Griffin v. Scnurr

Procedural entryThis page is a short order in Griffin v. Scnurr. Read the opinion of the Court — 640 F. App'x 710
Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit·Decided December 10, 2015·No. 14-3208·Unpublished

Opinion

FILED United States Court of Appeals UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS Tenth Circuit

FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT December 10, 2015 _________________________________ Elisabeth A. Shumaker Clerk of Court JAMES W. GRIFFIN,

Petitioner - Appellant,

v. No. 14-3208 (D.C. No. 5:12-CV-03146-SAC) DAN SCNURR; DEREK SCHMIDT, (D. Kan.)

Respondents - Appellees. _________________________________

ORDER AND JUDGMENT* _________________________________

Before KELLY, SEYMOUR, and MATHESON, Circuit Judges. _________________________________

James Griffin and Maurice Franklin’s attempt to rob a restaurant in Kansas did not

go as planned. Mr. Franklin shot the restaurant manager while holding him at gunpoint

and fled without completing the robbery. Mr. Griffin waited in the car as the getaway

driver. He was charged and convicted in state court of attempted second-degree

intentional murder, attempted aggravated robbery, and conspiracy to commit aggravated

robbery.

On appeal, Mr. Griffin argued the jury instructions and the prosecutor’s comments

at trial allowed the jury to convict him for attempted second-degree murder without

* This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. It may be cited, however, for its persuasive value consistent with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 and 10th Cir. R. 32.1. finding specific intent, contrary to Kansas law. The state courts denied his direct appeal

and his requests for post-conviction relief. He sought habeas relief under 28 U.S.C. §

2254. The federal district court denied his petition and granted a certificate to appeal

here.

Mr. Griffin appeals from the district court’s denial of his petition for habeas

corpus. To succeed on such a petition, he must show “he is in custody in violation of the

Constitution or laws or treaties of the United States.” 28 U.S.C. § 2254(a). He argued in

the district court, and he argues here, that his right to due process under the Fourteenth

Amendment was violated because the state trial court instructed the jury that they could

convict him of attempted second-degree murder without proof that he specifically

intended to commit that crime.

As we explain more fully below, Mr. Griffin did not adequately raise this due

process claim in the Kansas state courts, and it is too late under Kansas law for him to

assert the claim in state court. He cannot overcome this deficiency because he has not

shown a cause to justify his failure to raise the claim and has not shown he is actually

innocent. Under these circumstances, federal habeas corpus law precludes his petition.

Exercising jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, we affirm the district court’s denial of

Mr. Griffin’s petition.

-2- I. BACKGROUND

A. Legal Background on Exhaustion, Procedural Default, and Cause and Prejudice or Miscarriage of Justice

We begin by describing relevant legal standards to provide context for the factual

and procedural background detailed below.

A state prisoner may not obtain federal habeas relief unless the petitioner “has

exhausted the remedies available in the courts of the State.” 28 U.S.C. § 2254(b)(1)(A).

Four aspects of the exhaustion requirement are relevant to this appeal.

First, “state prisoners must give the state courts one full opportunity to resolve any

constitutional issues by invoking one complete round of the State’s established appellate

review process.” O’Sullivan v. Boerckel, 526 U.S. 838, 845 (1999). To do so, the

prisoner must seek discretionary review in the state’s highest court, so long as that is a

“normal, simple, and established part of the State’s appellate review process.” Id.

Second, “the prisoner must ‘fairly present’ his claim in each appropriate state

court (including a state supreme court with powers of discretionary review), thereby

alerting that court to the federal nature of the claim.” Baldwin v. Reese, 541 U.S. 27, 29

(2004) (quotations omitted). The prisoner is not required to cite “‘book and verse on the

federal constitution.’” Bland v. Sirmons, 459 F.3d 999, 1011 (10th Cir. 2006) (quoting

Picard v. Connor, 404 U.S. 270, 278 (1971)). “[T]he crucial inquiry is whether the

‘substance’ of the petitioner’s claim has been presented to the state courts in a manner

sufficient to put the courts on notice of the federal constitutional claim.” Prendergast v.

Clements, 699 F.3d 1182, 1184 (10th Cir. 2012) (quotations omitted).

-3- Third, procedural default may arise from anticipatory procedural bar. “Generally,

a federal court should dismiss unexhausted claims without prejudice so that the petitioner

can pursue available state-court remedies. However, ‘if the court to which Petitioner

must present his claims in order to meet the exhaustion requirement would now find

those claims procedurally barred, there is a procedural default for the purposes of federal

habeas review.’” Bland, 459 F.3d at 1012 (citations omitted).

Fourth, “we do not ‘address issues that have been defaulted in state court on an

independent and adequate state procedural ground, unless the petitioner can demonstrate

cause and prejudice or a fundamental miscarriage of justice.’” Cummings v. Sirmons,

506 F.3d 1211, 1224 (10th Cir. 2007) (citation omitted).

B. Factual History

In 2002, Mr. Griffin and Mr. Franklin attempted to rob a restaurant in Topeka,

Kansas. Mr. Griffin drove and waited in the car while Mr. Franklin tried to rob the

restaurant at gunpoint. Mr. Franklin approached, threatened, and shot the restaurant

manager, then fled without obtaining any money.

C. Procedural History

1. Trial

Mr. Griffin was charged with attempted second-degree intentional murder,

attempted aggravated robbery, and conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery. At trial,

the jury received the following instructions:

JURY INSTRUCTION NO. 7 A person who, either before or during the commission, intentionally aids, abets, advises, hires, counsels or procures another to commit a crime

-4- with intent to promote or assist in its commission is criminally responsible for the crime committed regardless of the extent of the Defendant’s participation, if any, in the actual commission of the crime.

JURY INSTRUCTION NO. 8 A person who intentionally aids, abets, advises, hires, counsels or procures another to commit a crime is also responsible for any other crime committed in carrying out or attempting to carry out the intended crime, if the other crime was reasonably foreseeable.

App. Vol. I at 39-40.

The jury received the following instruction on the elements of attempted second-

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