Monroe v. Smith
Monroe v. Smith
Opinion of the Court
Paul Monroe, a Michigan state prisoner, appeals pro se a district court judgment denying his petition for a writ of habeas corpus, filed under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. This case has been referred to a panel of the court pursuant to Rule 34(j)(1), Rules of the Sixth Circuit. Upon examination, this panel unanimously agrees that oral argument is not needed. Fed. R.App. P. 34(a).
Monroe was convicted of bank robbery in 1997, following a jury trial. He was sentenced to ten to twenty years of imprisonment. His conviction was affirmed on direct appeal in the state courts. Monroe then filed this lengthy petition for federal habeas corpus relief, accompanied by nu
In his confusing brief on appeal, Monroe reasserts the claims raised below, in addition to arguing that respondent procedurally defaulted in the state courts, thus entitling Monroe to relief.
Upon review, we conclude that the judgment denying this petition must be affirmed for the reasons stated by the district court. Contrary to Monroe’s argument, the fact that the state failed to address some of the claims raised by him in his direct appeal does not entitle him to relief, because the district court examined the claims on the merits and found no constitutional violation.
Monroe’s first claim is ineffective assistance of counsel. He argues that his counsel was deficient in failing to object to the bank teller’s identification of Monroe at trial, because she had failed to identify him in a lineup following the robbery. As the district court properly noted, the teller’s failure to identify Monroe in the lineup was not a basis for excluding her in-court identification. United States v. Causey, 834 F.2d 1277, 1286 (6th Cir. 1987). Therefore, counsel was not ineffective in this regard. Monroe next argues that counsel failed to call alibi witnesses. He fails to identify what his alibi was or who the witnesses in question are. Moreover, given the fact that Monroe had confessed to the police, counsel’s decision not to pursue an alibi defense was obviously reasonable. Coe v. Bell, 161 F.3d 320, 342-43 (6th Cir. 1998).
Monroe’s next argument is phrased as a double jeopardy claim, but actually asserts that the prosecutor suborned perjury. He contends that the Double Jeopardy Clause would bar his retrial in the event he were granted relief on this claim. In order to state a claim of subornation of perjury, it must be shown that the testimony referred to was false, that it was material, and that the prosecutor knew it was false. Id. at 343. In this case, Monroe is contesting the bank teller’s testimony at trial that she recognized Monroe at the preliminary hearing. Nothing in the record shows that this testimony was false, because the teller was never asked at the preliminary hearing whether she recognized Monroe. She was only asked if there was anything different about his appearance, to which she responded that his facial hair was different. Thus, Monroe has not shown that the teller’s trial testimony was false, or that the prosecutor knew it was false.
Monroe’s third argument raises claims of allegedly newly discovered evidence that he believes entitles him to relief. A claim of newly discovered evidence is not a ground for habeas relief absent an independent constitutional violation. Herrera v. Collins, 506 U.S. 390, 400, 113 S.Ct. 853, 122 L.Ed.2d 203 (1993). Moreover, Monroe’s claims of newly discovered evidence are meritless. He first argues that someone else’s fingerprint was on the demand note. This argument is not based on new evidence, but on the trial testimony of the fingerprint expert that one unidentifiable fingerprint was found on the demand note. This is neither new nor exonerating of Monroe. Next, Monroe argues
Finally, Monroe claims that his Fourth Amendment rights were violated by the introduction of his statements to the police. This claim may not be asserted in a federal habeas corpus petition because Monroe had a full and fair opportunity to litigate the claim in the state courts, both in his motion to suppress in the trial court and on appeal. Machacek v. Hofbauer, 213 F.3d 947, 952 (6th Cir. 2000), cert. denied, 531 U.S. 1089, 121 S.Ct. 808, 148 L.Ed.2d 694 (2001).
For all of the above reasons, the district court’s judgment denying this petition is affirmed. Rule 34(j)(2)(C), Rules of the Sixth Circuit.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Paul MONROE v. David SMITH, Warden
- Cited By
- 6 cases
- Status
- Published