King v. Secretary, Department of Corrections (Highlands County)

CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedNovember 15, 2022
Docket2:21-cv-14396
StatusUnknown

This text of King v. Secretary, Department of Corrections (Highlands County) (King v. Secretary, Department of Corrections (Highlands County)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
King v. Secretary, Department of Corrections (Highlands County), (S.D. Fla. 2022).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

Case No. 21-cv-14396-BLOOM

CHRISTOPHER SNEED KING,

Petitioner,

v.

FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS,

Respondent. / ORDER DENYING PETITION

THIS CAUSE is before the Court upon Christopher Sneed King’s (“Petitioner”) Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, ECF No. [1] (“Petition”). Petitioner challenges the constitutionality of his convictions and sentences in case number 2012-CF-000898 in Florida’s Tenth Judicial Circuit. Respondent Florida Department of Corrections (“Respondent”) filed a Response, ECF No. [12], and an Appendix, ECF No. [13], as well as a Notice of Filing Transcripts, ECF No. [14]. Petitioner thereafter filed a Reply, ECF No. [17]. The Court has carefully considered the Petition, all supporting and opposing submissions, the record in this case, the applicable law, and is otherwise fully advised. For the reasons set forth below, the Petition is denied. I. BACKGROUND Petitioner was charged in Highlands County, Florida, with one count of aggravated manslaughter of a child (count one) and one count of neglect of a child causing great bodily harm (count two). See ECF No. 13-1 at 11–12 (“Information”). Petitioner proceeded to a jury trial; however, shortly after jury selection, he elected to enter an open plea to the court. See id. at 17– 20. The trial court sentenced Petitioner to 20 years’ imprisonment on count one, and the State filed a nolle prosequi on count two. See id. at 26. Petitioner filed a notice of appeal, see id. at 32, and the state appellate court affirmed without opinion on June 12, 2015. See King v. State, 175 So. 3d 295 (Fla. 2d Dist. Ct. App. 2015).

Petitioner thereafter filed a Motion for Postconviction Relief on August 25, 2015. See ECF No. [13-1] at 94. He docketed an Amended Motion for Postconviction Relief on January 11, 2016. See id. at 119. The postconviction court denied in part and directed the State to respond in part to the motion. See id. at 142. Following several state responses and amended postconviction motions, Petitioner docketed his Third Amended Motion for Postconviction Relief on June 13, 2017. See id. at 198. Following an evidentiary hearing, the state postconviction court denied Petitioner’s motion in its Final Order on Defendant’s Motion for Postconviction Relief. See ECF No. [13-2] at 2–7 (“Final Order”). On appeal, the state court affirmed without a written opinion on October 11, 2019. See King v. State, 284 So.3d 466 (Fla. 2d Dist. Ct. App. 2019). While Petitioner’s Motion for Postconviction Relief was on appeal, Petitioner filed another

motion for postconviction relief. See ECF No. 13-3 at 2. On June 23, 2020, the postconviction court dismissed the motion without prejudice providing Petitioner 60 days’ leave to file a facially sufficient motion. See id. at 76. As of the date of this Order, he has not filed an amended motion.1

1The Court takes judicial notice of the Highlands County Clerk of Courts online docket at: https://www.civitekflorida.com/ocrs/app/caseinformation.xhtml?query=KB87hla1XI6ivcnvvoO6 PzoRY6qTd8zePugzl5IwzeU&from=caseSearchTab See Paez v. Sec'y, Fla. Dep't of Corr., 947 F.3d 649, 651 (11th Cir.) (holding that district court could take judicial notice of online state court dockets). The present Petition was filed on June 10, 2021.2 It was originally filed in the Middle District but was transferred to the Southern District on September 28, 2021. See ECF No. 6. II. LEGAL STANDARD A. Deference Under § 2254

A court’s review of a state prisoner’s federal habeas corpus petition is governed by the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (“AEDPA”). See Abdul–Kabir v. Quarterman, 550 U.S. 233, 246 (2007). “The purpose of AEDPA is to ensure that federal habeas relief functions as a guard against extreme malfunctions in the state criminal justice systems, and not as a means of error correction.” Ledford v. Warden, Ga. Diagnostic & Classification Prison, 818 F.3d 600, 642 (11th Cir. 2016) (quotation marks omitted). This standard is “difficult to meet.” White v. Woodall, 572 U.S. 415, 419 (2014) (quotation marks omitted). According to AEDPA, a federal court may not grant a habeas petitioner relief on any claim adjudicated on the merits in state court unless the state court’s decision (1) “was contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established Federal law, as determined by the

