Marshall v. Ohio

443 F. Supp. 2d 911, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 54620, 2006 WL 2252575
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Ohio
DecidedAugust 7, 2006
Docket1:03 CV 2218
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 443 F. Supp. 2d 911 (Marshall v. Ohio) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Marshall v. Ohio, 443 F. Supp. 2d 911, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 54620, 2006 WL 2252575 (N.D. Ohio 2006).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OF OPINION AND ORDER

POLSTER, District Judge.

The above-captioned case is before the Court pursuant to the Report and Recommendation of Magistrate Judge William H. Baughman, Jr. (“R & R”) (ECF No. 68). Pending is a petition for a writ of habeas corpus filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 by Petitioner Charles Marshall (“Marshall” or “Petitioner”). ECF No. 1 (“Petition”). The Magistrate Judge considered Marshall’s claims and recommended that the habeas petition be denied. Petitioner filed objections, ECF No. 71, and the State filed a response to the objections, ECF No. 76.

Given the somewhat convoluted procedural history of this case, the Court will outline those procedural developments that are relevant to the issues presented. On March 31, 1997, Marshall was indicted for one count of aggravated murder, with capital specifications, for causing the death of Rocco V. Buccieri, Jr., three counts of aggravated robbery, and three counts of kidnaping, all arising from the December 22, 1996 robbery of a Papa John’s Pizza shop in Garfield Heights, Ohio. ECF No. 52, Exs. 3-5 (Indictments). All counts included firearm specifications. Id. Exs. 3-5. Marshall entered a plea of not guilty to all charges. ECF No. 60 (“Traverse”) at 2.

I.

In September 1997, the case proceeded to trial before Judge Timothy McGinty. The jury found Marshall guilty of all counts and specifications. Id. Exhs. 31-32. During the trial, the State presented the testimony of Tony Haynes, a childhood friend of Marshall. Haynes testified that Marshall advised him that he was responsible for the December 22, 1996 robbery of Papa John’s, and that he had shot Buccieri three times. ECF No. 21* (Tr. at 596-600). After receiving this information, Haynes contacted Detective Mazzola and provided him with a statement detailing Marshall’s admission. ECF No. 27 (Tr. at 737, 744). The court allowed Haynes to read this statement, which was marked for identification purposes as State’s Exhibit 37, into the record. 1 Id. (Tr. at 766, 807, 816-829).

On October 9, 1997, after the conclusion of the penalty phase of the trial, the jury recommended a sentence of death for the aggravated murder conviction. Id. Ex. 38. On October 10, 1997, the trial court orally pronounced a sentence of death upon finding that the aggravating factors that Marshall was found guilty of committing outweighed the mitigating factors beyond a reasonable doubt. ECF No. 28 (Tr. at 30). The trial court’s acceptance of the jury recommendation was never journalized. 2 *913 At some point after the trial judge orally-pronounced his sentence, he became aware that the jury was not instructed on the option of life without the possibility of parole. 3 ECF No. 52, Ex. 68 at 2-3. As a result, Judge McGinty ordered a new sentencing hearing to be held before a newly impaneled jury, and recused himself from further proceedings in the case. Id. Ex. 68 at 3-5. The case was then re-assigned to Judge Carolyn Friedland. Id. Ex. 40.

In December 1997, Judge Friedland granted Marshall’s motion for a new trial 4 and a second trial commenced on February 1, 2001. 5 ECF No. 52, Ex. 88. During the course of the trial, the State presented evidence that, despite reasonable efforts, it was unable to procure the live testimony of Tony Haynes. ECF No. 59 (Tr. at 1219-1277). The State argued that Haynes’ pri- or trial testimony could be admitted into evidence pursuant to a hearsay exception which allows a declarant’s former testimony into evidence if, among other conditions, the declarant is “unavailable” to testify at trial. Id. (Tr. at 1278); see FED. R. EVID. 804. Judge Friedland ruled that the State did not establish unavailability, and precluded the State from introducing Haynes’ former testimony into the record. Id. (Tr. at 1297).

At the second trial, Tony Haynes’ brother, Richard, testified that Marshall admitted to him that he committed the robbery. ECF No. 50 (Tr. at 453). When Richard asked Marshall whether he committed the murder, Marshall did not respond. Id. at 454, 462.

On February 14, 2001, the State offered its exhibits. At this time, the prosecutor stated that State’s Exhibit 37 (Tony Haynes’ statement) was “withdrawn.” 6 ECF No. k9 (Tr. at 1310). On February 14, immediately following the court’s instructions, the jury was excused to begin deliberations. On February 16, the following question was submitted by the jury: “We, the jury, have an exhibit in our possession that was referenced during the trial but never introduced as evidence. (Tony Haynes statement, State Exhibit 37.) Is this acceptable by the law?” ECF No. 59 (Tr. at 1542). After reading the question to counsel, Judge Friedland stated “[d]o I hear a motion from the defense?” Id. Defense counsel did not respond. The prosecutor indicated that he did not know how the statement found its way into the jury room to which Judge Friedland responded that the court “will be having a hearing on that.” Id. at 1542-43. Judge Friedland then declared a mistrial sua sponte on the basis of prosecuto-rial misconduct and stated that “[the court] will entertain motions. We will have a hearing in two weeks.” Id. at 1543. The record does not reflect that a hearing was held or that motions (or any response to the mistrial order) were filed.

*914 On February 22, 2001, the trial court’s mistrial declaration was journalized. This journal entry omitted any reference to prosecutorial misconduct and stated that a mistrial was declared because Haynes’ out-of-court statement was “not properly before the jury.” ECF No. 52, Ex. 91. Judge Friedland then recused herself from the case. Id. Ex. 92. Also on February 22, 2001, the court granted the State’s application to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the circumstances under which the jury obtained the inadmissible evidence. Id. Exhs. 149-50.

In March 2001, the case was re-assigned to Judge Cirigliano. Id. Ex. 96. Marshall filed a motion to dismiss all charges against him with prejudice on double jeopardy grounds, arguing that the prosecutor engaged in misconduct designed to provoke a mistrial. ECF No. 53, Ex. 157. A hearing was held, id. Ex. 187, and Judge Cirigliano denied the motion, ECF No. 52, Ex. 118. The judge stated:

[N]o evidence exists to support a conclusion that any prosecutor engaged in misconduct.

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

Related

State v. Bogan
2018 Ohio 4211 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2018)
State v. Marshall
2014 Ohio 4677 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2014)
State v. Cates
2009 MT 94 (Montana Supreme Court, 2009)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
443 F. Supp. 2d 911, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 54620, 2006 WL 2252575, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/marshall-v-ohio-ohnd-2006.