Morris v. Shinn

District Court, D. Arizona·Decided April 28, 2023·No. 4:20-cv-00322·Unknown

Opinion

WO Danny Ray Morris, No. CV-20-0322-TUC-JAS (EJM)

Petitioner, REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION v.

David Shinn, et al., Respondents. Currently pending before the Court is Petitioner Danny Ray Morris’s Petition Under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 for a Writ of Habeas Corpus by a Person in State Custody (“Petition”) (Doc. 1). Respondents have filed a Limited Answer to Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (“Answer”) (Doc. 16) and Petitioner replied (Doc. 18). The Petition is ripe for adjudication. Pursuant to Rules 72.1 and 72.2 of the Local Rules of Civil Procedure,1 this matter was referred to Magistrate Judge Markovich for Report and Recommendation. The Magistrate Judge recommends that the District Court excuse the untimeliness of the Petition (Doc. 1), but deny it due to the claims being procedurally defaulted or non- cognizable on habeas review. . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Rules of Practice of the United States District Court for the District of Arizona. A. Initial Charge, Trial, and Sentencing The Arizona Court of Appeals stated the facts2 as follows: In February 2014, after being arrested with a backpack containing marijuana, A.H. informed Cochise County Sheriff’s detectives she had been at Morris’s house the previous day to deliver water for “undocumented alien drug mules” on the property. While there, she had seen “8-10 bundles of marijuana” in the house, and Morris had cut the marijuana in her backpack from one of those bundles. A.H. also said Morris had received the bundles of marijuana on the property after they were dropped there by “an ultra light air craft,” although it is unclear whether she personally witnessed the delivery or heard about it from Morris. A.H. also mentioned having “seen a handgun at the house” and that Morris had traded marijuana in exchange for a vehicle, without stating when either incident had occurred or how she knew about the latter. The record does not reflect precisely when the interview took place or how long it lasted, but it was evening by the time A.H. left the police substation. Based on the information A.H. provided, along with three outstanding warrants for Morris’s arrest, including one for failure to appear on marijuana and paraphernalia charges, Detective Hudson contacted Justice of the Peace Timothy Dickerson about submitting a search warrant application via fax. Judge Dickerson swore in the detective by telephone and reviewed the faxed affidavit and warrant, ultimately signing the warrant and emailing it back. Detective Hudson’s “supervisors and the powers that be” then decided to utilize a SWAT team to conduct and serve the warrant, but there was not enough time remaining in the day “to have all of the resources brought in before the 10:00 p.m. . . . time-frame for a daytime search.” Hudson again contacted Judge Dickerson about changing the warrant to a nighttime search, to which the judge agreed. Answer (Doc. 16), State v. Morris, No. 2 CA-CR 2015-0458, Mem. Decision at 78–793

