McDougall v. Ohio Adult Parole Authority

106 F. App'x 373
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedAugust 5, 2004
DocketNo. 02-3229
StatusPublished

This text of 106 F. App'x 373 (McDougall v. Ohio Adult Parole Authority) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McDougall v. Ohio Adult Parole Authority, 106 F. App'x 373 (6th Cir. 2004).

Opinion

MCCALLA, District Judge.

Gregory McDougall (“McDougall” or “Appellant”) appeals from an order dismissing his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Having been convicted on two separate counts of aggravated burglary, McDougall challenges the constitutionality of the trial court’s jury instructions on both of these counts. For the reasons stated below, we affirm the district court’s decision denying a writ of habeas corpus.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The Eighth District Court of Appeals for Cuyahoga County, Ohio adequately summarized the relevant facts necessary to resolve the issues in its decision in State v. McDougall, No. 71276, 1998 WL 413761, *1-2, 1998 Ohio App. LEXIS 3389, *1-*8 (Ohio Ct.App. July 20, 1998). The court stated:

In 1975 in State of Ohio v. Gregory McDougall, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Case No. Cr. 21978, Mr. McDougall faced an indictment for felonious assault. He pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, a fourth degree felony, and the trial court sentenced him to six months to five years.
In approximately 1985, Mr. McDougall began an “on again, off again” relationship with Sherry McDougall and had a daughter, Gina, by her. During this relationship he committed domestic violence against Sherry. In March 1989 in State of Ohio v. Gregory McDougall, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Case No. Cr. 233309, he pleaded guilty to one count of domestic violence, a fourth degree felony, and received an eighteen month sentence.
Sherry McDougall owned a three-family apartment: one unit upstairs, one unit on the ground floor in front, and the final unit in the rear of the building. After Mr. McDougall served his time for [375]*375domestic violence, Sherry McDougall rented him the rear apartment. He did some odd jobs around the apartment and helped get Gina, who was eight years old at the relevant time, ready for the day. Sherry rented the upstairs unit to Fred Farley.
At approximately noon on August 9, 1995, as Sherry was taking Gina to day care, she saw Mr. McDougall with a hammer in his hand break into her apartment. He hammered holes in her apartment wall and damaged her personal property.
In the early morning hours of August 10, 1995, Mr. McDougall kicked in and damaged Mr. Farley’s door. Mr. McDougall, while spouting profanities, threatened to shoot Mr. Farley, kicked over and stomped on a lamp in the apartment. Following the incident, Mr. McDougall broke into Sherry’s apartment. He pushed Sherry down on her bed and took Gina back to his apartment. Shortly after that the police arrested him.
In September 1995, the Grand Jury issued the following indictments against Mr. McDougall: (1) aggravated burglary of Sherry McDougall’s apartment on August 10, 1995, with a violence specification and an aggravated felony specification alleging a felonious assault conviction in Case No. Cr. 21978; (2) Burglary of Sherry McDougall’s apartment on August 9, 1995, with a violence specification alleging a felonious assault conviction in Case No. Cr. 21978; (3) Domestic violence against Sherry McDougall with two prior conviction specifications; (4) aggravated burglary of Mr. Farley’s apartment on August 10, 1995, with a specification alleging a felonious assault conviction in Case No. Cr. 21978; (5) vandalism of Mr. Farley’s apartment with the felonious assault specification; and (6) vandalism of Sherry McDougall’s apartment with the felonious assault specification.
... During the trial in mid-June 1996, various prosecution witnesses testified as to Mr. McDougall’s violent tendencies and his prior conviction for domestic violence. The defense’s only evidence was in the form of exhibits; it presented no testimony.

At the end of the trial, the court instructed the jury. In pertinent part, the court’s instructions were:

Before you can find the defendant guilty of aggravated burglary under count I, you must first find beyond a reasonable doubt that on or about the 10th day of August, 1995 and in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, the defendant by force trespassed in an occupied structure or in a separately secured or separately occupied portion thereof with the purpose to commit therein a felony, and that at the time of the offense, the defendant inflicted or attempted or threatened to inflict physical harm on another to wit: Sherry McDougall
Purpose to commit a felony is an essential element of the crime of aggravated burglary. Purpose is a design of the mind to do an act with a conscious objective of producing a specific result. To do an act purposefully is to do it intentionally and not accidentally.
Purpose and intent mean the same thing.
In this case, the State contends that the defendant entered the permanent or temporary habitation of Sherry McDou-gall with purpose to commit a felony. Felonies alleged by the State to have been committed are the offenses of burglary, domestic violence and vandalism.

After receiving their instructions, the jury began deliberating, but returned with [376]*376a question specifically seeking guidance on the aggravated burglary counts. Their question was: “On two counts of aggravated burglary, are the charges contingent specifically to the felony charges of domestic violence and vandalism respectively?” In full, the court’s answer to the jury’s question was:

Question No. 2 is on the two counts of aggravated burglary. Are the charges contingent specifically to felony charges of domestic violence and vandalism respectively? Now ladies and gentlemen, the Court gives you instructions of law which are generally sufficient for you to analyze them and determine how to apply them to the facts as you find them to be. Now for the Court to answer that question in a specific manner would be tantamount to the Court instructing you as to the facts of the case, so I’m going to analyze once again for you part of the charge on aggravated burglary, and in doing so I believe your question may be responded to sufficiently.
Before you can find the defendant guilty of aggravated burglary under either of the respective counts of aggravated burglary charged in the indictment, you must find beyond a doubt that on the day in question and in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, that the defendant by force in the one case and either by force or deception in the other trespassed in occupied structure or in a separately secured or separately occupied portion thereof with the purpose to commit therein a felony and that at the time the defendant inflicted or attempted or threatened to inflict physical harm upon another, to wit: in the one case Sherry McDougall and in the other case Fred Farley.
Therefore, in this case the state contends that as to one or the other possibly both depending upon your findings as to the facts that the defendant entered permanent or temporary habitation of Sherry McDougall in one case, Fred Farley in the other with the purpose to commit a felony. The felonies alleged by the State are the offenses of burglary, domestic violence and vandalism.

Based on these instructions:

... The jury found Mr.

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Bluebook (online)
106 F. App'x 373, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mcdougall-v-ohio-adult-parole-authority-ca6-2004.