Minley v. Shinn

CourtDistrict Court, D. Arizona
DecidedJanuary 30, 2023
Docket4:19-cv-00490
StatusUnknown

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

Bluebook
Minley v. Shinn, (D. Ariz. 2023).

Opinion

1 WO 2 3 4 5 6 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7 FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA 8 9 Judy Minley, No. CV-19-0490-TUC-SHR (BGM)

10 Petitioner, REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION 11 v.

12 David Shinn, et al. 13 Respondents. 14 Currently pending before the Court is Petitioner Judy Minley’s Petition Under 28 15 U.S.C. § 2254 for a Writ of Habeas Corpus by a Person in State Custody (Non-Death 16 Penalty) (“Petition”) (Doc. 1). Respondents have filed an Answer to Petition for Writ of 17 Habeas Corpus (“Answer”) (Doc. 13), and Petitioner replied (Doc. 19). The Petition (Doc. 18 1) is ripe for adjudication. 19 Pursuant to Rules 72.1 and 72.2 of the Local Rules of Civil Procedure,1 this matter 20 was referred to Magistrate Judge Macdonald for Report and Recommendation. The 21 Magistrate Judge recommends that the District Judge deny the Petition (Doc. 1). 22 23 I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND 24 A. Initial Charge, Trial, and Sentencing 25 On April 2, 2013, Petitioner was indicted on one count of first degree murder, and 26 two counts of child abuse. Answer (Doc. 13), State v. Robinson, No. CR20131358-002, 27 Indictment (Pima Cnty. Super. Ct. Apr. 2, 2013) (Exh. “A”) (Doc. 13-1). The Arizona 28 1 Rules of Practice of the United States District Court for the District of Arizona. 1 Court of Appeals stated the facts2 as follows: 2 On March 20, 2013, Minley beat her four-year-old son, J.D. with a sandal for getting a drink of water out of a bathroom sink without her 3 permission while he was being punished for other behavior. When she felt 4 the beating did not put enough “fear in him,” she told her boyfriend James Robinson to take over, retreated to a bedroom to smoke marijuana, and heard 5 Robinson brutally beat the child with the sandal in the next room. When the 6 sandal broke apart during the assault on the child, Minley taped it up so that Robinson could continue the beating. 7 The next morning, J.D. lapsed into unconsciousness due to 8 complications from severe bruising over a large percentage of his body. 9 After Minley and Robinson unsuccessfully tried to revive him, Minley called 9-1-1 while Robinson carried the unconscious child to the apartment leasing 10 office seeking help. An emergency squad arrived minutes later and took the 11 child to the hospital for treatment, but he never recovered and died from his injuries two days later. 12 At the end of a ten-day trial, the jury convicted Minley of one count 13 of first-degree murder and two counts of intentional or knowing child abuse 14 under circumstances likely to cause death or serious injury – one for beating J.D. and the other for failing to timely seek medical attention for him. 15 16 Answer (Doc. 13), State v. Minley, No. 2 CA-CR 2017-0173, Mem. Decision at 83 (Ariz. 17 Ct. App. Dec. 21, 2018) (Exh. “B”) (Doc. 13-1); see also Answer (Doc. 13), State v. Minley, 18 No. CR-20131358-002, Verdicts (Pima Cnty. Super. Ct. Mar. 16, 2017) (Exhs. “C,” “D,” 19 “E”) (Doc. 13-1). The trial court sentenced Petitioner to an aggravated term of natural life 20 for the first degree murder charge; a presumptive term of seventeen (17) years 21 imprisonment for child abuse—beating the victim with a sandal, to be served consecutively 22 after the first degree murder sentence; and a presumptive term of seventeen (17) years 23 imprisonment for child abuse—failing to seek medical attention for the victim, to be served 24 25 2 As these state court findings are entitled to a presumption of correctness and Petitioner has failed to show by clear and convincing evidence that the findings are erroneous, the Court 26 hereby adopts these factual findings. 