Moore v. State

417 P.3d 356
Nevada Supreme Court·Decided May 17, 2018·No. No. 66652·Published·Cited by 6 cases

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

The district court denied appellant Randolph Moore's postconviction petition for a writ of habeas corpus as procedurally barred without conducting an evidentiary hearing. We affirm.2

*359Moore was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death for his involvement in killing his friend Dale Flanagan's grandparents. See Flanagan v. State, 112 Nev. 1409, 1412, 930 P.2d 691, 693 (1996). Moore filed the postconviction petition at issue in this case on September 19, 2013, more than one year after remittitur issued from his direct appeal. Thus, the petition was untimely filed. See NRS 34.726(1). The petition was also successive because Moore had previously sought postconviction relief. See NRS 34.810(1)(b) ; NRS 34.810(2). Accordingly, the petition was procedurally barred absent a demonstration of good cause and prejudice. See NRS 34.726(1) ; NRS 34.810(1)(b), (2), (3). Moreover, because the State pleaded laches, Moore was required to overcome the presumption of prejudice to the State. See NRS 34.800(2).

To overcome the procedural bars, Moore argues that: (1) the State's withholding of impeachment evidence violated Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963), (2) his attorneys were ineffective throughout the litigation of his prior postconviction petition, and (3) he is actually innocent of the death penalty.3

Brady v. Maryland

Moore claims that the State violated Brady by failing to disclose evidence that would have impeached a witness who testified at his trial, Angela Saldana.4 There are three components to a successful Brady claim: "the evidence at issue is favorable to the accused; the evidence was withheld by the state, either intentionally or inadvertently; and prejudice ensued, i.e., the evidence was material." Mazzan v. Warden, 116 Nev. 48, 67, 993 P.2d 25, 37 (2000). When a Brady claim is raised in the context of a procedurally barred postconviction petition, the petitioner has the burden of demonstrating good cause for his failure to present the claim earlier and actual prejudice. State v. Bennett, 119 Nev. 589, 599, 81 P.3d 1, 8 (2003). As a general rule, "[g]ood cause and prejudice parallel the second and third Brady components; in other words, proving that the State withheld the evidence generally establishes cause, and proving that the withheld evidence was material establishes prejudice." Id.

Before discussing this claim in more detail, we note that it is inadequately pleaded. Before trial, the parties knew that Saldana had been working with law enforcement and her uncle, Robert Peoples, in order to obtain information about the murders. Since then, Moore has consistently challenged Saldana's role in the case. Although he alleges in his opening brief that he has recently discovered new facts putting the claim in a different light, he fails to identify with specificity which facts this court previously considered and which facts are new. Moore actually asserts that he is under no obligation to "distinguish between 'new' facts and facts which were known and previously presented." He is mistaken, as he bears the burden of demonstrating that relief is warranted, which means he must explain why he is raising this claim again, or if it is new, why he did not raise it sooner. See NRS 34.810 ; NRS 34.810(1)(b). He also bears the burden of demonstrating that the district court erred, which means he must demonstrate that the State withheld material evidence and that he raised the claim within a reasonable time. State v. Huebler, 128 Nev. 192, 198 n.3, 275 P.3d 91, 95 n.3 (2012). Meeting these burdens requires being forthright: a party cannot force the district court to hold an evidentiary hearing by withholding information about a claim. See Hargrove v. State, 100 Nev. 498, 502, 686 P.2d 222, 225 (1984) (recognizing that a petitioner is entitled to an evidentiary hearing regarding his claim if it is not belied by the record and, if true, would warrant relief).

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Moore v. State, 417 P.3d 356 (Neb. 2018).

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