Dixon v. McGinnis

492 F. Supp. 2d 343, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 44198, 2007 WL 1771500
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedJune 18, 2007
Docket06 Civ. 0038(VM)
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 492 F. Supp. 2d 343 (Dixon v. McGinnis) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dixon v. McGinnis, 492 F. Supp. 2d 343, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 44198, 2007 WL 1771500 (S.D.N.Y. 2007).

Opinion

*345 DECISION AND ORDER

MARRERO, District Judge.

Petitioner Echo Dixon (“Dixon”) filed a petition seeking a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (1996). Dixon challenges his conviction in the New York State Supreme Court, Bronx County (the “trial court”) on several counts of arson. For the reasons that follow, the Court denies Dixon’s petition.

1. BACKGROUND 1

A. THE UNDERLYING CONVICTION

Following a jury trial, judgment was rendered on February 11, 2003, in the trial court, convicting Dixon of two counts of arson in the second degree and one count of arson in the third degree. Dixon was sentenced to two determinate terms of 12 years for each of the second degree counts and one determinate term of 7 \ years for the third degree count, with the sentences to be served concurrently.

The conviction related to three incidents in which Dixon lit fires in his jail cell while serving a term of imprisonment for an unrelated matter. The facts of the three fires are essentially undisputed. The first incident occurred on March 3, 2001, when Dixon placed several miscellaneous burning items in his cell’s food box, causing damage to the plexiglass mechanism and creating a small amount of smoke. On March 10, 2001, Dixon lit a larger fire around his door frame after he was denied access to a working telephone, using both his bed sheet and prison jumpsuit as fuel. The third and final incident occurred on March 14, 2001, when Dixon lit three separate fires in his cell which were all quickly extinguished by the prison guards.

At trial, Dixon argued that mistreatment by the prison guards essentially justified his actions; the fires, he asserted, were necessary in order to secure access to food, clothing, exercise, showers, a telephone, and the court. Dixon contended that lighting fires was a common tactic used by prisoners in the facility to receive attention and proper care.

B. POST-CONVICTION PROCEEDINGS

1. Motion to Vacate

Dixon moved in the trial court to vacate his judgment of conviction under New York Criminal Procedure Law (“N.Y.C.P.L.”) § 440.10. He asserted that he received ineffective assistance of counsel because his attorney failed to submit a timely motion, pursuant to N.Y.C.P.L. § 210.10, to dismiss the indictment on the grounds that Dixon had not been afforded the right to testify before the grand jury. Citing N.Y.C.P.L. § 440.10(2)(b), the trial court denied Dixon’s motion on June 26, 2003, because the issues raised therein were directly appealable.

*346 2. Direct Appeal

Dixon appealed his conviction to the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division, First Department (“the Appellate Division”) raising the following claims: (1) the trial court’s supplemental instructions were fatally flawed because they omitted the knowledge element of arson in the second degree; further, the trial court’s response to a juror’s oral request for help in distinguishing arson in the fourth degree was insufficient because it lacked a definition of recklessness; (2) the prosecutor failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the count of arson in the second degree related to the March 14 incident; alternatively, the conviction was against the weight of the evidence; and (3) Dixon was deprived of effective assistance of counsel because his attorney failed to move to dismiss the indictment pursuant to N.Y.C.P.L. § 210.20 within the five days allotted by N.Y.C.P.L. § 190.50(5)(c), thereby waiving Dixon’s right to testify before the grand jury.

On June 2, 2005, the Appellate Division unanimously affirmed Dixon’s conviction, and on August 15, 2005, the New York Court of Appeals denied Dixon’s application for leave to appeal. See People v. Dixon, 19 A.D.3d 131, 795 N.Y.S.2d 587 (N.Y.App.Div. 1st Dep’t) lv. denied, 5 N.Y.3d 805, 803 N.Y.S.2d 34, 836 N.E.2d 1157(2005).

3. Second Motion to Vacate

On August 20, 2005, Dixon moved again in the trial court to vacate his judgment pursuant to N.Y.C.P.L. § 440.10, claiming that his conviction had been obtained through the administration of cruel and unusual punishment. The court denied Dixon’s motion on January 3, 2006 pursuant to N.Y.C.P.L. § 440.10(2)(c), finding that the issues raised in the motion could have been, but were not, addressed on direct appeal. On July 20, 2006, the Appellate Division denied Dixon’s application for leave to appeal the denial of his second motion to vacate the judgment.

4.Dixon’s Habeas Corpus Petition

Dixon now seeks, pro se, a writ of ha-beas corpus alleging the following grounds: (1) trial counsel’s negligent failure to secure Dixon’s statutory right to testify before the grand jury amounted to ineffective assistance of counsel; (2) the prosecutor failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the count of arson in the second degree related to the March 14 incident; alternatively, the conviction was against the weight of the evidence; (3) Dixon was denied due process because the supplemental instructions given to the trial jury were both erroneous and confusing; and (4) Dixon was subjected to cruel and unusual punishment which both justified his actions and warranted dismissal of the arson charges.

II. DISCUSSION
A. LEGAL STANDARDS FOR HABE-AS RELIEF

A petitioner in custody pursuant to a judgment of a state trial court is entitled to habeas relief only if he can show that his detention violates the United States Constitution or federal law or treaties of the United States. See 28 U.S.C. § 2254(a). Before seeking federal relief, a petitioner generally must have exhausted all available state court remedies. See id. § 2254(b) and (c). To do so, the petitioner must have fairly presented his federal claims to the highest available state court, setting forth all of the factual and legal allegations he asserts in his federal petition. See Daye v. Attorney Gen., 696 F.2d 186, 190 n. 3, 191-92 (2d Cir.1982). Here, there is no dispute that Dixon has exhaust *347 ed his state court remedies with respect to each of his current claims.

A federal court’s authority to review a habeas petition also depends on whether the state court adjudicated the petitioner’s claims on the merits or on procedural grounds. A state court adjudicates a petitioner’s federal claims “on the merits” under 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d) when it: (1) disposes of the claim on the merits, and (2) reduces its disposition to judgment. See Sellan v. Kuhlman, 261 F.3d 303, 312 (2d Cir.2001).

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Bluebook (online)
492 F. Supp. 2d 343, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 44198, 2007 WL 1771500, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dixon-v-mcginnis-nysd-2007.