Wolfe v. Clarke
| Decision Date | 22 November 2011 |
| Docket Number | Civil Action No. 2:05cv432. |
| Citation | 819 F.Supp.2d 574,81 Fed.R.Serv.3d 324 |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Virginia |
| Parties | Justin Michael WOLFE, Petitioner, v. Harold W. CLARKE, Director, Virginia Department of Corrections, Respondent. |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Michele Jill Brace, Charlottesville, VA, Alan Dial, Washington, DC, for Petitioner.
Matthew P. Dullaghan, Steven Andrew Witmer, Office of the Attorney General, Richmond, VA, for Respondent.
Before the Court are Respondent's Motion for a Temporary Stay Pending Appeal and Petitioner's Motion for Release Pending Appeal. The motions are fully briefed and the Court held a hearing on both motions on Thursday, November 10, 2011. Thus, these matters are ripe for judicial determination. For the reasons set forth herein, Respondent's Motion for a Temporary Stay Pending Appeal is GRANTED, and Petitioner's Motion for Release Pending Appeal is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.
On January 7, 2002, a Prince William County jury convicted Petitioner, Justin Wolfe, of capital murder (murder-for-hire), use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and conspiracy to distribute marijuana. As a result of his convictions, Wolfe was sentenced to death on the murder-for-hire charge and prison terms of thirty years and three years, respectively, on the conspiracy and firearm charges. Wolfe filed an appeal in the Supreme Court of Virginia on the capital murder conviction and filed an appeal in the Virginia Court of Appeals on the firearm and drug convictions. The non-death penalty cases were certified to the Supreme Court of Virginia and consolidated. The Supreme Court of Virginia dismissed the petition on March 10, 2005, and the United States Supreme Court denied Wolfe's petition for writ of certiorari on July 8, 2005. On November 7, 2005, Petitioner filed his federal habeas petition under the authority of 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (“§ 2254 claim”). On August 7, 2007, the Magistrate Judge issued a Report and Recommendation declining to conduct an evidentiary hearing and recommending that his petition be dismissed. On February 11, 2008, this Court adopted the Report and Recommendation and dismissed Wolfe's petition. Wolfe then filed a motion to alter or amend the judgment which this Court denied on May 15, 2008.
On June 18, 2008, Wolfe filed his notice of appeal. On September 12, 2008, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit granted Wolfe a certificate of appealability on his extraneous influence, venireman, Brady, and Giglio claims. On May 11, 2009, the Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court's rulings on the extraneous influence claim and the venireman-counsel subpart, and vacated this Court's ruling on the Brady, Giglio, and venireman-court subpart claims. Wolfe v. Johnson, 565 F.3d 140 (4th Cir.2009). Additionally, the Fourth Circuit remanded the case for a determination under Schlup v. Delo, 513 U.S. 298, 115 S.Ct. 851, 130 L.Ed.2d 808 (1995), and to decide whether an evidentiary hearing was appropriate. Id. On February 4, 2010, this Court issued a Memorandum Opinion and Order finding that Wolfe had satisfied the Schlup v. Delo standard to pursue his § 2254 claim. Furthermore, the Court granted Petitioner's Motion for an Evidentiary Hearing on his Brady and Giglio claims and reserved its ruling on Petitioner's venireman-court claim. This Court conducted a four-day evidentiary hearing on Wolfe's Brady and Giglio claims beginning on November 2, 2010.
On July 12, 2011, this Court issued a Memorandum Opinion and Order granting Wolfe's habeas petition on three grounds. First, this Court found that Wolfe was deprived of his right to due process pursuant to the Fourteenth Amendment, as interpreted in Brady v. Maryland, to be apprised of all material, exculpatory information within the hands of the prosecution. Second, this Court found that the Commonwealth's use of witness Owen Barber's false testimony was grounds for habeas relief under both Stockton v. Virginia and Giglio v. United States. Third, this Court found that Wolfe was denied his Sixth Amendment right to an impartial jury. Accordingly, the Clerk entered judgment for Wolfe on July 12, 2011. On July 26, 2011, 819 F.Supp.2d 538, 2011 WL 3251494 (E.D.Va.2011) this Court issued an Amended Memorandum Opinion and Order, which made only technical changes to its Order of July 12, 2011 but did not alter any of the Court's rulings. On August 4, 2011, the Director filed a notice of appeal. On Wolfe's motion, this Court amended its judgment of July 12, 2011 on August 30, 2011 to further clarify that it granted habeas relief as to Wolfe's convictions on all charges, since the denial of Wolfe's right to due process permeated his entire state criminal trial. On September 2, 2011, the Director then filed a notice of appeal of this Court's amended judgment.
The Director filed a Motion for a Temporary Stay Pending Appeal on September 13, 2011. Wolfe filed a Motion for Release Pending Appeal on September 21, 2011. Wolfe also filed a notice of cross appeal on September 27, 2011. The two motions have been fully briefed and this Court held a hearing on both motions on Thursday, November 10, 2011.
