Satterlee v. Wolfenbarger

CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedJune 30, 2006
Docket05-2513
StatusPublished

This text of Satterlee v. Wolfenbarger (Satterlee v. Wolfenbarger) 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
Satterlee v. Wolfenbarger, (6th Cir. 2006).

Opinion

RECOMMENDED FOR FULL-TEXT PUBLICATION Pursuant to Sixth Circuit Rule 206 File Name: 06a0218p.06

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT _________________

X Petitioner-Appellee, - WYNN SATTERLEE, - - - Nos. 05-2013/2513 v. , > HUGH WOLFENBARGER, - Respondent-Appellant. - N Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan at Detroit. No. 03-71682—Arthur J. Tarnow, District Judge. Argued: June 9, 2006 Decided and Filed: June 30, 2006 Before: MOORE, COLE, and CLAY, Circuit Judges. _________________ COUNSEL ARGUED: Janet A. VanCleve, OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL, Lansing, Michigan, for Appellant. James Sterling Lawrence, Royal Oak, Michigan, for Appellee. ON BRIEF: Janet A. VanCleve, OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL, Lansing, Michigan, for Appellant. James Sterling Lawrence, Royal Oak, Michigan, for Appellee. _________________ OPINION _________________ KAREN NELSON MOORE, Circuit Judge. These consolidated appeals concern the grant of habeas relief to Petitioner-Appellee Wynn Satterlee, a Michigan state prisoner who was convicted by jury and sentenced after his trial counsel failed to inform him of a favorable plea offer. The district court initially granted a conditional writ, ordering the state to reinstate the plea offer that Satterlee never received. When the state failed to comply, the district court granted an unconditional writ, ordering Satterlee’s immediate release and the expungement of his record of conviction. In No. 05-2013, the state challenges the judgment granting the conditional writ, arguing that Satterlee failed to exhaust state-court remedies and that the district court made a clearly erroneous factual finding. Because the state’s arguments are without merit, we AFFIRM. In No. 05-2513, the state challenges the judgment granting the unconditional writ, arguing that the remedies of immediate release and expungement exceeded the district court’s power. Because the state’s arguments are once again without merit, we AFFIRM, albeit with instructions

1 Nos. 05-2013/2513 Satterlee v. Wolfenbarger Page 2

to clarify an ambiguity in the unconditional writ, which is discussed below. We REMAND for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. I. BACKGROUND Satterlee was convicted by a Michigan jury of conspiring to deliver more than 650 grams of cocaine and was sentenced to twenty to thirty years’ imprisonment. Satterlee appealed on grounds not relevant here. The Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed, and the Michigan Supreme Court denied leave to appeal. People v. Satterlee, No. 217262, 2000 WL 33521090 (Mich Ct. App. Mar. 28, 2000); People v. Satterlee, 659 N.W.2d 227 (Mich. 2000) (table decision). Satterlee moved for relief from judgment pursuant to Michigan Court Rule 6.502, arguing, inter alia, that he was denied his Sixth Amendment right to the effective assistance of counsel under Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984), and Hill v. Lockhart, 474 U.S. 52 (1985), when his trial attorney, David Dodge, failed to relay to Satterlee a favorable plea offer that he would have accepted. The state trial court denied relief, and both the Michigan Court of Appeals and the Michigan 1Supreme Court denied leave to appeal. Joint Appendix (“J.A.”) at 93 (Circuit Court decision); J.A. at 199 (Court of Appeals decision); People v. Satterlee, 661 N.W.2d 241 (Mich. 2003) (table decision). Satterlee filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The district court conducted an evidentiary hearing, where Dodge, John Cipriani (the state prosecutor in Satterlee’s case), Satterlee, and Margaret Satterlee (Satterlee’s mother) testified. Satterlee v. Wolfenbarger (Satterlee I), 374 F. Supp. 2d 562, 570-74 (E.D. Mich. 2005) (ordering an evidentiary hearing); J.A. at 270-385 (Evid. Hr’g Tr.). The district court made two findings of fact: (1) “the prosecutor made a plea offer on the day of trial to allow petitioner to plead guilty in exchange for a sentence of six to twenty years”; and (2) “the plea offer of six to twenty years was never communicated to petitioner by his attorney David Dodge.” Satterlee I, 374 F. Supp. 2d at 568-69. These factual findings were based largely on the determination that Satterlee, his mother, and Cipriani were more credible than Dodge. Id. The district court concluded that “there is a reasonable probability that petitioner would have accepted the plea offer that was made in this case.” Relying on our decision in Griffin v. United States, 330 F.3d 733 (6th Cir. 2003), which had in turn relied on Strickland and Hill, the district court granted a conditional writ based on Satterlee’s ineffective-assistance-of-counsel (“IAC”) claim. Id. at 567, 569. The district court gave the state sixty days to reinstate the six-to-twenty-year plea offer. Id. at 569-70. The state appeals this order in No. 05-2013, arguing that Satterlee failed to exhaust state-court remedies and that the district court made a clearly erroneous factual finding. When the conditional writ’s sixty-day deadline passed, Satterlee applied for his immediate release, to which the state responded by filing a motion in the district court for a stay pending its appeal in No. 05-2013. The district court denied the state’s motion for stay and granted Satterlee an unconditional writ, ordering his immediate release and the expungement of the record of his conviction. Satterlee v. Wolfenbarger (Satterlee II), No. Civ. 03-71682-DT, 2005 WL 2704877 (E.D. Mich. Oct. 19, 2005). The state appeals this order in No. 05-2513, arguing that the remedies of immediate release and expungement exceeded the district court’s power. II. STANDARD OF REVIEW In a habeas proceeding, we review de novo the district court’s legal conclusions, including its ultimate decision to grant or deny the writ, and we review for clear error its factual findings.

