Carter v. Newkirk

6 F. App'x 461
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
DecidedApril 30, 2001
DocketNo. 00-2718
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 6 F. App'x 461 (Carter v. Newkirk) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Carter v. Newkirk, 6 F. App'x 461 (7th Cir. 2001).

Opinion

ORDER

Indiana prisoner Clarence Carter filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254, arguing in part that he did not knowingly and voluntarily waive his right to a jury trial. The district court held that, before accepting a jury waiver, trial judges are constitutionally required to interrogate the defendant on the record, ensuring that his waiver is knowing and voluntary. Because the state record in this case does not disclose such an exchange between the trial judge and Carter, the district court granted the writ. The state appeals, and we reverse.

After a bench trial Carter was found guilty of dealing cocaine and sentenced to thirty years in prison. The Court of Appeals of Indiana affirmed Carter’s conviction, and the Indiana Supreme Court denied his petition to transfer. Carter then petitioned for state collateral relief, arguing that his jury waiver was not knowing and voluntary.

At a post-conviction hearing, Carter’s trial counsel testified that he admonished Carter about his right to a jury trial and then prepared a handwritten waiver form that Carter signed. Carter introduced into evidence both the signed waiver and the trial court docket sheet; the waiver, he said, was illegible, and the docket sheet evidenced that the trial court was out of session when the presiding judge found [463]*463Carter’s waiver knowing and voluntary. Carter also testified that neither the judge nor his attorney told him about his right to trial by jury; he added that he could not read the handwritten waiver and signed it believing it part of a motion to suppress that his attorney handed him at the same time. Deeming the jury issue waived, the Indiana post-conviction court did not address whether Carter’s waiver was valid. The Indiana appellate court rejected this waiver analysis but nonetheless affirmed the denial of post-conviction relief because the handwritten waiver and the testimony of Carter’s counsel established that Carter knowingly and voluntarily waived his right to trial by jury. Although Carter’s testimony contradicted that of his counsel, the state appellate court found Carter not credible. The Indiana Supreme Court subsequently denied Carter’s petition to transfer.

After pursuing a second unsuccessful petition for state collateral relief, Carter initiated this federal habeas corpus action. Among his nine claims Carter argued that he did not knowingly and voluntarily waive his right to a jury trial. Notwithstanding the signed waiver and the testimony of Carter’s counsel, the district court granted the writ, reasoning that to accept a jury waiver a trial judge must first conduct a colloquy with the defendant on the record to ensure that his waiver is given knowingly and voluntarily. The primary question presented on appeal is whether the Constitution requires such a colloquy.

The Sixth Amendment guarantees an accused the right to trial by jury. U.S. Const, amend. VI. A criminal defendant, however, “may knowingly and voluntarily waive many of the most fundamental protections afforded by the Constitution,” United States v. Mezzanatto, 513 U.S. 196, 201, 115 S.Ct. 797, 130 L.Ed.2d 697 (1995), including the right to a jury trial, see Patton v. United States, 281 U.S. 276, 298, 50 S.Ct. 253, 74 L.Ed. 854 (1930). Generally, the waiver of a constitutional right will be knowing and voluntary if the defendant knew about the right in question and the possible consequences of deciding to forgo that right. See, e.g., Patterson v. Illinois, 487 U.S. 285, 292-93, 108 S.Ct. 2389, 101 L.Ed.2d 261 (1988); Brady v. United States, 397 U.S. 742, 748, 90 S.Ct. 1463, 25 L.Ed.2d 747 (1970). But the validity of a waiver turns on the unique circumstances of each case, see Adams v. United States ex rel. McCann, 317 U.S. 269, 278, 63 S.Ct. 236, 87 L.Ed. 268 (1942), and though the absence of an on-the-reeord colloquy between the trial judge and the defendant may be probative of whether a waiver is valid, we have made it clear that such an exchange is not constitutionally required, see United States v. Rodriguez, 888 F.2d 519, 527 (7th Cir.1989); Brownstein v. Dir., Ill. Dep’t of Corr., 760 F.2d 836, 844 n. 4 (7th Cir.1985); see also Cabberiza v. Moore, 217 F.3d 1329, 1333-34 (11th Cir.2000); Marone v. United States, 10 F.3d 65, 67 (2d Cir.1993) (per curiam); United States v. Cochran, 770 F.2d 850, 851 (9th Cir.1985); United States v. Martin, 704 F.2d 267, 274 (6th Cir.1983); United States v. Hunt, 413 F.2d 983, 984 (4th Cir.1969) (per curiam). Thus, the district court’s analysis of constitutional law was incorrect.

Based on both the signed waiver and the testimony of Carter’s counsel, the Indiana appellate court found that Carter knew he had the right to a trial by jury and yet decided to forgo that right. A state court’s finding that a defendant understood his rights and knowingly and intelligently waived them is a factual determination which we presume to be correct. 28 U.S.C. § 2254(e)(1); Sumner v. Mata, 449 U.S. 539, 546-47, 101 S.Ct. 764, 66 L.Ed.2d 722 (1981) (state appellate courts’ [464]*464factual findings are entitled to the same deference that trial judges’ findings receive); cf. Gomez v. Ahitow, 29 F.3d 1128, 1134 (7th Cir.1994) (state court’s determination that defendant knowingly and intelligently waived his right to conflict-free representation presumed correct); cf. Perri v. Dir., Dep’t of Corr., 817 F.2d 448, 450 (7th Cir.1987) (state court’s determination that defendant knowingly and intelligently waived Miranda rights presumed correct). Carter does not attempt to rebut this presumption. Rather, his appeal concerns only whether the Constitution requires an on-the-record colloquy before a defendant may waive his right to a jury trial. As there is no such requirement, it was error to grant the writ on this basis.

Carter also argues that his habeas corpus petition presents several additional claims which, even though rejected by the district court, nonetheless provide alternative bases for us to affirm the district court’s grant of the writ.

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6 F. App'x 461, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/carter-v-newkirk-ca7-2001.