United States ex rel. Ashford v. Director, Illinois Department of Corrections

685 F. Supp. 659, 1988 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1090, 1988 WL 42199
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedFebruary 8, 1988
DocketNo. 87 C 5094
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 685 F. Supp. 659 (United States ex rel. Ashford v. Director, Illinois Department of Corrections) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States ex rel. Ashford v. Director, Illinois Department of Corrections, 685 F. Supp. 659, 1988 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1090, 1988 WL 42199 (N.D. Ill. 1988).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

ASPEN, District Judge:

Following a bench trial in state court, Joe L. Ashford was convicted of home invasion, armed robbery and residential burglary. The trial court sentenced Ashford to three concurrent prison terms of seven years. He lost on appeal and unsuccessfully petitioned the Supreme Court of Illinois for review. He now petitions this Court under 28 U.S.C. § 2254(a) for a writ of habeas corpus. For the reasons stated below, his petition is denied.

I

Because the state appellate court affirmed in an unpublished opinion, People v. Ashford, 149 Ill.App.3d 1157, 112 Ill.Dec. 943, 514 N.E.2d 606 (1st Dist.1986), we set forth the facts in greater detail than we would usually do. Additionally, we will set forth passages from the transcript as are relevant in our discussion on the merits.

Ashford was found guilty of home invasion, armed robbery and burglary following a bench trial for robbing Juan Irizarry of a gold chain and ring in his home. At the trial, Juan Irizarry testified that around 12:45 p.m. on October 24, 1982, while he was in his apartment with his wife Fretta Tunstill and their five-year old son Juan, Jr., he heard a knock at the door. Tunstill asked, “Who is it?” and a voice responded, “Lamont.” Irizarry opened the door and saw Lamont Harris, Eddie Williams and the petitioner Ashford. Harris pulled out a revolver and said, “It goes this way sometimes.” Williams held a sawed-off shotgun to Irizarry’s chest. Petitioner Ashford stood behind the other two offenders in the hallway outside the apartment. The three took a gold chain from around Irizarry’s neck and a gold ring off his finger. Tuns-till fled out the back door of the apartment with Juan, Jr. Irizarry also left the apartment through the back door. He did not call the police to report the incident himself because he and his wife thought that the men would return. The crime was only reported later that day when Harris came back to the apartment with the police officers in a move to exonerate himself from the robbery.

While on the stand, Irizarry admitted that in 1976, he was convicted of selling controlled substances; that he had previously pled guilty to a charge of discharging a weapon; that he was found guilty of failing to register a gun in the City of Chicago; and that at the time of this trial, there were two further charges pending against him for the sale of controlled substances. The penalty for each of the offenses charged was from 6 to 30 years. On cross-examination, Irizarry testified that he did not expect any leniency in return for his testimony, and that the state had not promised to reduce the pending charges. However, the court did sustain the state’s hearsay objections to defense counsel’s further questioning into the pos[661]*661sibility that Irizarry’s attorney was currently negotiating a deal. Irizarry further stated that he was not a drug addict, although he admitted that he had used marijuana and cocaine approximately once a week during the year preceding trial.

The trial court allowed Irizarry to invoke his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination in response to several questions concerning the presence of drugs in his apartment at the time of the robbery, and it allowed him to avoid questions regarding any other drug deals between himself and Lamont Harris, Ashford’s co-defendant.

Irizarry’s wife Fretta Tunstill’s testimony at trial substantially corroborated that of Irizarry. She saw Harris and Williams after Irizarry opened the apartment door and saw Williams point a shotgun at Irizarry. She did not see petitioner Ashford, however, until she was in the gangway on the ground floor as he was walking away from the apartment building. He was 15 to 20 feet ahead of Harris and Williams and looked back towards them as he walked.

Police Officer Christopher Mancari testified that at 7:45 p.m. on October 24, 1982, he received a telephone call at the police station from Harris. Harris asked Mancari to come to his home because he had some information to give him. When Mancari and his partner Officer Linda Paraday arrived at Harris’ home, Harris asked them if they wanted a big bust. Mancari testified that Harris told him that four other men, including petitioner Joe Ashford, threatened Harris to force him to participate in the robbery of Irizarry. Harris offered to go with the officers to Irizarry’s apartment to show how it happened. When they arrived at the apartment, Irizarry and Harris began shouting at each other. They were at the apartment approximately 30 minutes before Mancari asked Irizarry if he wanted to sign a complaint against Harris. He instructed other officers to arrest petitioner Ashford. At the police station that evening, Irizarry identified petitioner as one of his assailants.

After approximately a month-long on- and-off bench trial, the court found both defendants guilty on all counts with the following ruling in open court:

This trial has lasted almost a month. It’s been heard from time to time. And during that month I have reviewed all of my notes concerning the testimony.
One of the major thesis which the defense has brought forward is that the defendant [sicj-victim is a drug dealer and had drugs in his apartment. And even accepting that thesis, though I don’t even accept — even accepting that thesis though, I would say that I do not believe that it is critical at all to the decision of the Court in this case. But accepting that thesis, the Court still finds that the State has proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt and that both defendants are guilty of all counts as charged in the Information. Accordingly, the Court finds them guilty.

(TR. 525) (emphasis added).

II

Ashford raises three issues in this petition. Two allege violations of his Sixth Amendment right of confrontation and the other concerns the State Court’s failure to allow the prosecuting attorney to be called as a defense witness.

a.

Ashford contends his Sixth Amendment right of confrontation was violated when the trial court repeatedly allowed the State’s key witness Irizarry to invoke the Fifth Amendment upon cross-examination and by limiting defense counsel’s attempt to determine whether the State’s key witness had knowledge of ongoing negotiations between the witness’ attorney and the State on criminal charges pending against the witness. First, we address Irizarry’s invocation of the Fifth Amendment.1

[662]*662The Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment guarantees the right of an accused in a criminal prosecution to be confronted with the witnesses against him. U.S. ConstAmend. VI. “The right of confrontation, which is secured for defendants in state as well as federal criminal proceedings, ‘means more than being allowed to confront the witness physically.’ Indeed, ‘ “[t]he main and essential purpose of confrontation is to secure for the opponent the opportunity of cross-examination.” ’ ” Delaware v. Van Arsdall, 475 U.S. 673, 678, 106 S.Ct. 1431, 1435, 89 L.Ed.2d 674 [663]*663(1986) (citations omitted).

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685 F. Supp. 659, 1988 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1090, 1988 WL 42199, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-ex-rel-ashford-v-director-illinois-department-of-ilnd-1988.