Hartley v. Florida Attorney General (Lee County)

CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Florida
DecidedAugust 28, 2019
Docket2:16-cv-00373
StatusUnknown

This text of Hartley v. Florida Attorney General (Lee County) (Hartley v. Florida Attorney General (Lee County)) 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
Hartley v. Florida Attorney General (Lee County), (M.D. Fla. 2019).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA FORT MYERS DIVISION

ANTHONY HARTLEY,

Petitioner,

v. Case No.: 2:16-cv-373-FtM-38MRM

FLORIDA ATTORNEY GENERAL and SECRETARY, DOC,

Respondents. / OPINION AND ORDER1 Before the Court is Petitioner Anthony Hartley’s Petition Under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 for Writ of Habeas Corpus by A Person in State Custody (Doc. 1) filed on May 16, 2016, and Respondent Secretary of the Department of Correction’s Response. (Doc. 8). Petitioner filed a Reply Brief to Respondent’s Response. (Doc. 12). The Petition is briefed and ripe for the Court’s review. BACKGROUND Petitioner was found guilty by a jury of Felony Battery (Count I) and First-Degree Burglary with Assault or Battery (Count II) on July 8, 2008. Petitioner was sentenced to five (5) years on Count I and life imprisonment on Count II. (Ex. 31). Petitioner’s burglary

1 Disclaimer: Documents filed in CM/ECF may contain hyperlinks to other documents or websites. These hyperlinks are provided only for users’ convenience. Users are cautioned that hyperlinked documents in CM/ECF are subject to PACER fees. By allowing hyperlinks to other websites, this Court does not endorse, recommend, approve, or guarantee any third parties or the services or products they provide on their websites. Likewise, the Court has no agreements with any of these third parties or their websites. The Court accepts no responsibility for the availability or functionality of any hyperlink. Thus, the fact that a hyperlink ceases to work or directs the user to some other site does not affect the opinion of the Court. conviction (Count II) was overturned because the Circuit Court failed to include the lesser included jury instruction for burglary of a conveyance with a battery. (Ex. 32). Petitioner was retried on Count II and was found guilty of burglary on a conveyance with assault or battery. (Ex. 33). Petitioner was then re-sentenced to thirty (30) years. (Ex. 34). On appeal, Petitioner’s re-trial conviction was remanded for the trial court to

reconsider his motion for a new trial, but the conviction was affirmed. (Ex. 35). Petitioner appealed arguing ineffective assistance of counsel because Trial Counsel failed to properly prepare him to testify. Petitioner filed a second direct appeal after the Post- conviction Court denied his motion for a new trial. (Ex. 36). The Post-conviction Court was affirmed per curiam and mandate issued on May 28, 2014. (Ex. 36). On October 6, 2014, Petitioner filed a Rule 3.850 Motion alleging that he was provided ineffective assistance of counsel because counsel failed to advise him not to mention his probationary status during his testimony. The Post-conviction Court denied Petitioner’s Motion on September 8, 2015. (Doc. 29). And the Second District Court of

Appeal affirmed per curiam and mandate issued on March 30, 2016. (Doc. 23). The Respondent does not dispute the timeliness of the Petition. STANDARD OF REVIEW Antiterrorism Effective Death Penalty Act (“AEDPA”)

The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (“AEDPA”), Pub. L. No. 104-132, 110 Stat. 1214 (1996), governs this action. Abdul-Kabir v. Quarterman, 550 U.S. 233, 246 (2007). Under AEDPA, the standard of review is greatly circumscribed and highly deferential to the state courts. Alston v. Fla. Dep't of Corr., 610 F.3d 1318, 1325 (11th Cir. 2010) (citations omitted). AEDPA altered the federal court's role in reviewing state prisoner applications in order to “prevent federal habeas ‘retrials' and to ensure that state-court convictions are given effect to the extent possible under law.” Bell v. Cone, 535 U.S. 685, 693 (2002). Under the AEDPA, federal habeas relief may not be granted regarding a claim adjudicated on the merits in state court unless the adjudication of the claim:

(a) resulted in a decision that was contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established Federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court of the United States; or

(b) resulted in a decision that was based on an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented in the State court proceeding.

28 U.S.C. § 2254(d). This standard is both mandatory and difficult to meet. White v. Woodall, 134 S. Ct. 1697, 1702 (2014). A state court’s summary rejection of a claim, even without explanation, qualifies as an adjudication on the merits which warrants deference. Ferguson v. Culliver, 527 F.3d 1144, 1146 (11th Cir. 2008). Notably, a state court’s violation of state law is not sufficient to show that a petitioner is in custody in violation of the “Constitution or laws or treaties of the United States.” 28 U.S.C. § 2254(a); Wilson v. Corcoran, 562 U.S. 1, 16 (2010). “Clearly established federal law” consists of the governing legal principles, rather than the dicta, set forth in the decisions of the United States Supreme Court at the time the state court issued its decision. White, 134 S. Ct. at 1702; Carey v. Musladin, 549 U.S. 70, 74 (2006) (citing Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. 362, 412 (2000)). The Supreme Court has also explained that “the lack of a Supreme Court decision on nearly identical facts does not by itself mean that there is no clearly established federal law, since ‘a general standard’ from [the Supreme Court’s] cases can supply such law.” Marshall v. Rodgers, 133 S. Ct. 1446, 1449 (2013) (quoting Yarborough v. Alvarado, 541 U.S. 652, 664 (2004)). State courts “must reasonably apply the rules ‘squarely established’ by [the Supreme] Court’s holdings to the facts of each case. White, 134 S. Ct. at 1706 (quoting Knowles v. Mirzayance, 556 U.S. 111, 122 (2009)). Even if there is clearly established federal law on point, habeas relief is only

appropriate if the state court decision was “contrary to, or an unreasonable application of,” that federal law. 29 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1). A decision is “contrary to” clearly established federal law if the state court either: (1) applied a rule that contradicts the governing law set forth by Supreme Court case law; or (2) reached a different result from the Supreme Court when faced with materially indistinguishable facts. Ward v. Hall, 592 F.3d 1144, 1155 (11th Cir. 2010); Mitchell v. Esparza, 540 U.S. 12, 16 (2003). A state court decision involves an “unreasonable application” of the Supreme Court’s precedents if the state court correctly identifies the governing legal principle, but applies it to the facts of the petitioner’s case in an objectively unreasonable manner,

Brown v. Payton, 544 U.S. 133, 134 (2005); Bottoson v. Moore, 234 F.3d 526, 531 (11th Cir. 2000), or “if the state court either unreasonably extends a legal principle from [Supreme Court] precedent to a new context where it should not apply or unreasonably refuses to extend that principle to a new context where it should apply.” Bottoson, 234 F.3d at 531 (quoting Williams, 529 U.S. at 406). The petitioner must show that the state court’s ruling was “so lacking in justification that there was an error well understood and comprehended in existing law beyond any possibility for fairminded disagreement.” White, 134 S. Ct.

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Bluebook (online)
Hartley v. Florida Attorney General (Lee County), Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hartley-v-florida-attorney-general-lee-county-flmd-2019.