Enriquez v. Ludwick

305 F. Supp. 3d 994
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Iowa
DecidedApril 16, 2018
Docket4:13–cv–00024–RWP
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 305 F. Supp. 3d 994 (Enriquez v. Ludwick) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Enriquez v. Ludwick, 305 F. Supp. 3d 994 (S.D. Iowa 2018).

Opinion

ROBERT W. PRATT, U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE

Petitioner Rosendo Enriquez, now represented by counsel, was an inmate of the Iowa Department of Corrections serving a sentence on convictions for drug and firearm offenses in Muscatine County, Iowa. State v. Enriquez , No. 09-1460, 2011 WL 1584114, at *1 (Iowa Ct. App. Apr. 27, 2011). He is now on parole,1 and his tentative discharge date is December 3, 2033. Iowa Dep't of Corr., Offender Information , https://doc.iowa.gov/offender/view/1105354 (last visited Apr. 10, 2018).

Enriquez seeks relief pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 for a violation of his federal Sixth Amendment right, arguing his trial and appellate counsel performed below prevailing professional norms by failing to argue the Iowa Constitution invalidated a search by officers at his home.2 Enriquez further argues that if counsel had challenged the search based on the Iowa Constitution instead of the federal Fourth Amendment, the evidence would have been suppressed, therefore he was prejudiced by counsel's performance. Pet'r's Br., ECF No. 34.

The Court stayed this case for over two years while Enriquez exhausted his state remedies, which are now complete. The matter is ready for ruling. For the following reasons, the Court will deny the petition, dismiss the case, and grant a Certificate of Appealability.

I. BACKGROUND

The chronology of events is important to the question of counsel's performance, so the Court sets them out in detail. Enriquez's cohabitant, Stephanie Ryder, was on probation in June 2008. Enriquez , 2011 WL 1584114, at *1. As part of her probation, she agreed to "submit my person, property, place of residence, vehicle, [and] personal effects to search at any time, with or without a search warrant, warrant of arrest or reasonable cause by any probation/parole officer or law enforcement officer." Id. ; ECF No. 31-7 at 54-56.3 Ryder's probation officer learned of possible drug trafficking and firearms in Ryder's home. Enriquez , 2011 WL 1584114, at *1.

On June 30, 2008, Ryder's probation officer and other law enforcement officers went to Ryder's home to do a "home check" under the terms of her probation agreement.4 Id. Ryder allowed the officers *997into the house.5 Enriquez was in the shower, and when Ryder informed him the officers were present, Enriquez stepped out of the bathroom wearing a towel. He asked to get dressed in the bedroom, and one of the law enforcement officers agreed but said he wanted to accompany Enriquez for safety reasons, and Enriquez refused. Nevertheless, the officer stood outside the bedroom and watched through a two-and-a-half-inch crack in the accordion-style door to the bedroom. The officer "observed Enriquez go to the closet, reach 'mid-level' or 'up above' with both of his hands and 'fumble[ ] with' or 'mess[ ] with' something." Id. Enriquez did not remove anything from the closet. Later, the officer searched the closet where he saw Enriquez moving, and the officer "discovered a large plastic bag tucked in clothing." Inside were illegal drugs. On the dresser was a silencer. Id. The officers stopped the search, got a warrant, and after searching pursuant to the warrant, found a handgun in the same closet, plus ammunition in another "cabinet near the kitchen or in the hall closet." Id.

A. Criminal Trial and Application for Discretionary Review

Enriquez and Ryder were charged with drug and firearm crimes. ECF No. 31-5 at 6-7. On September 24, 2008, Enriquez filed a motion to suppress, arguing he did not consent to the warrantless search of his home. He relied on the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, but he did not rely on article I, section 8 of the Iowa Constitution. ECF No. 31-5 at 11-14. At first, the trial court granted the motion to suppress because Enriquez did not consent. ECF No. 31-5 at 39-42. On November 7, 2008, the trial court reconsidered and denied the motion to suppress because Ryder's probation agreement justified the search, no private area of Enriquez's was searched, Enriquez did not expressly object, and the drugs were in plain view during the search. ECF No. 31-5 at 46-48; Enriquez , 2011 WL 1584114 at *2. Enriquez asked the trial court to reconsider based on a recently decided case, State v. Brandon , 755 N.W.2d 548, 552 (Iowa Ct. App. 2008), arguing that the officers did not have Enriquez's consent to search. ECF No. 31-5 at 49-53. The decision in Brandon was not based on the Iowa Constitution, but rather was based on an interpretation of a cohabitant's rights under the Fourth Amendment in Georgia v. Randolph , 547 U.S. 103, 126 S.Ct. 1515, 164 L.Ed.2d 208 (2006). See Brandon , 755 N.W.2d at 551-52. The trial court denied the motion to reconsider. ECF No. 31-5 at 55.

Enriquez sought a stay of the criminal case and discretionary review of the order denying his motion to suppress. ECF No. 31-5 at 56-61. The application for stay and review did not specifically assert a challenge under the Iowa Constitution. Id. at 56-60. In resisting the application, the State pointed out, "The district court noted *998that the residential search was valid under Ryder's probation agreement and Enriquez did not expressly object to the search so as to invoke a situation similar to that examined in Georgia v. Randolph (finding defendant can override cohabitant's consent to search)." ECF No. 31-6 at 88 (citation omitted).

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Bluebook (online)
305 F. Supp. 3d 994, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/enriquez-v-ludwick-iasd-2018.