McKissic v. Birkett

200 F. App'x 463
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedOctober 5, 2006
Docket05-1425
StatusUnpublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 200 F. App'x 463 (McKissic v. Birkett) 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
McKissic v. Birkett, 200 F. App'x 463 (6th Cir. 2006).

Opinion

OPINION

R. GUY COLE, JR., Circuit Judge.

Petitioner-Appellant Lonnie McKissie appeals the district court’s dismissal of his petition for habeas corpus relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. McKissie was convicted in Michigan state court of various drug-related charges, and he challenges his conviction on four grounds: (1) he was immune from prosecution because of a Michigan immunity statute and an earlier plea agreement with federal prosecutors regarding the drug-related conduct; (2) the State waited five years to prosecute him, violating his right to be free of prejudicial pre-indictment delay; (3) the State engaged in prosecutorial misconduct by introducing several witnesses’ plea agreements into evidence; and (4) given his federal plea agreement, his conviction violates double-jeopardy principles. For the reasons that follow, we AFFIRM the district court’s order dismissing McKissic’s petition for habeas corpus relief.

I. BACKGROUND

In February 1994, McKissie was indicted in federal court on drug-trafficking and money-laundering charges. In June 1994, McKissie reached a plea agreement with the federal prosecutor. The agreement *465 called for McKissic to plead guilty to the money-laundering charge and cooperate with law-enforcement agencies in their investigation of past crimes. This cooperation required McKissic to give truthful answers to all investigators’ questions and provide truthful testimony at grand juries and trials. In return for McKissic’s cooperation, the federal prosecutor agreed to dismiss the other pending charges against McKissic, not to bring additional charges against him related to the underlying drug trafficking, and to make certain sentencing recommendations in his favor. In August 1994, McKissic pleaded guilty to the money-laundering charge and, after the prosecutor’s recommendation of a downward departure, was sentenced to nine years in federal prison.

On February 29, 1995, in accordance with his plea agreement, McKissic testified at Thomas Patrick’s grand-jury proceedings in Michigan state court. McKissic’s testimony implicated Patrick and himself in the sales of large amounts of cocaine. In November 1995, however, McKissic testified at Patrick’s preliminary examination that Patrick was not involved in any drug sales. McKissic then offered similar testimony at Patrick’s trial. The federal prosecutor deemed McKissic’s contradictory testimony a failure to cooperate under the federal plea agreement, and, in January 1996, the prosecutor moved to withdraw the downward departure in McKissic’s sentence.

In April 1998, the State charged McKissic in state court with perjury and various drug-trafficking offenses related to the same conduct underlying the earlier federal charges against him. The state drug-trafficking charges involved delivery, possession, and conspiracy to deliver more than 650 grams of cocaine. Following a bench trial on the drug charges, 1 McKissic was convicted of each charge. On November 9, 1999, McKissic was sentenced as a four-time habitual offender to consecutive prison terms on each charge, for a total term of 70 to 110 years.

McKissic then appealed to the Michigan Court of Appeals, which affirmed his conviction and sentence. The Michigan Supreme Court denied his application for leave to appeal. McKissic filed a petition in the district court for habeas corpus relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, raising variations of the claims he brought in state court. The district court dismissed McKissic’s petition with prejudice and declined to issue a certificate of appealability. This Court then granted McKissic a certificate of appealability on the four issues he raises in this appeal.

II. DISCUSSION

A. Standard of Review

The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, Pub.L. No. 04-321, 110 Stat. 1214 (“AEDPA”), applies to all habeas petitions filed after the effective date of the act, April 24, 1996. Because McKissic filed his petition after the effective date, AEDPA’s provisions govern this Court’s review of his claims. See Gillard v. Mitchell, 445 F.3d 883, 889 (6th Cir. 2006). Under AEDPA, a petition for a writ of habeas corpus shall not be granted with respect to any claim adjudicated on the merits in state-court proceedings unless the adjudication of the claim (1) resulted in a decision that was contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established federal law as determined by the United States Supreme Court; or (2) resulted in a decision that was based on an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence *466 presented in the state-court proceeding. 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d) (2006).

A state court’s determination of a habeas petitioner’s claim is “contrary to” clearly established federal law if (1) the state court arrives at a conclusion opposite to that reached by the Supreme Court on a question of law, or (2) the state court confronts facts that are materially indistinguishable from relevant Supreme Court precedent and arrives at a different result. Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. 362, 405, 120 S.Ct. 1495, 146 L.Ed.2d 389 (2000). A state-court decision is an “unreasonable application” of clearly established law if it (1) correctly identifies the legal rule from a Supreme Court case but unreasonably applies that rule to the facts of the particular case, or (2) either unreasonably extends or unreasonably refuses to extend a legal principle from Supreme Court precedent to a new context. Id. at 407, 120 S.Ct. 1495.

This Court reviews the state court’s factual findings with extreme deference. “A federal court is to apply a presumption of correctness to state court findings of fact for habeas corpus purposes unless clear and convincing evidence is offered to rebut this presumption.” Johnson v. Luoma, 425 F.3d 318, 324 (6th Cir.2005) (quoting McAdoo v. Elo, 365 F.3d 487, 493-94 (6th Cir.2004)).

B. McKissic’s Claims
1. Immunity

McKissic argues that he had immunity from the State’s prosecution of the drug transactions he testified to in Patrick’s legal proceedings and that his conviction therefore violates his constitutional right to be free from compelled self-incrimination. McKissic asserts that his immunity arises from two sources: (a) a Michigan statute, Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.157 (1931), which provides for transactional immunity under certain conditions; and (b) his plea agreement with federal prosecutors. These are addressed in turn.

(a)

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Bluebook (online)
200 F. App'x 463, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mckissic-v-birkett-ca6-2006.