Michael Clark v. Dwight Neven
Opinion
MEMORANDUM ***
Michael Allan Clark appeals from the denial of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus under
1. The district court issued a certificate of appealability on the issue of
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whether “the trial court erred in not allowing Clark himself (rather than his attorneys) to use his last peremptory challenge to remove a prospective juror, later known as Juror 9, because that person said that he would need to hear Clark’s testimony.” Clark does not address this issue on appeal, but instead reframes this issue as a challenge to the trial court’s failure to dismiss the juror for cause. Clark’s challenge to the trial court’s failure to dismiss the juror for cause is outside the scope of the certificate of appealability, and was not raised before the trial court. Nor has Clark “made a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right” that warrants expanding the certifícate of appeala-bility.
Andrews v. Davis,
Even reviewing the claim actually certified for appeal, we find that the Nevada Supreme Court reasonably denied Clark’s claim that the trial court violated his Sixth Amendment right to an impartial jury by refusing to allow him to challenge Juror 9. Clark had no right to
sua sponte
challenge a prospective juror for bias or otherwise override his counsel’s trial strategy during voir dire.
See McKaskle v. Wiggins,
2. Clark contends that the Nevada Supreme Court unreasonably applied clearly established federal law and unreasonably determined the facts in denying his ineffective assistance of counsel claim based on his trial counsel’s decision not to challenge Juror 9. Clark points out that the Nevada Supreme Court inaccurately stated that trial counsel used the last peremptory to challenge a prospective juror whose family member was the victim of a crime, when counsel actually declined to use the last peremptory to challenge Juror 9 because the next prospective juror had such a family member. But even if we assume this factual error formed the basis of the state court’s opinion and apply de novo review,
cf. Maxwell v. Roe,
3. The Nevada Supreme Court’s denial of Clark’s ineffective assistance claim based on his appellate counsel’s decision not to raise the biased juror issue on direct appeal also was not contrary to or an unreasonable application of
Strickland.
Such decisions are “virtually unchallengeable” since counsel must make strategic determinations about the strength of myriad appellate arguments.
Strickland,
4. The record establishes that the trial court adequately inquired into any potential conflicts between Clark and his trial counsel.
See Plumlee v. Masto,
5. The Nevada Supreme Court’s denial of Clark’s ineffective assistance claim against his trial counsel for failing to call a defense witness also was not contrary to or an unreasonable application of
Strickland.
Clark’s trial counsel made a strategic decision not to introduce the testimony of Peggy Morris, and that choice was reasonable based on counsel’s determination that she had difficulty communicating and understanding.
See Jones,
6. Similarly, the Nevada Supreme Court did not err in concluding -that Clark’s due process rights were not violated when the trial court refused to hold an evidentiary hearing as to Ms. Morris’s competency, and excluded her out-of-court statements. Because Clark’s counsel had conceded that Ms. Morris had difficulty communicating and understanding, the trial court reasonably concluded that any out-of-court statement from her would be unreliable, and therefore inadmissible hearsay.
Montana v. Egelhoff,
7. Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, the Nevada Supreme Court did not unreasonably determine that there was sufficient evidence to establish Clark’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
See
8. “In some cases, although no single trial error examined in isolation is suffi
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ciently prejudicial to warrant reversal, the cumulative effect of multiple errors may still prejudice a defendant,”
United States v. Frederick,
Accordingly, we affirm the district court’s denial of Clark’s 28 U.S.C. §‘2264 petition for a writ of habeas corpus.
AFFIRMED.
xhis disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
. We assume, without deciding, that we may review the trial transcript despite the Nevada Supreme Court's explanation that “Clark failed to include a transcript of the jury selection proceeding” on appeal, requiring it to rely instead on other parts of the trial transcript.
See Cullen v. Pinholster,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Michael Allan CLARK, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Dwight NEVEN, Warden and Attorney General of the State of Nevada Respondents-Appellees
- Status
- Unpublished