Solomon v. Curtis

21 F. App'x 360
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedOctober 2, 2001
DocketNos. 00-1692, 00-1760
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 21 F. App'x 360 (Solomon v. Curtis) 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
Solomon v. Curtis, 21 F. App'x 360 (6th Cir. 2001).

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

I.

Petitioner-Appellee/Cross-Appellant Deris Delinore Solomon was convicted of unarmed robbery after a jury trial in Jackson County, Michigan and sentenced to imprisonment for 25 to 40 years. The Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed Solomon’s conviction. It rejected his argument that he was denied a fair trial because the victim positively identified him in court, finding any error harmless in light of the overwhelming evidence against Solomon, including his identification by several other witnesses. The Michigan Court of Appeals also found that the trial court abused its discretion in not allowing Solomon to testify, but concluded that the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt, in light of the overwhelming evidence against Solomon. The Michigan Supreme Court denied leave to appeal, and the United States Supreme Court denied certiorari.

After exhausting his state court remedies, Solomon filed this federal habeas petition pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. The district court granted the petition as to his claim that the trial court’s refusal to allow him to testify in his own defense violated his rights under the Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause, the Sixth Amendment Compulsory Clause, and the Fifth Amendment Self-Incrimination Clause. Respondent-Appellant/Cross-Appellee Bruce Curtis appeals this ruling. The district court denied Solomon’s claim that the trial court’s admission of the complainant’s identification testimony violated his Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause right to be free of unreliable identification evidence. Petitioner Solomon cross-appeals this issue. On July 6, 2000, the district court granted a certificate of appealability as to the claim raised in Solomon’s appeal.1

II.

This Court reviews the district court’s conclusions of law in a habeas proceeding de novo and its factual findings for clear error. Lucas v. O’Dea, 179 F.3d 412, 416 (6th Cir.1999). A writ should not be issued unless the record reflects an error of constitutional magnitude which had a substantial and injurious effect or influence on the proceedings. See Brecht v. Abrahamson, 507 U.S. 619, 637-38, 113 S.Ct. 1710, 123 L.Ed.2d 353(1993). Under the Anti-terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, Pub.L. No. 104-132, 110 Stat. 1214 (1996) (“AEDPA”), a writ may not issue unless the state court adjudication

(1) resulted in a decision that was contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established Federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court of the United States; or

[362]*362(2) resulted in a decision that was based on an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented in the state court proceeding.

28 U.S.C. § 2254(d); Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. 362, 120 S.Ct. 1495, 146 L.Ed.2d 389 (2000).

A.

Respondent Bruce Curtis challenges the district court’s finding that Solomon had not waived his constitutional right to testify in his own behalf and its legal conclusion that the right is not amenable to the harmless error analysis.

After both sides had rested and shortly before the jury received instructions, Solomon asked to testify. The state trial court denied the request, ruling that the defendant was “playing games with the Court.” The state appellate court, however, found that Solomon had not waived his right to testify, and the trial court had violated Solomon’s constitutional right to testify on his own behalf. It nonetheless concluded that any error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt under Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18, 87 S.Ct. 824, 17 L.Ed.2d 705 (1967), because of the overwhelming evidence against Solomon.

The district court agreed with the state appeals’ court finding that Solomon had not waived his right to testify. On the other hand, the district court determined that the constitutional violation was a structural error not subject to a harmless error analysis.

As we recently noted in an unpublished decision, Skeens v. Haskins, 248 F.3d 1151, 2001 WL 128432, 4 Fed.Appx. 236 (6th Cir. Feb. 6, 2001), it is unclear whether the trial court erred in denying Solomon the right to testify after the close of evidence.

“[A] criminal defendant has a fundamental constitutional right to testify on his own behalf.” Neuman v. Rivers, 125 F.3d 315, 318 (6th Cir.1997) (quoting Rock v. Arkansas, 483 U.S. 44, 51-53, 107 S.Ct. 2704, 97 L.Ed.2d 37 (1987)). Nevertheless, the right to testify on one’s own behalf may be limited “to accommodate other legitimate interests in the criminal trial process” that are not “arbitrary or disproportionate to the purpose they are designed to serve.” Id. A rule generally limiting testimony to the evidence-taking phase is not “arbitrary or disproportionate to the purpose [it is] designed to serve.” United States v. Jones, 880 F.2d 55, 60 (8th Cir.1989) (citing Rock, 483 U.S. at 56) (alteration in original). ‘While placing only a minor limitation on the right [to testify], the rule promotes both fairness and order in trials, interests which, of course, are crucial to the legitimacy of the trial process.” Id. As in the instant case, Jones involved a defendant who had not asserted his right to testify until after the close of the evidence-taking stage of the trial but before the case had been argued and sent to the jury. Id. at 60 n. 5. The Eighth Circuit upheld the district court’s decision not to allow the defendant to testify. Thus, it is not clear that the trial court erred in denying [the defendant] the right to testify after the close of evidence.

2001 WL 128432, at *2. Notwithstanding, as in Skeens, we need not resolve this issue today, because it likewise is clear that any error is harmless. See id. (“Yet, we need not decide this issue today, as it is clear that any error was harmless.”).

[The petitioner’s] contention that the [Michigan Court of Appeals] improperly applied the harmless-error test to his case is without merit. See Martinez v. Ylst, 951 F.2d 1153, 1157 (9th Cir.1991); Ortega v. O’Leary, 843 F.2d 258, 260-63 (7th Cir.1988); Wright v. Estelle, 549 [363]*363F.2d 971, 974 (5th Cir.1977). Because the state appellate court properly applied the harmless-error test of Chapman to Skeen’s claim on direct review, federal review is limited to the harmless-error standard of Brecht. As the Supreme Court noted in Brecht,

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

Related

Pierce v. Morrison
E.D. Michigan, 2023
Sinnett 463489 v. Horton
W.D. Michigan, 2021
State v. Lute
2016 Ohio 7978 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2016)
Quarels v. Commonwealth
142 S.W.3d 73 (Kentucky Supreme Court, 2004)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
21 F. App'x 360, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/solomon-v-curtis-ca6-2001.