2 The appellate court noted that “[i]n reviewing a motion to suppress, we consider only the facts presented to the trial court at the suppression hearing, viewing those facts in the light most favorable to upholding the court’s ruling.” Answer (Doc. 16), State v. Morris, No. 2 CA-CR 2015- 0458, Mem. Decision at 78 (Ariz. Ct. App. May 29, 2018) (Exh. “R”) (Doc. 16-2). 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 hereby adopts these factual findings. 28 U.S.C. § 2254(e)(1); Schriro v. Landrigan, 550 U.S. 465, 473–74 (2007); Wainwright v. Witt, 469 U.S. 412, 426 (1985); Cf. Rose v. Lundy, 455 U.S. 509, 519 (1982). 3 Page citations refer to the CM/ECF page numbers, unless otherwise noted. (Ariz. Ct. App. May 29, 2018) (Exh. “R”) (Doc. 16-2). On July 10, 2014, Petitioner was indicted on one (1) count of marijuana possession having a weight of more than four (4) pounds and four (4) counts of unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia. Answer (Doc. 16), State v. Morris, CR2014-00380, Indictment at 3–4 (Cochise Cnty. Super. Ct. July 10, 2014) (Exh. “A”) (Doc. 16-1). On November 2, 2015, following a jury trial, Petitioner was found guilty of all charges.4 Answer (Doc. 21), State v. Morris, No. SO200CR291400380, Minute Entry at 96–99 (Cochise Cnty. Super. Ct. Nov. 2, 2015) (Exh. “L”) (Doc. 16-1). On December 3, 2015, Petitioner was sentenced to a mitigated term of imprisonment of 10.5 years on the possession count and three (3) years of supervised probation on each of the paraphernalia counts—each probation term was to be served concurrently with one another and consecutively to the possession term. Answer (Doc. 16), State v. Morris, No. CR201400380, Sentence of Imprisonment/Sentence of Probation at 105–109 (Cochise Cnty. Super. Ct. Nov. 30, 2015) (Exh. “M”) (Doc. 16-1). B. Suppression Motion and Special Action On August 5, 2015, defense counsel filed a motion to suppress pursuant to Franks5 and A.R.S. § 13-3914(C). Answer (Doc. 16), Def.’s Mot. to Suppress Pursuant to Franks and A.R.S. § 13-3914(C), State v. Morris, No. CR201400380 (Cochise Cnty. Super. Ct. Aug. 5, 2015) (Exh. “G”) (Doc. 16-1). Defendant sought suppression of “any and all evidence collected pursuant to the search warrant issued by J.P.5 in this matter.” Id. at 62. The State filed its response and Defendant replied. See Answer (Doc. 16), State’s Resp. to Mot. to Suppress, State v. Morris, No. CR201400380 (Cochise Cnty. Super. Ct. Aug. 5, 2015) (Exh. “HH”) (Doc. 16-1); Answer (Doc. 16), Def.’s Reply Re: Mot. to Suppress, State v. Morris, No. CR201400380 (Cochise Cnty. Super. Ct. Aug. 5, 2015) (Exh. “I”) (Doc. 16-1). The trial court held hearings on the motion and the parties presented witness testimony and oral argument. See Answer (Doc. 16), State v. Morris, No. 4 Petitioner was found not guilty of two (2) counts of possession that did not appear in the May 29, 2018, indictment. 5 Franks v. Delaware, 438 U.S. 154 (1978). S0200CR201400380, Minute Entry: Suppression Hr’g (Cochise Cnty. Super. Ct. Sept. 11, 2015) (Exh. “J”) (Doc. 16-1); Answer (Doc. 16), State v. Morris, No. S0200CR201400380, Minute Entry: Suppression Hr’g (Day 2) (Cochise Cnty. Super. Ct. Sept. 17, 2015) (Exh. K”) (Doc. 16-1). The court denied Defendant’s motion. Answer (Doc. 16), Exh. “K” at 90. On September 22, 2015, counsel for Petitioner filed a Petition for Special Action to the Arizona Court of Appeals asserting three (3) issues for review. See Answer (Doc. 16), Petr.’s Pet. for Special Action, Morris v. State, No. 2 CA-CR 2015-0062 (Ariz. Ct. App. Sept. 22, 2015) (Exh. “GG”) (Doc. 16-8). Petitioner sought review of the trial judge’s decisions to 1) deny Defendant’s requests for disclosure of a photograph, its relevant metadata, and cellular telephone of Deputy Clark for expert analysis; 2) deny the production of a transcript of the suppression hearing for Defendant’s use at trial; and 3) deny Defendant’s request for investigative services. See id. Following briefing, on October 14, 2015, the Arizona Court of Appeals declined to accept jurisdiction. Answer (Doc. 16), Morris v. State, No. 2 CA-CR 2015-0062 (Ariz. Ct. App. Oct. 14, 2015) (Exh. “JJ”) Doc. 16-9); see also id., State’s Resp. (Exh. “HH”) & Petr.’s Reply (Exh. “II”) (Doc. 16-9). On Octobe

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