MCCLENDON v. DAVIS

CourtDistrict Court, D. New Jersey
DecidedOctober 13, 2020
Docket3:19-cv-18811
StatusUnknown

This text of MCCLENDON v. DAVIS (MCCLENDON v. DAVIS) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. New Jersey primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
MCCLENDON v. DAVIS, (D.N.J. 2020).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY

QUMERE MCCLENDON, : Civil Action No. 19-18811 (MAS) Petitioner, : v. OPINION BRUCE DAVIS, et al., Respondents.

SHIPP, District Judge Qumere McClendon (‘Petitioner’), a prisoner currently confined at New Jersey State Prison in Trenton, New Jersey, brought a Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (the “Petition”) challenging his conviction for felony murder and related offenses. (Pet., ECF No. 1.) Presently before this Court is Petitioner’s Motion for a Stay (the “Motion’”). (Mot., ECF No. 12.) Respondents oppose the Motion. (Resp’t’s Opp’n, ECF No. 13.) For the reasons set forth below, the Motion for a Stay is denied without prejudice. I. BACKGROUND The Court recites only the facts necessary to decide the instant motion. Petitioner was convicted by a jury in 2011 of second-degree conspiracy to commit burglary and robbery, possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose, second degree burglary, first degree robbery, first degree felony murder, first degree aggravated manslaughter, third degree endangering the welfare of a child, second degree witness tampering, and second degree certain persons not to possess a weapon. See State v. McClendon, No. A-0589-11T4, 2014 WL 886776, at *1 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. Mar. 7, 2014). He was sentenced to an aggregate term of 55 years in prison with a 40-

