case;
2. Tunstall's trial counsel was ineffective in failing to request voir dire of the jury panel to ascertain if the jurors read the newspaper article concerning Tunstall's case;
3. The trial court erred in allowing police officer Kelvin Smith to testify as to statements made by Dennis Jackson;
4. The trial court erred in denying co-defendant Frasier an opportunity to testify about the violent and aggressive acts of the victim;
5. The trial court erred in limiting the cross-examination of Christine Buddi; and
6. The trial court erred in allowing the prosecution to question co-defendant Simpson about previously suppressed evidence.
Additionally, Tunstall asserted other issues in his brief and supplemental brief, including:
7. Ineffective assistance of counsel for failure to introduce the deposition of Dennis Jackson;
8. Ineffective assistance of counsel for failure to move for a mistrial after the state amended the charges and excluded a theory of premeditation;
9. The trial court erred in admitting a knife into evidence;
10. The trial court erred in improperly instructing the jury; and
11. The trial court erred when it denied Tunstall's motion in arrest of judgment, or, in the alternative, motion for new trial.
On October 10, 1997, this case was referred to United States Magistrate Judge Paul A. Zoss, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B), for the filing of a report and recommended disposition of the petition. On September 5, 2000, Judge Zoss filed a thorough, comprehensive, and well-written Report and Recommendation in which he recommends that Tunstall's petition for writ of habeas corpus be granted, and that the matter be remanded for a new trial. Judge Zoss concluded that the Iowa appellate court's decision affirming the trial court's failure to voir dire the jurors about the newspaper was contrary to clearly established federal law as determined by the Supreme Court of the United States and interpreted by the federal district courts in the exercise of their power under Article III of the Constitution. Specifically, Judge Zoss concluded that the trial court erred in failing, first, to make a determination of whether the newspaper article was potentially prejudicial to Tunstall; second, if so, to voir dire the jurors to determine if any of them had seen or read the article in question; and third, if so, to ascertain the degree of any prejudice to the defendant arising therefrom and take appropriate action, including declaring a mistrial if appropriate, to protect Tunstall's rights. See Report and Recommendation at 34. Finding this claim to be dispositive, Judge Zoss did not consider the remaining issues asserted by Tunstall in his petition.
On September 18, 2000, respondents filed objections to Judge Zoss's Report and Recommendation. Respondents object to Judge Zoss's analysis and resulting conclusion as to what constitutes clearly established federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court, in the context of a state trial court's duty to protect a criminal defendant from potentially prejudicial midtrial publicity. Specifically, respondents object to that portion of the Report and Recommendation where Judge Zoss formulates a standard of review applicable to Tunstall's appeal from a state court conviction (28 U.S.C. § 2254) based on the standard of review formulated by federal circuit courts reviewing appeals from federal court convictions (28 U.S.C. § 2255). Accordingly, respondents argue that because the standard of review formulated by Judge Zoss is inapplicable here, it is not a proper basis upon which to grant Tunstall relief.
On October 24, 2000, the court held a hearing on respondents' Objections to the Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation. Respondents were represented by Sharon K. Hall, Assistant Attorney General, Des Moines, Iowa. Petitioner Tunstall, who heard the argument via telephone, was represented by Stanley E. Munger and Jay E. Denne of Munger, Reinschmidt & Denne, Sioux City, Iowa.
The standard of review to be applied by the district court to a report and recommendation of a magistrate judge is established by statute:
A judge of the court shall make a de novo determination of those portions of the report or specified proposed findings or recommendations to which objection is made. A judge of the court may accept, reject, or modify, in whole or in part, the findings or recommendations made by the magistrate [judge].
28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1). The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has repeatedly held that it is reversible error for the district court to fail to conduct a de novo review of a magistrate judge's report where such review is required. See, e.g., Hosna v. Groose, ...
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Atwood v. Mapes
...the burden on Atwood to establish prejudice, Judge Zoss focused on the reasoning and rationale utilized in Tunstall v. Hopkins, 126 F.Supp.2d 1196 (N.D.Iowa 2000) ("Tunstall I") in which the court noted the "significant distinction between the standard that is applied when considering a cla......
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Tunstall v. Hopkins
...article mid-trial. This court, however, rejected Judge Zoss's September 5, 2000, Report and Recommendation, see Tunstall v. Hopkins, 126 F.Supp.2d 1196 (N.D.Iowa 2000), and referred the matter back to Judge Zoss for the filing of a Supplemental Report and Recommendation in order to consider......
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Frasier v. Maschner, No. C97-4102MWB (N.D. Iowa 7/26/2001)
...the claims that Tunstall asserted in his petition for writ of habeas corpus in two reported decisions, see Tunstall v. Hopkins, 126 F. Supp.2d 1196 (N.D.Iowa 2000) ("Tunstall I") and Tunstall v. Hopkins, ___ F. Supp.2d ___, 2001 WL 720636 (N.D.Iowa June 21, 2001) ("Tunstall II"), the court ......