Supreme Court of the United States;” or (2) “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); see also Rimmer v. Sec’y, Fla. Dep’t of Corr., 876 F.3d 1039, 1053 (11th Cir. 2017) (citing 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)). A state court decision is “contrary to” established Supreme Court precedent when it (1) applies a rule that contradicts the governing law set forth by the Supreme Court; or (2) confronts a set of facts materially indistinguishable from a decision of the Supreme Court and

2 “Under the ‘prison mailbox rule,’ a pro se prisoner’s court filing is deemed filed on the date it is delivered to prison authorities for mailing.” Williams v. McNeil, 557 F.3d 1287, 1290 n.2 (11th Cir. 2009). nevertheless arrives at a result different from Supreme Court precedent. Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. 362, 405-06 (2000). An “unreasonable application” of clearly established federal law is different from an incorrect application of federal law. Id. at 410. Consequently, “[a] state court’s determination that a claim lacks merit precludes federal habeas relief so long as fairminded jurists

could disagree on the correctness of the state court’s decision.” Harrington v. Richter, 562 U.S. 86, 101 (2011) (quotation marks omitted). If the last state court to decide a prisoner’s federal claim provides an explanation for its merits-based decision in a reasoned opinion, “a federal habeas court simply reviews the specific reasons given by the state court and defers to those reasons if they are reasonable.” Wilson v. Sellers, 138 S. Ct. 1188, 1192 (2018). Even summary rejection of a claim, without explanation, qualifies as an adjudication on the merits, warranting deference. See Meders v. Warden, Ga. Diagnostic Prison, 911 F.3d 1335, 1351 (11th Cir. 2019). If the state court’s merits determination is unaccompanied by an explanation, federal courts should “‘look through’ the unexplained decision to the last related state- court decision that does provide a relevant rationale” and “presume that the unexplained decision

adopted the same reasoning.” Wilson, 138 S. Ct. at 1192. Furthermore, a decision is still an adjudication on the merits when it “addresses some but not all of a defendant’s claims.” Johnson v. Williams, 568 U.S. 289, 298 (2013). Moreover, a federal district court is authorized to deny a claim for federal habeas corpus relief when the claim is subject to rejection under de novo review, regardless of whether AEDPA deference applies. See Berghuis v. Thompkins, 560 U.S. 370, 390 (2010) (holding federal courts may deny petitions for writs of habeas corpus under § 2254 by engaging in de novo review when it is unclear whether AEDPA deference applies, as a habeas petitioner will not be entitled to habeas relief if his claim is rejected following de novo review); Connor v. GDCP Warden, 784 F.3d 752,

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Bailey v. Nagle
172 F.3d 1299 (Eleventh Circuit, 1999)
Chandler v. Moore
240 F.3d 907 (Eleventh Circuit, 2001)
Turner v. Crosby
339 F.3d 1247 (Eleventh Circuit, 2003)
LeCroy v. Secretary, Florida Department of Corrections
421 F.3d 1237 (Eleventh Circuit, 2005)
Jose Jimenez v. Florida Dept. of Corrections
481 F.3d 1337 (Eleventh Circuit, 2007)
Williams v. McNeil
557 F.3d 1287 (Eleventh Circuit, 2009)
Cummings v. Secretary for the Department of Corrections
588 F.3d 1331 (Eleventh Circuit, 2009)
Marshall v. Lonberger
459 U.S. 422 (Supreme Court, 1983)
Strickland v. Washington
466 U.S. 668 (Supreme Court, 1984)
Burger v. Kemp
483 U.S. 776 (Supreme Court, 1987)
Schlup v. Delo
513 U.S. 298 (Supreme Court, 1995)
Gray v. Netherland
518 U.S. 152 (Supreme Court, 1996)
Slack v. McDaniel
529 U.S. 473 (Supreme Court, 2000)
Baldwin v. Reese
541 U.S. 27 (Supreme Court, 2004)
Dretke v. Haley
541 U.S. 386 (Supreme Court, 2004)
Williams v. Taylor
529 U.S. 362 (Supreme Court, 2000)
Schriro v. Landrigan
550 U.S. 465 (Supreme Court, 2007)
Abdul-Kabir v. Quarterman
550 U.S. 233 (Supreme Court, 2007)
Harbison v. Bell
556 U.S. 180 (Supreme Court, 2009)
Harrington v. Richter
131 S. Ct. 770 (Supreme Court, 2011)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
King v. Secretary, Department of Corrections (Highlands County), Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/king-v-secretary-department-of-corrections-highlands-county-flsd-2022.