The Director moves this Court to stay its judgment granting Wolfe habeas relief and ordering that the Commonwealth either retry Wolfe within 120 days of the judgment or release him unconditionally. Wolfe opposes a stay of this Court's judgment pending appeal.
The determination whether to permit a stay pending the appeal of a decision granting habeas relief is governed by the standard set forth in Hilton v. Braunskill, 481 U.S. 770, 107 S.Ct. 2113, 95 L.Ed.2d 724 (1987). This standard is the same one that federal courts use when assessing whether to grant stays of other civil proceedings, as set forth in Rule 62 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Rule 8 of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure. Hilton, 481 U.S. at 776, 107 S.Ct. 2113. In Hilton, the Court articulated four factors that the district court should consider in determining whether to grant a stay of a judgment granting habeas relief pending appeal:
(1) whether the stay applicant has made a strong showing that he is likely to succeed on the merits;
(2) whether the applicant will be irreparably injured absent a stay;
(3) whether issuance of the stay will substantially injure the other parties interested in the proceedings; and
(4) where the public interest lies.
Hilton, 481 U.S. at 776, 107 S.Ct. 2113.
In addition to these traditional stay factors, the Supreme Court directed that the possibility of flight and the petitioner's risk of danger to the public be considered. Hilton, 481 U.S. at 777, 107 S.Ct. 2113. The Court also identified as a factor to be considered the state's interest in “continuing custody and rehabilitation” of the petitioner pending final determination of the case on appeal. Id. This interest is “strongest where the remaining portion of the sentence to be served is long, and weakest where there is little of the sentence remaining to be served.” Id. The final factor to be considered is the interest of the habeas petitioner in his release pending appeal, which is “always substantial” and strongest when the preceding factors are weakest. Id. at 777–78, 107 S.Ct. 2113. The Court added;
The balance may depend to a large extent upon determination of the State's prospects of success in its appeal. Where the State establishes that it has a strong likelihood of success on appeal, or where, failing that, it can nonetheless demonstrate a substantial case on the merits, continued custody is permissible if the second and fourth factors in the traditional stay analysis militate against release. Where the State's showing on the merits falls below this level, the preference for release should control.
Id. at 778, 107 S.Ct. 2113 (internal citations omitted). Finally, the Court stated that “[s]ince traditional stay factors contemplate individualized judgments in each case, the formula cannot be reduced to a set of rigid rules.” Hilton, 481 U.S. at 777, 107 S.Ct. 2113.
In most cases where the federal district court grants habeas corpus relief in favor of a state prisoner, the state will file a motion to stay the final judgment ordering the state to conditionally or unconditionally release the petitioner. Randy Hertz & James S. Liebman, Federal Habeas Corpus Practice and Procedure, Sixth Edition § 36.4[d] (Matthew Bender). Moreover, the district court or the court of appeals usually will grant a stay of judgment. Id. (collecting cases). Indeed, the Supreme Court “has repeatedly stated that federal courts may delay the release of a successful habeas petitioner in order to provide the State an opportunity to correct the constitutional violation found by the court.” Hilton, 481 U.S. at 775, 107 S.Ct. 2113 (citations omitted).
However, some district courts have declined to grant a stay pending appeal. See, e.g., Bowen v. Maynard, 799 F.2d 593, 614 n. 12 (10th Cir.1986) (); Cockerham v. Cain, 1999 WL 1220760, at *1, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19553, at *3–*6 (E.D.La. Dec. 17, 1999) (); Jones v. Jones, 1998 WL 175895, at *1–*2, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5161, at *3–*4 (E.D.La. Apr. 13, 1998) (...
To continue reading
Request your trial
- Wolfe v. Clarke
-
Wolfe v. Clarke
...to habeas corpus relief premised on, inter alia, the Commonwealth's manifold violations of his Brady rights. See Wolfe v. Clarke, 819 F.Supp.2d 538 (E.D.Va.2011) (the “Brady Order”).5 Specifically, the court ruled in the Brady Order that the prosecution had withheld eight items or groups of......
-
Hill v. Cohen
...that the courts of South Carolina did not abuse their discretion."). Hill also argues he is entitled to relief under Wolfe v. Clarke, 819 F. Supp. 2d 574 (E.D. Va. 2011). (Dkt. No. 1 at 1, 8.) The undersigned disagrees. Wolfe involved a habeas petitioner who had already been granted a writ ......
-
Wright v. United States
... ... substantially injure the other parties interested in the ... proceedings; and (4) where the public interest lies ... Wolfe v. Clarke, 819 F.Supp.2d 574, 578 (E.D. Va ... Nov. 22, 2011) (citing Hilton v. Braunskill, 481 ... U.S. 770, 776, 778 (1987)). However, ... ...