28 U.S.C. § 2254(e)(1); Schriro v. Landrigan, 550 U.S. 465, 473–74, 127 S. Ct. 1933, 1940, 167 L. Ed. 2d 836 (2007); Wainwright v. Witt, 469 U.S. 412, 426, 27 105 S. Ct. 844, 853, 83 L. Ed. 2d 841 (1985); Cf. Rose v. Lundy, 455 U.S. 509, 519, 102 S. Ct. 28 1198, 1204, 71 L. Ed. 2d 379 (1982). 3 Page citations refer to the CM/ECF page numbers, unless otherwise noted. 1 consecutively after the first degree murder and child abuse sentences. Answer (Doc. 13), 2 State v. Minley, No. CR20131358-002, Minute Entry at 32–33 (Pima Cnty. Super. Ct. May 3 4, 2017) (Exh. “F”) (Doc. 13-1). 4 B. Direct Appeal 5 On May 1, 2017, Petitioner filed her notice of appeal. Answer (Doc. 13), Def.’s 6 Not. of Appeal, State v. Minley, No. CR-2013-1358-002 (Pima Cnty. Super. Ct. May 1, 7 2017) (Exh. “G”) (Doc. 13-1). On February 14, 2018, Petitioner filed her opening brief 8 and alleged four (4) grounds for relief. Id., Appellant’s Opening Br., State v. Minley, No. 9 2CA-CR-2017-0173 (Ariz. Ct. App. Feb. 14, 2018) (Exh. “H”) (Doc. 13-1). First, 10 Petitioner alleged that “[t]he trial court erred in failing to give a voluntary intoxication 11 instruction.” Id., Exh. “H” at 53–59. Next, Petitioner argued that the trial court erred in 12 its denial of Petitioner’s motion for a directed verdict pursuant to Rule 20, Arizona Rules 13 of Criminal Procedure. Id., Exh. “H” at 59–64. Third, Petitioner asserted that the state 14 failed to present sufficient proof for each element of the charges in violation of the Due 15 Process clause. Id., Exh. “H” at 64–67. Fourth, Petitioner alleged that the state vouched 16 for its case during closing arguments in violation of the Due Process clause. Id., Exh. “H” 17 at 67–71. On June 25, 2018, the State filed its Answering Brief. See Answer (Doc. 13), 18 Appellee’s Answering Br., State v. Minley, No. 2 CA-CR 2017-0173 (Ariz. Ct. App. June 19 25, 2018) (Exh. “J”) (Doc. 13-1). On September 21, 2018, Petitioner replied. See Answer 20 (Doc. 13), Appellant’s Reply Br., State v. Minley, No. 2 CA-CR 2017-0173 (Ariz. Ct. App. 21 Sept. 21, 2018) (Exh. “I”) (Doc. 13-1). 22 On December 21, 2018, the Arizona Court of Appeals affirmed Petitioner’s 23 convictions and sentences. See Answer (Doc. 13), State v. Minley, No. 2 CA-CR 2017- 24 0173, Mem. Decision (Ariz. Ct. App. Dec. 21, 2018) (Exh. “B”) (Doc. 13-1). The appellate 25 court observed that “[a] trial court must grant a motion for judgment of acquittal ‘if there 26 is no substantial evidence to support a conviction.’” Id., Exh. “B” at 9 (quoting Ariz. R. 27 Crim. P. 20(a)(1)). The appellate court provided a detailed review of the evidence 28 presented at trial. Id., Exh. “B” at 10–15. 1 The appellate court observed that “[w]hen ‘circumstances likely to produce death 2 or serious physical injury’ exist, a person may be convicted for knowing or intentional 3 child abuse on any of several theories.” Id., Exh. “B” at 15 (quoting A.R.S. § 13- 4 3623(A)(1)). The court further noted that “if a person ‘ha[s] the care or custody of [the] 5 child,’ such a person commits that offense if the person ‘causes or permits the person or 6 health of the child . . . to be injured.’” Id., Exh. “B” at 15 (alterations and emphasis in 7 original) (quoting (A.R.S. § 13-3623(A)(1)). “Alternatively, the offense is committed if 8 she ‘causes or permits a child . . . to be placed in a situation where the person or health of 9 the child . . . is endangered.’” Answer (Doc. 13), Exh. “B” at 15 (alterations in original) 10 (quoting A.R.S. § 13-3623(A)(1)).

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Minley v. Shinn, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/minley-v-shinn-azd-2023.