1 The joint appendices filed in these two appeals are virtually identical. For the sake of simplicity, we cite only to the joint appendix filed in No. 05-2013. Nos. 05-2013/2513 Satterlee v. Wolfenbarger Page 3

Burton v. Renico, 391 F.3d 764, 770 (6th Cir. 2004), cert. denied, — U.S. —, 126 S. Ct. 353 (2005); Sawyer v. Hofbauer, 299 F.3d 605, 608 (6th Cir. 2002). III. THE CONDITIONAL WRIT (No. 05-2013) A. Exhaustion/Fair Presentment The state first argues that Satterlee did not satisfy the exhaustion requirement. A writ of habeas corpus may not be granted unless the petitioner has exhausted available state-court remedies. 28 U.S.C. § 2254(b)(1). In order to satisfy the exhaustion requirement, “a petitioner’s claim must be ‘fairly presented’ to the state courts before seeking relief in the federal courts.” Whiting v. Burt, 395 F.3d 602, 612 (6th Cir. 2005) (citing Baldwin v. Reese, 541 U.S. 27, 29 (2004); Picard v. Connor, 404 U.S. 270, 275 (1971)). “It is sufficient if ‘the substance of a federal habeas corpus claim’ be presented to the state courts, and there are instances in which ‘the ultimate question for disposition’ will be the same despite variations in the legal theory or factual allegations urged in its support.” Id. at 612-13 (quoting Picard, 404 U.S. at 277-78). Whether a habeas petitioner has satisfied the exhaustion requirement is a question of law that we review de novo. E.g., Morris v. Dretke, 413 F.3d 484, 491 (5th Cir. 2005); Stevens v. Delaware Corr. Ctr., 295 F.3d 361, 368 (3d Cir. 2002); Greene v. Lambert, 288 F.3d 1081, 1086 (9th Cir. 2002); Fortini v. Murphy, 257 F.3d 39, 44 (1st Cir.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Peyton v. Rowe
391 U.S. 54 (Supreme Court, 1968)
Carafas v. LaVallee
391 U.S. 234 (Supreme Court, 1968)
Picard v. Connor
404 U.S. 270 (Supreme Court, 1971)
Preiser v. Rodriguez
411 U.S. 475 (Supreme Court, 1973)
United States v. Morrison
449 U.S. 361 (Supreme Court, 1981)
Strickland v. Washington
466 U.S. 668 (Supreme Court, 1984)
Anderson v. City of Bessemer City
470 U.S. 564 (Supreme Court, 1985)
Hill v. Lockhart
474 U.S. 52 (Supreme Court, 1985)
Vasquez v. Hillery
474 U.S. 254 (Supreme Court, 1986)
Baldwin v. Reese
541 U.S. 27 (Supreme Court, 2004)
Wilkinson v. Dotson
544 U.S. 74 (Supreme Court, 2005)
Fortini v. Murphy
257 F.3d 39 (First Circuit, 2001)
Howard P. Fisher v. Jim Rose and William Leech
757 F.2d 789 (Sixth Circuit, 1985)
James Howard Turner v. State of Tennessee
858 F.2d 1201 (Sixth Circuit, 1988)
United States v. Carlos Rodriguez Rodriguez
929 F.2d 747 (First Circuit, 1991)
United States v. Arloha Mae Pinto
1 F.3d 1069 (Tenth Circuit, 1993)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
Satterlee v. Wolfenbarger, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/satterlee-v-wolfenbarger-ca6-2006.