Bozicevich v. Warden, FCC Coleman - USP I

CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Florida
DecidedJuly 19, 2023
Docket5:21-cv-00099
StatusUnknown

This text of Bozicevich v. Warden, FCC Coleman - USP I (Bozicevich v. Warden, FCC Coleman - USP I) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bozicevich v. Warden, FCC Coleman - USP I, (M.D. Fla. 2023).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA OCALA DIVISION

JOSEPH BOZICEVICH,

Petitioner,

v. Case No. 5:21-cv-99-WFJ-PRL

WARDEN, FCC COLEMAN – USP I,

Respondent. __________________________________

ORDER

Before the Court is Petitioner Joseph Bozicevich’s pro se Second Amended Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, (Doc. 5), and Respondent’s Opposition to Petition for Habeas Corpus and Motion to Dismiss, (Doc. 11). Upon careful consideration, the Court denies the Second Amended Petition. BACKGROUND Petitioner is a former active-duty member of the United States Army. On September 14, 2008, at Patrol Base Jurf at Sahkr, Iraq, Petitioner shot and killed Staff Sergeant (“SSG”) DD and Sergeant (“SGT”) WD when they attempted to administer a counseling statement to him. (Doc. 12-2 at 102). Petitioner was heard shouting, “I’m going to kill you” before firing his rifle at SSG DD. Id. Eyewitnesses saw Petitioner continue to shoot his rifle while SSG DD was running away from Petitioner and after SSG DD collapsed and pleaded for Petitioner to stop. Id. SGT WD was found fatally shot, lying in the Joint Security Station where the attempted counseling took place. Id. Petitioner was immediately apprehended after shooting his victims and was heard stating, “I did it so what.” Id. At trial, Petitioner testified he acted in self-defense after

SSG DD and SGT WD drew their weapons and threatened to shoot him if he did not sign the counseling statement. Id. On October 2, 2008, charges were preferred against Petitioner for premeditated murder. Id. On July 7, 2009, the convening authority referred the charges as a capital

case to a general court-martial. Id. A panel with enlisted representation, sitting as a general court-martial, convicted Petitioner, contrary to his pleas, of two specifications of premeditated murder, in violation of Article 118, Uniform Code of Military Justice (“UCMJ”), 10 U.S.C. § 918 (2006 & Supp. I 2008). Id. at 101. The panel sentenced Petitioner to a dishonorable discharge, confinement for life without eligibility for

parole, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and reduction to the grade of E-1. Id. at 101–02. The convening authority approved the adjudged findings and sentence. Id. at 102. Petitioner took an appeal to the Army Court of Criminal Appeals (“ACCA”) pursuant to Article 66, UCMJ (10 U.S.C. § 866). At the ACCA, the Petitioner “raised

nine assignments of error, four of which warranted discussion but no relief.” Id. at 102. The ACCA reviewed the trial remedies for disclosure violations, reviewed the judicial remedies for those violations, the military judge’s decision to exclude a portion of defense counsel’s cross examination as hearsay, and finally, ineffective assistance of counsel. Id. at 101–17. After “consideration of the entire record” the ACCA affirmed the findings of guilt and the sentence. Id. At 117. Petitioner’s motion for reconsideration was denied on July 18, 2017. (Doc. 12-2 at 93). On January 2, 2018, the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces denied the Petitioner’s

request for review. Id. at 1. In his Second Amended Petition, Petitioner alleges eight grounds for relief: (1) whether the two charges for Article 118 are legally and factually sufficient to withstand his conviction because the prosecution failed to prove that the killing was unlawful and that he had a premeditated intent to kill; (2) whether certain government witnesses

should have been impeached for perjury; (3) whether he was subjected to cruel and unusual punishment in violation of Articles 13 and 55, UCMJ; (4) whether alleged mishandling of evidence, contamination of the crime scene, and the inappropriate collection of evidence was prejudicial; (5) whether the chain of custody was broken;

(6) whether the judge abused her discretion by not granting a mistrial due to a Brady violation; (7) whether he received a fair trial due to the trial judge failing to grant a mistrial because of “obvious and very prejudicial statements, error, and evidence not entered on the record”; and (8) whether he received effective assistance of counsel. See Doc. 5-1 at 18.

DISCUSSION The military criminal justice system is governed by the UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. §§ 801-946a, which provides for courts-martial, id. §§ 816-829; appellate review by both a branch-specific Court of Criminal Appeals and the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (CAAF), id. §§ 866-67; and limited certiorari review by the Supreme Court, id. § 867a. A general court-martial consists of a presiding military judge and eight members, who vote on the factual findings. 10 U.S.C. §§ 816(b)(1), 851. The UCMJ and the military justice system generally do not provide for

collateral review of convictions. United States v. Murphy, 50 M.J. 4, 5-6 (C.A.A.F. 1998). Accordingly, servicemembers who raise ineffective-assistance claims typically do so on direct appeal as Grostefon1 issues, including claims based on appellate counsel. Id. at 8; United States v. Shadricks, 78 M.J. 720, 722 & n.1 (A.F. Ct. Crim. App. 2019);

see also United States v. Adams, 59 M.J. 367, 368 (C.A.A.F. 2004) (addressing a claim based on ineffective assistance of appellate counsel that was raised in a petition to the CAAF). When a defendant raises an ineffective-assistance claim on direct appeal, a military appeals court may order that an evidentiary hearing be held to develop the factual record. United States v. Wean, 37 M.J. 286, 287-88 (C.M.A. 1993).

Military courts have limited ability under the All Writs Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1651, to issue writs of habeas corpus, as their jurisdiction to do so ends once direct review has been completed and the court-martial is final. See Chapman v. United States, 75 M.J. 598, 600 (A.F. Ct. Crim. App. 2016) (concluding there was no jurisdiction over a habeas petition once a conviction was final); see also Sutton v. United States, 78 M.J. 537,

541 (A.F. Ct. Crim. App. 2018) (same, but in the context of writs of mandamus and prohibition); cf. Loving v. United States, 62 M.J. 235, 246 (C.A.A.F. 2005) (concluding there was jurisdiction over a habeas petition where the conviction was not final).

1 United States v. Grostefon, 12 M.J. 431, 435-37 (C.M.A. 1982) (explaining a defendant can personally raise issues on appeal that his counsel believes are frivolous). However, military courts do have jurisdiction to issue the writ of error coram nobis after a conviction is final because coram nobis is an extension of the original proceeding. United States v. Denedo, 556 U.S. 904, 912-13, 917 (2009).

Civilian courts have jurisdiction under § 2241 over habeas petitions that challenge military convictions, but review in this context is narrower than in other contexts. Burns v. Wilson, 346 U.S. 137, 139 & n.1 (1953) (plurality opinion); see also Calley v. Callaway, 519 F.2d 184, 194-98 (5th Cir. 1975) (en banc) (providing an

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