Moore v. Ramirez

CourtDistrict Court, D. Idaho
DecidedNovember 22, 2021
Docket1:21-cv-00396
StatusUnknown

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

Bluebook
Moore v. Ramirez, (D. Idaho 2021).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF IDAHO

JIMMY C. MOORE, Case No. 1:21-cv-00396-REP Petitioner, INITIAL REVIEW ORDER v.

WARDEN RAMIREZ,

Respondent.

Petitioner Jimmy C. Moore has filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus challenging Petitioner’s state court convictions. See Pet., Dkt. 2. The Court now reviews the Petition to determine whether it is subject to summary dismissal pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2243 and Rule 4 of the Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases (“Habeas Rules”). REVIEW OF PETITION 1. Standard of Law for Review of Petition Federal habeas corpus relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 is available to petitioners who show that they are held in custody under a state court judgment and that such custody violates the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States. See 28 U.S.C. § 2254(a). The Court is required to review a habeas corpus petition upon receipt to determine whether it is subject to summary dismissal. Habeas Rule 4. Summary dismissal is appropriate where “it plainly appears from the face of the petition and any attached exhibits that the petitioner is not entitled to relief in the district court.”1 Id. 2. Discussion

In a jury trial in the Fourth Judicial District Court in Ada County, Idaho, Petitioner was convicted of felony domestic violence and misdemeanor resisting and obstructing police officers. The judgment of conviction was entered in June or July 2015. Petitioner was sentenced to a unified term of 12 years in prison with 4 years fixed. Petitioner pursued a direct appeal as well as state post-conviction relief. Pet. at 1–4.2

Although Petitioner cites various constitutional provisions when he identifies his claims, the body of the Petition appears to assert claims based only on the right to the effective assistance of counsel.3 See, e.g., id. at 11 (citing, in addition to the right to counsel, the “right to an impartial jury trial and the right to due process, equal protection”). Therefore, the Court construes the Petition as alleging the following claims

1 However, a court undertaking a Rule 4 review is not required to comb through a Petitioner’s exhibits or other documents—such as memoranda, affidavits, or the petitioner’s state court briefing—to determine whether a petitioner may proceed past initial screening. Nor is a respondent required to consider or address such documents when responding to the petition. This is because, under Habeas Rule 2(c), the petition must “specify all the grounds for relief available to petitioner” and “state the facts supporting each ground.” That is, a habeas petitioner must include—in the petition itself—“all of the information necessary to adjudicate that Petition.” Sivak v. Christensen, No. 1:16-CV-00189-BLW, 2018 WL 4643043, at *2 n.3 (D. Idaho Sept. 27, 2018) (unpublished). Therefore, the Court has considered only the 54-page Petition in its Rule 4 review (Dkt. 2), not Petitioner’s affidavit or memorandum in support of the Petition (see Dkt. 2-1, 2-2). 2 Because the Petition is not fully paginated, the Court will cite to the electronic page numbers generated by the CM/ECF system. 3 Petitioner asserts these ineffective assistance claims under the United States Constitution and under Idaho state law. of ineffective assistance of counsel (“IAC”)4, which Petitioner asserts under the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments, as well as under Idaho state law. Claim 1: IAC based on counsel’s failure to strike numerous potential jurors from the venire panel despite Petitioner’s requests. Id. at 11–15. Claim 2: IAC based on counsel’s failure “to object to improper use of evidence or to object to false testimony.” Id. at 16. Claim 3: IAC based on counsel’s failure “to present impeachment evidence/call impeachment witnesses to prove false and/or misleading trial testimony and/or petition for post-conviction and for evidentiary hearing.” Id. at 27. Claim 4: IAC based on counsel’s failure “to present a meritorious appeal from his trial.” Id. at 35. Claim 5: IAC based on counsel’s failure “to investigate or preform [sic] certain pretrial functions.” Id. at 38. Claim 6: IAC based on counsel’s failure “to use important evidence and/or object to improper use of evidence” during trial on June 8 and 9, 2015. Id. at 44. Petitioner may proceed on the Petition to the extent that the claims (1) are cognizable—meaning they actually can be heard—in a federal habeas corpus action, (2) were timely filed in this Court, and (3) were either properly exhausted in state court or are subject to a legal excuse for any failure to exhaust in a proper manner. At this time, the Court expresses no opinion as to whether any of these issues applies to any of Petitioner’s claims.

4 If the Court’s construction of any claim is incorrect, Petitioner must inform the Court and Respondent of all corrections within 28 days after entry of this Order. It is necessary for the Court to review portions of the state court record to resolve preliminary procedural issues, and it would also be helpful to receive briefing from Respondent. Therefore, the Court will order the Clerk to serve a copy of the Petition on

counsel for Respondent, who may respond either by answer or pre-answer motion and who will provide relevant portions of the state court record to this Court. 3. Potentially Applicable Standards of Law Because Petitioner does not have a lawyer and because the Court finds that focused briefing from the parties would be beneficial in this case, the Court provides the

following standards of law that might, or might not, be applicable to Petitioner’s case. A. Only Federal Claims Are Cognizable in this Action The Court will not dismiss any claims at this early stage of the proceedings, but it notes that certain grounds for Petitioner’s claims may be dismissed, at a later date, as non-cognizable—meaning that they cannot be heard on federal habeas corpus review. As stated earlier, federal habeas corpus relief is available if the petitioner “is in

custody in violation of the Constitution or laws or treaties of the United States.” 28 U.S.C. § 2254(a) (emphasis added). That is, only federal claims may be raised in habeas corpus. “[F]ederal habeas corpus relief does not lie for errors of state law,” Lewis v. Jeffers, 497 U.S. 764, 780 (1990), such as claims of error during state post-conviction proceedings, Franzen v. Brinkman, 877 F.2d 26, 26 (9th Cir. 1989) (per curiam).

Further, a claim of ineffective assistance of post-conviction counsel is not cognizable as an independent constitutional claim. Pennsylvania v. Finley, 481 U.S. 551, 554 (1987). However, such ineffectiveness can, as explained in more detail below, constitute cause to excuse the procedural default of a habeas claim. B. Exhaustion and Procedural Default

A habeas petitioner must exhaust his or her remedies in the state courts before a federal court can grant relief on constitutional claims. O’Sullivan v. Boerckel, 526 U.S. 838, 842 (1999). To do so, the petitioner must invoke one complete round of the state’s established appellate review process, fairly presenting all constitutional claims to the state courts so that they have a full and fair opportunity to correct alleged constitutional errors

at each level of appellate review. Id. at 845.

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Moore v. Ramirez, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/moore-v-ramirez-idd-2021.