year period of parole ineligibility. (Sentencing Tr. 281, ECF No. 7-24.) Petitioner filed an appeal beforethe New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division, and raisedthe following three claims: POINT I: THE DEFENDANT’S VIDEOTAPED STATEMENT WAS THE PRODUCT OF COERCIVE INTERROGATION. U.S. Const. Amends. V, XV; N.J.R.E.503. POINT II: THE TRIAL JUDGE ERRED IN NOT SUPPRESSING THE DEFENDANT’S SECOND STATEMENT AS IT WAS OBTAINED AFTER HE INVOKED HIS RIGHT TO COUNSEL. U.S. Const. Amends.V, XIV; N.J.R.E.503. POINT III: THE DEFENDANT’S SENTENCE IS EXCESSIVE. McClendon, 2014 WL 886776, at *1. The Appellate Division affirmed both Petitioner’s conviction and sentence. Id.at *8. The New Jersey Supreme Court denied Petitioner’s subsequent request for certification. See State v. McClendon, 99 A.3d 832 (N.J. 2014). On January22, 2015, Petitioner filed a Petition for Post-Conviction Relief (“PCR”). (PCR Court Op., Jan. 30, 2017, ECF No. 7-35 at 32.) He presented the following grounds for relief in his counseled brief: POINT I: BUT FOR TRIAL COUNSEL’S INEFFECTIVE REPRESENTATION THE DEFENDANT’S STATEMENTS WOULD HAVE BEEN SUPPRESSED IN THEIR ENTIRETY POINT II: THE DEFENDANT WAS DEPRIVED HIS CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO TESTIFY ON HIS OWN BEHALF POINT III: THE DEFENDANT WAS DEPRIVED HIS CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO PRESENT A DEFENSE POINT IV: BY VIRTUE OF TRIAL COUNSEL’S INEFFECTIVE REPRESENTATION, THE DEFENDANT WAS DENIED HIS 1 Page numbers refer to those associated with the ECF header. 2Page numbers refer to those associated with the ECF header. RIGHT TO A FAIR TRIAL BY AN IMPARTIAL JURY AND EQUAL PROTECTION POINT V: THE DEFENDANT WAS DENIED THE EFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF TRIAL COUNSEL IN VIOLATION OF HIS UNITED STATES AND NEW JERSEY CONSTITUTIONS POINT VI: THE CUMULATIVE EFFECT OF THE ERRORS COMPLAINED OF RENDERED THE TRIAL UNFAIR POINT VII: DEFENDANT WAS DENIED EFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF APPELLATE COUNSEL POINT VIII: AN EVIDENTIARY HEARING IS REQUIRED WITH REGARD TO THE ALLEGATIONS OF DEFENDANT’S PETITON FOR POSTCONVICTION RELIEF POINT IX: THE DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR POST- CONVICTION RELIEF SHOULD NOT BE BARRED BY PROCEDURAL CONSIDERATIONS (Pet., ECF No. 1at 19–203.) Petitioner also raised the following pro se claims: POINT ONE: TRIAL COUNSEL PROVED TO BE PREJUDICIALLY INEFFECTIVE BY FAILING TO OBJECT TO THE TESTIMONY OF MEDICAL EXAMINER DR. DICARLO REGARDING THE AUTOPSY PERFORMED BY ANOTHER MEDICAL EXAMINER RATHER THAN TESTIFYING BASED ON HIS OWN OBSERVATIONS, VIOLATED PETITIONER’S SIXTH AMENDMENT RIGHT TO CONFRONTATION, A FAIR TRIAL AND DUE PROCESS POINT TWO: TRIAL COUNSEL PROVED TO BE PREJUDICIALLY INEFFECTIVE BY FAILING TO CHALLENGE THE LEGALITY OF PETITIONER’S ARREST, WHERE PETITIONER WAS ILLEGALLY ARREST[ED] AND PLACE[D] INTO CUSTODY UNDER FALSE PRETENSES, FOR THE SOLE PURPOSE OF QUESTIONING AND OBTAINING A CONFESSION, AND CHALLENGING THE VALIDITY OF THE ARREST WARRANT, THE PETITIONER’S SIXTH, FOURTH AND FOURTEETH AMENDMENT RIGHTS, THUS, ALL EVIDENCE OBTAINED AS A DIRECT RESULT OF THE EXPLOITATION OF THE ILLEGAL ARREST, AND 3Page numbers refer to those associated with the ECF header. DEFECTIVE ARREST WARRANT MUST BE HELD INADMISSIBLE. POINT THREE: IN THE ALTERNATIVE, PETITIONER HAS ESTABLISHED A PRIMA FACIE CASE SUFFICIENT TO WARRANT THE ORDERING OF AN EVIDENTIARY HEARING (Id.at 20–21.) The PCR court denied Petitioner’s application for post-conviction relief. (PCR Court Op., Jan. 30, 2017 19.) On January 29, 2019, the Appellate Division affirmed the PCR court’s denial. See State v. McClendon, No. A-4731-16T3, 2019 WL 347172, at *4 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. Jan. 29, 2019). The New Jersey Supreme Court denied Petitioner’s request for certification. See State v. McClendon, 213 A.3d 186 (N.J. 2019). On October 4, 2019, Petitioner filed a Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus before this Court. (Pet.17.)4 He raised the following four claims: GROUND ONE: BUT FOR TRIAL COUNSEL’S INEFFECTIVE REPRESENTATION, THE DEFENDANT’S STATEMENTS WOULD HAVE BEEN SUPPRESSED IN THEIR ENTIRETY GROUND TWO: THE DEFENDANT WAS DEPRIVED HIS CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO TESTIFY ON HIS OWN BEHALF GROUND THREE: BY VIRTUE OF TRIAL COUNSEL’S INEFFECTIVE REPRESENTATION, THE DEFENDANT WAS DENIED HIS RIGHT TO A FAIR TRIAL BY AN IMPARTIAL JURY AND EQUAL PROTECTION GROUND FOUR: TRIAL COUNSEL PROVED TO BE PREJUDICIALLY INEFFECTIVE BY FAILING TO OBJECT TO THE TESTIMONY OF MEDICAL EXAMINER DR. DICARLO REGARDING THE AUTOPSY PERFORMED BY ANOTHER MEDICAL EXAMINER RATHER THAN TESTIFYING BASED 4 Petitioner certified that he placed his petition in the prison mailing system on October 4, 2019. (Pet.17.) “Pursuant to the federal prisoner mailbox rule, ‘a document is deemed filed on the date it is given to prison officials for mailing.’” Jenkins v. Superintendent of Laurel Highlands, 705 F.3d 80, 84 (3d Cir. 2013) (quoting Pabon v. Mahanoy, 654 F.3d 385, 391 n.8 (3d Cir. 2011)). ON HIS OWN OBSERVATIONS, VIOLATED PETITIONER’S SIXTH AMENDMENT RIGHT TO CONFRONTATION, A FAIR TRIAL AND DUE PROCESS (Id.at 22–40.) Respondents filed an answer to the Petition on December 2, 2019. (Answer, ECF No. 7.) Over three months later, on March 23, 2020, Petitioner filed the instant Motion for a Stay. (See generally Mot. to Stay, ECF, No. 12.) In his Motion, he presented five new claims that he requested to include in his habeas petition but indicated that they had not yet been exhausted in state court. (Id. at 55.) Petitioner stated that he filed a second PCR petition in state court, which remains pending, and requested a stay to exhaust his new claims. (Id. at 5–6.) The claims Petitioner seeks leave to exhaust are: Point One: Appellate Counsel proved to be ineffective by failing to raise that the PCR court failed to address and make specific and adequate findings of fact on Petitioner’s claim that the police advising Petitioner that he arrested for the murder of the victim when, he was not and never advised what he was in fact arrested for, constitutes psychological coercion, used to overbear Petitioner’s will not to incriminate himself, constitutes as police misconduct, thus this issue must be remanded to the lower PCR court for adjudication to establish a sufficient developed record.

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Bluebook (online)
MCCLENDON v. DAVIS, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mcclendon-v-davis-njd-2020.