Page v. Burge
Page v. Burge
Opinion of the Court
SUMMARY ORDER
Jermaine Page appeals the district court’s denial of his application for a writ of habeas corpus. We assume the parties’ familiarity with the facts, proceedings below, and specification of issues on appeal.
We review the state court’s holding that Page effectively waived his right to appeal under the standard set by the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (“AEDPA”) because Page’s claim that his waiver was unintelligent, unknowing, and involuntary, was, in itself, a federal constitutional claim. See Brown v. Greiner, 409 F.3d 523, 533 (2d Cir. 2005). In order for a federal court to grant habeas corpus in the face of a state court adjudication denying relief, it must find that the state court either reached a decision contrary to Supreme Court precedent, unreasonably applied Supreme Court precedent, or made “an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented in the State Court proceeding.” 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d). The record in this case does not permit such a finding.
In urging otherwise, Page relied on cases holding that a prosecutor’s knowing use of false evidence or failure to correct the record after learning that perjured testimony has been offered violates the Due Process Clause, see Mooney v. Holohan, 294 U.S. 103, 110, 112, 55 S.Ct. 340, 79 L.Ed. 791 (1935); Alcorta v. Texas, 355 U.S. 28, 31, 78 S.Ct. 103, 2 L.Ed.2d 9 (1957) (per curiam); Napue v. Illinois, 360 U.S. 264, 269, 79 S.Ct. 1173, 3 L.Ed.2d 1217 (1959); Giles v. Maryland, 386 U.S. 66, 74, 87 S.Ct. 793, 17 L.Ed.2d 737 (1967). The state court did not act unreasonably in declining to apply these precedents to this case, because there is no proof, only speculation, that the prosecution presented false evidence or perjured testimony, much less
Having identified no unreasonable application of Supreme Court precedent in the state court’s decision holding that Page’s waiver was valid, we have no need to reach the only merits claims raised on this appeal. In any case, that claims is virtually identical to the argument Page made for setting aside his waiver, which we have rejected.
For the reasons discussed, we affirm the judgment of the district court.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.