Crandell v. Warden Louisiana State Penitentiary
Opinion
James Crandell, Louisiana prisoner #301148, was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. Concerning his application for federal habeas relief pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254, our court granted Crandell a certificate of appealability on: (1) whether Teague v. Lane, 489 U.S. 288, 109 S.Ct. 1060, 103 L.Ed.2d 334 (1989), bars CrandelTs asserting his challenge to the indictment; (2) whether Crandell validly asserted denial of due process and equal protection by the alleged racially discriminatory method of selecting grand jury forepersons in Bossier Parish; and (3) whether counsel was ineffective for failing to move to quash the indictment on that basis. (CrandelTs motion for appointment of counsel on appeal is DENIED.)
The district court’s determination that Campbell v. Louisiana, 523 U.S. 392, 118 S.Ct. 1419, 140 L.Ed.2d 551 (1998) (white defendant has third-party standing to challenge exclusion of blacks from grand jury), was a “new rule” of constitutional law that could not be applied retroactively under Teague is erroneous in the light of our subsequent decision in Peterson v. Cain, 302 F.3d 508, 515 (5th Cir. 2002), cert. denied, 537 U.S. 1118, 123 S.Ct. 886, 154 L.Ed.2d 796 (2003). Peterson held the Supreme Court derived its Campbell decision from its earlier decisions in Powers v. Ohio, 499 U.S. 400, 111 S.Ct. 1364, 113 L.Ed.2d 411 (1991), Hobby v. United States, 468 U.S. 339, 104 S.Ct. 3093, 82 L.Ed.2d 260 (1984), Rose v. Mitchell, 443 U.S. 545, 99 S.Ct. 2993, 61 L.Ed.2d 739 (1979), and Peters v. Kiff, 407 U.S. 493, 92 S.Ct. 2163, 33 L.Ed.2d 83 (1972) (plurality opinion). Peterson, 302 F.3d at 512-15. All of these decisions were rendered prior to when CrandelTs conviction became final. In short, Campbell is not a new rule of law and Teague does not bar CrandelTs due process and equal protection claims.
As for CrandelTs claim that counsel was ineffective for fading to move to quash, the district court’s ineffective assistance of counsel ruling was based, in part, on Campbell’s being a new rule of Constitutional law.
We, therefore, VACATE that portion of the district court’s judgment on these issues and REMAND: (1) CrandelTs due process and equal protection claims based on the alleged racially discriminatory method of selecting grand jury forepersons in Bossier Parish; and (2) his ineffective assistance claim for counsel’s failure to move to quash the indictment on that basis.
VACATED and REMANDED
Pursuant to 5th Cir. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5th Cir. R. 47.5.4.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- James CRANDELL, Petitioner-Appellant, v. WARDEN LOUISIANA STATE PENITENTIARY, Respondent-Appellee
- Cited By
- 3 cases
- Status
- Unpublished