Bonsignore v. Washburn

CourtDistrict Court, D. Oregon
DecidedJune 14, 2024
Docket2:22-cv-00820
StatusUnknown

This text of Bonsignore v. Washburn (Bonsignore v. Washburn) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bonsignore v. Washburn, (D. Or. 2024).

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF OREGON

JEREMY JAMES BONSIGNORE, Case No. 2:22-cv-00820-IM

Petitioner, OPINION AND ORDER

v.

SUPERINTENDENT SUSAN WASHBURN,

Respondent.

IMMERGUT, District Judge.

Petitioner Jeremy James Bonsignore (“Bonsignore”), an individual in custody at Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution, brings this habeas corpus proceeding pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (“Section 2254”) challenging his 2017 manslaughter and burglary convictions in Clackamas County, Oregon. Because Bonsignore’s claims are procedurally defaulted or were otherwise denied in a state-court decision that is entitled to deference, the Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (ECF No. 2) must be denied. PAGE 1 – OPINION AND ORDER BACKGROUND On August 10, 2015, a Clackamas County grand jury returned an indictment charging Bonsignore with two counts of Aggravated Murder; two counts of Murder; two counts of Burglary in the First Degree with a Firearm; and one count each of Unlawful Use of a Weapon and Menacing. (Resp’t Exs. (ECF No. 19), Ex. 102 at 1-3.1) The charges arose from an incident

in which Bonsignore shot and killed Andrae Fenner, a friend of Bonsignore’s then-girlfriend, on or about July 28, 2015. (Id.) Bonsignore subsequently agreed to plead guilty to one count of first-degree burglary with enhancements and one count of first-degree manslaughter, a lesser-included offense of aggravated murder. (Resp’t Ex. 115 at 1.) In exchange, the State dismissed the remaining charges, and the parties agreed to a “total sentence of 300 months imprisonment” comprised of a 60-month term on the burglary conviction and a consecutive 240-month term on the manslaughter conviction. (Id. at 3-4.) The parties also agreed that Bonsignore would be eligible to earn up to 30 months of good time and earned time credits to reduce his sentence. (Id. at 4.)

Bonsignore signed both a “Plea and Sentencing Agreement” and a “Petition to Enter Guilty Plea,” acknowledging by doing so that he understood and agreed to the terms of the parties’ agreement, that his decision to plead guilty was voluntary, and that he was satisfied with his attorneys’ advice. (Resp’t Exs. 103, 115.) On September 12, 2017, Bonsignore appeared for a plea and sentencing hearing in the Clackamas County Circuit Court. The trial court reviewed the written plea agreement and the plea petition, confirming with Bonsignore that he had read them carefully, understood their

1 When citing Respondent’s Exhibits, the Court refers to the exhibit page numbers located in the lower right corner of each exhibit. PAGE 2 – OPINION AND ORDER contents, and had enough time with his attorneys to discuss his case before choosing to plead guilty. (Resp’t Ex. 104 at 2-3.) The trial court specifically confirmed that Bonsignore understood that the parties had agreed to a recommended “25-year sentence with credit for time served with the ability to earn two and a half years off for earned time” if he pleaded guilty. (Id. at 3-4.) After

indicating that he was “very” satisfied with his attorneys’ advice and had no further questions for the trial court, Bonsignore formally entered guilty pleas on one count each of Burglary in the First Degree with a Firearm and Manslaughter in the First Degree. (Id. at 4-6.) The trial court accepted Bonsignore’s guilty pleas as “knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently made” and sentenced him in accordance with the parties’ agreement. (Id. at 4-6, 18-19; Resp’t Ex. 101.) Bonsignore did not directly appeal the trial court’s judgment but filed a petition for postconviction relief (“PCR”). (Resp’t Ex. 105.) In his counseled amended petition, Bonsignore asserted a single claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, alleging that his trial attorneys failed “to adequately and fully inform [him] of the negotiated plea offer[.]” (Resp’t Ex. 106 at 4.) Specifically, Bonsignore alleged that his trial attorneys failed to ensure he understood (1) that the

plea offer “contemplated that [he] would serve prison time on both the Burglary and Manslaughter counts;” (2) that the “maximum sentence on Manslaughter was 20 years, and that he would serve that entire maximum sentence plus another 60 months on the Burglary charge;” and (3) that “the 300-month sentence was not under the Manslaughter count alone.” (Id. at 5.) Bonsignore alleged that “had he understood that he would serve time on both the Burglary and Manslaughter charge, he would have rejected the plea offer and proceeded to trial.” (Id. at 4.) To support his claim, Bonsignore submitted his own declaration, attesting that he “did not understand the plea and sentence properly” before pleading guilty. (Resp’t Ex. 110 ¶ 8.) Bonsignore claimed that he “had no idea that the Burglary and Manslaughter [sentences] would

PAGE 3 – OPINION AND ORDER be ‘stacked’ or run consecutively” rather than concurrently, and that his “understanding [was] that [he] would get the maximum sentence allowed on the Manslaughter charge, and that would be the final and total sentence.” (Id. ¶¶ 5-6.) Bonsignore thus attested that because he “only wanted to serve time on the maximum allowed on the Manslaughter, which [he] did not

understand or know was 240 months[,]” he “would have rejected the 300 month negotiated plea [if he] had . . . known that it was a ‘stacked’ sentence with the Manslaughter running consecutively.” (Id. ¶ 10.) The State submitted in opposition the declaration of trial counsel Bruce Tarbox (“Tarbox”), among other things. (Resp’t Ex. 116.) Tarbox attested in his declaration that he reviewed the plea petition and the written plea agreement with Bonsignore “line by line[,]” and that more than one attorney reviewed the plea petition with Bonsignore. (Id. ¶ 3.) Tarbox noted that he “clarified any issues or confusion [Bonsignore] may have had about the content of those documents” and otherwise “took the time to answer” his questions. (Id. ¶ 5.) Tarbox attested that he also went through the Uniform Criminal Judgment (“UCJ”) form with Bonsignore “line by

line and therefore would have informed him that the sentences for the two different convictions would be served consecutively.” (Id. ¶ 4.) Tarbox further attested that he “would not have told [Bonsignore] that he was serving the entire 300-month sentence on the Manslaughter conviction alone if for no other reason than that it would be impossible” because “[n]o sentence on a Manslaughter conviction can exceed 240 months.” (Id. ¶ 6.) Tarbox noted that the plea agreement ultimately was “crafted to equate [to] a murder sentence in the [total] number of months” because the Clackamas County District Attorney “wanted a murder sentence.” (Id. ¶ 7.)

PAGE 4 – OPINION AND ORDER After a hearing during which the parties presented documentary evidence and oral argument, the PCR court issued a written judgment denying relief. (Resp’t Ex. 118.) The PCR court concluded that Bonsignore had failed to establish the merits of his claim, explaining: [Bonsignore] did not prove that his trial attorneys failed to ensure that he understood that he would serve prison time on both his Burglary and Manslaughter convictions. The transcript demonstrates that [Bonsignore] was fully aware of the details of the sentence that would result from his plea agreement. The plea agreement clearly sets forth that [Bonsignore] was agreeing to serve 60 months on the Burglary I charge and 240 months consecutive on the Manslaughter I charge for a total of 300 months. He informed the court that he had read, signed and understood the plea agreement. [Bonsignore]’s statements at the change-of-plea hearing carry a strong presumption of verity. [Bonsignore]’s claim now that he did not understand the terms of the plea agreement are not credible.

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Bonsignore v. Washburn, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bonsignore-v-washburn-ord-2024.