Sutton v. Blackwell

327 F. Supp. 2d 477, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14536, 2004 WL 1700978
CourtDistrict Court, D. New Jersey
DecidedJuly 30, 2004
DocketCivil Action 02-4734 (JEI)
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 327 F. Supp. 2d 477 (Sutton v. Blackwell) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. New Jersey primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sutton v. Blackwell, 327 F. Supp. 2d 477, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14536, 2004 WL 1700978 (D.N.J. 2004).

Opinion

OPINION

IRENAS, Senior District Judge.

Presently before the Court is Petitioner Lanise L. Sutton’s application for writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. The application comes to the Court on remand from the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit as to the issue of the timeliness of the application. For the reasons set forth below, we accept Petitioner’s application as timely but deny the application on the merits.

I.

On December 2, 1992, Petitioner Lanise L. Sutton (hereinafter “Sutton” or “Petitioner”), a resident of Pemberton Township, New Jersey was involved in an altercation in Willingboro, New Jersey. Sutton, armed with a steak knife, accompanied her cousin and six other young women to the residence of Cynthia Bell *480 (“Bell”). When Bell answered the door, the eight women and Bell began fighting. Bell’s pregnant sister, Cherrell Bell, came outside when she heard the commotion. Although Cherrell Bell was unarmed, Sutton stabbed her in the chest with the steak knife, killing her.

On November 4, 1993, Sutton was indicted in Burlington County for first-degree murder (N.J.S.A.2C:ll-3(a)(l) or (2)); third-degree possession of a weapon for unlawful purpose (N.J.S.A.2C:39^d); fourth-degree unlawful possession of a weapon (N.J.S.A.2C:39-5d); and third-degree hindering apprehension or prosecution (N.J.S.A.2C:29-3a(l)). The Court assigned Edward G. Lavelle, Esq. to act as counsel for Sutton. On May 1, 1995, Sutton pled guilty to first-degree manslaughter, third-degree unlawful possession of a weapon, and third-degree hindering apprehension or prosecution. In exchange for the plea, the State dismissed the indictment and recommended a combined sentence of forty years incarceration, twenty years without parole. On July 21, 1995, Judge Victor Friedman sentenced Sutton to the recommended sentence.

On August 17, 1995, Sutton filed a pro se motion for reconsideration of her sentence with the Superior Court of New Jersey. 1 Judge Friedman denied the motion on September 29, 1995 on both procedural and substantive grounds. The Appellate Division affirmed on April 22, 1996. 2 The New Jersey Supreme Court denied Sutton’s petition for certification on December 3,1996.

On August 17, 1995, Sutton also filed a pro se motion for post-conviction relief to withdraw her guilty plea with the Superior Court, Law Division alleging that she was mentally incapable of understanding the plea and its consequences. On October 13, 1995, Raymond J. Burke was assigned as Sutton’s counsel for that motion. The Law Division denied the motion on May 28, 1996 on both procedural and substantive grounds.

Sutton appealed, alleging: (1) that the Law Division erred by denying the motion on grounds of procedural bar; (2) that she was mentally incapable of understanding the plea and its consequences; (3) that the trial court erred by not ordering sua sponte hearing into her mental condition; (4) ineffective assistance of counsel under the Sixth Amendment; (5) lack of adequate factual basis for her guilty plea as to hindering apprehension or prosecution; (6) lack of adequate factual basis for her guilty plea as to unlawful possession of a weapon, or in the alternative, that the possession charge should have merged with the felony manslaughter conviction for sentencing purposes; and (7) excessive sentence.

On June 13, 1997, the Appellate Division affirmed the Law Division’s denial of the motion, finding that: (1) the Law Division had correctly denied the motion on substantive grounds; (2) there was sufficient evidence to support Judge Friedman’s denial of the motion for reconsideration for withdrawal of the plea; (3) Sutton was barred from raising her claim that the trial court failed to order a hearing into her mental condition because she failed to raise the issue below, noting that the failure to hold the hearing did not produce an unjust result; (4) the record does not support an ineffective assistance of counsel claim; (5) Judge Friedman’s colloquy with Sutton regarding her guilty plea was sufficient and there was sufficient factual basis *481 to support Sutton’s plea; (6) Sutton’s merger argument was meritless because the crimes of third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and felony manslaughter require different states of mind and, additionally, the crimes were committed at different times; and (7) Sutton’s sentence is consistent with her plea, and, thus, presumed reasonable. State v. Sutton, No. A-7132-95T4 (N.J.Super. Ct. App. Div., June 13, 1997). The New Jersey Supreme Court denied certification on September 23, 1997. State v. Sutton, 151 N.J. 470, 700 A.2d 881 (1997).

Sutton filed a second motion for post-conviction relief on October 20, 1997: (1) alleging ineffective assistance of counsel; (2) requesting an evidentiary hearing regarding the ineffective assistance of counsel claim; and (3) challenging the prior finding that she was procedurally barred from asserting an ineffective assistance of counsel claim. The Law Division denied the motion on October 9, 1998 finding that Edward Lavelle, Sutton’s trial counsel, had competently represented her and that Sutton could have had no better result in her case than the plea and sentence she received. On May 29, 2001, the Appellate Division affirmed. State v. Sutton, No. A-2432-99T4 (NJ.Super.Ct.App.Div., May 29, 2001). The New Jersey Supreme Court denied certification on October 3, 2001. State v. Sutton, 170 N.J. 206, 785 A.2d 434 (2001).

II.

On September 30, 2002, Sutton filed this petition for writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. Petitioner alleges that she: (1) received ineffective assistance of counsel because counsel failed to consult with her prior to her plea, failed to review her mental and educational background prior to the plea, failed to review discovery with her, and failed to advise her of her maximum sentence exposure; (2) received an excessive sentence; (3) was not given proper Miranda warnings; and (4) was denied due process because the charges for possession of an unlawful weapon and felony manslaughter were not merged for sentencing purposes. Additionally, Petitioner claims that she did not raise her Miranda claim in her earlier appeals due to ineffective assistance of counsel. On October 31, 2002, this Court denied Petitioner’s application, finding that it had not been filed within the one-year statute of limitations set forth in 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d). However, this Court granted Petitioner sixty (60) days to furnish proof that she had in fact timely filed her application. Petitioner submitted an application to reopen the matter on December 14, 2002. 3 This Court dismissed the application to reopen on December 18, 2002.

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327 F. Supp. 2d 477, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14536, 2004 WL 1700978, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sutton-v-blackwell-njd-2004.