United States ex rel. Galvan v. DeRobertis

530 F. Supp. 487, 1981 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16984
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedDecember 31, 1981
DocketNo. 80 C 2233
StatusPublished

This text of 530 F. Supp. 487 (United States ex rel. Galvan v. DeRobertis) 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. Galvan v. DeRobertis, 530 F. Supp. 487, 1981 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16984 (N.D. Ill. 1981).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

SHADUR, District Judge.

David Galvan (“Galvan”), an inmate at Stateville Penitentiary serving an eight to twenty year sentence for rape, petitions this Court for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, claiming his conviction was constitutionally deficient in six separate respects. Stateville Warden Richard DeRobertis (“DeRobertis”) has moved for summary judgment on alternative grounds that (1) Galvan has failed to exhaust administrative remedies as to some of his claims and waived his right to relief on others or (2) Galvan’s claims are substantively insufficient to entitle him to relief. Galvan has filed a cross-motion for summary judgment. For the reasons stated in this memorandum opinion and order Galvan’s motion for summary judgment is denied and DeRobertis’ motion is granted.

Procedural History

In November 1969 Galvan was convicted in the Circuit Court of Cook County of rape and conspiracy to commit aggravated kidnapping. On appeal his sole claim was that the trial judge had failed specifically to instruct the jury that the State’s rebuttal testimony was to be considered only against Galvan’s co-defendant Augustine Soto (“Soto”) and not against Galvan. On its own motion the Court reversed Galvan’s conviction on the conspiracy charge but affirmed the rape conviction. People v. Galvan, 42 Ill.App.3d 390, 1 Ill.Dec. 139, 356 N.E.2d 139 (1st Dist. 1976). Galvan took no further appeal.

On May 6, 1980 Galvan filed his habeas corpus petition with this Court. As amended the Petition1 alleges six grounds for relief:

(1) Pretrial identification of Galvan by rape victim Judy Wisner (“Wisner”) was impermissibly suggestive and unreliable.
(2) Galvan was denied his right to have counsel present at that identification.
(3) Galvan was tried and convicted as an adult rather than as a juvenile for offenses' he allegedly committed as a minor, without first being afforded a hearing on that question before a judicial officer.
(4) By refusing to exclude certain hearsay evidence (the “hearsay testimony”) introduced by the prosecution during rebuttal and surrebuttal pertaining to Soto, the trial court denied Galvan a fair trial.
[489]*489(5) Galvan’s right to confront adverse witnesses was also denied by the trial court’s refusal to exclude the hearsay testimony.
(6) Galvan was denied a fair trial because the trial court denied his motion for a mistrial (based on the admission of the hearsay testimony) or alternatively for a severance from Soto.

Facts Underlying Galvan’s Conviction

On July 21, 1969, 17 year old Wisner was raped by a group of “Latin, Puerto Rican or Mexican” men in the basement of a building at 27th and Normal Avenues in Chicago. Wisner had been accosted by two of the men in a blue Pontiac Firebird while she was waiting for a bus near Archer and Western Avenues. They forced Wisner into the car with a knife, told her they were members of the Latin Kings and took her to the Normal Avenue basement. When she entered six other men were waiting in a room illuminated only briefly by a single light bulb. Each man raped Wisner, including the “shortest man present” who had originally held her shoulders down during the ordeal. She was then released and escorted to Archer and Halsted Streets by the two men who had driven the Pontiac. Wisner immediately reported the rape to the police.

On the following day Wisner observed, in the area from which she had been taken, what she believed to be the Pontiac her assailants had driven. She identified the driver as the same driver and reported the license plate number to the police. Later the same day police saw the automobile, stopped it and placed its four occupants— Soto, Galvan (then 16 years old), Anthony Barrera (“Barrera”) and David Lara (“Lara”) — under arrest. After being booked on charges of rape at the police station the four men were transported to Little Company of Mary Hospital, where Wisner had been admitted. Police officers brought Wisner into a room in which the four men had been placed. Wisner identified Soto and Barrera as the driver and passenger in the Pontiac and Galvan as the “shortest man” who had held her' shoulders. She was uncertain whether Lara had been among the men.

On October 2, 1969 Galvan (then 17 years old), Soto and Barrera were indicted on a number of charges: rape (all defendants), aggravated kidnapping (Soto and Barrera), aggravated assault (Barrera) and conspiracy to commit aggravated kidnapping (all defendants). Before trial Galvan moved to suppress the hospital identification on the grounds that (1) he was arrested without probable cause, (2) he was denied representation by counsel at the identification and (3) the identification was impermissibly suggestive. Galvan’s motion was denied and the trial proceeded. Wisner identified Galvan as the man who had held her shoulders in the basement, though she admitted the single light bulb had only twice illuminated — dimly and briefly — the basement room during the ordeal.

Galvan and Barrera presented alibis in defense. Soto testified he had in fact given Wisner a ride on the night of July 21 but had dropped her off in the vicinity of her home. In support of that contention Soto called Victor Rodriquez (“Rodriquez”), who testified that Soto’s story was accurate. In rebuttal the State introduced evidence discrediting Rodriquez, who then admitted he had perjured himself. Rodriquez claimed he had done so because Soto’s father had requested it and Rodriquez was fearful of possible harm to himself or his family. Soto’s lawyer countered with testimony suggesting Rodriquez had been coerced into changing his own testimony. Cross-examination revealed that Soto, Barrera and Gal-van had been under investigation by a special unit of the State’s Attorney’s Office monitoring street gang activity and that all were suspected of being members of the Latin Kings gang.

During rebuttal and surrebuttal, devoted almost exclusively to discrediting Soto, Gal-van’s attorney objected on several occasions to the introduction of hearsay. Each objection was denied. Counsel also requested that contemporaneously with the testimony the jury be instructed that the discrediting [490]*490evidence pertained only to Soto. That request was also denied, with the judge instead giving a general instruction at the conclusion of the evidence:

You should give separate consideration to each defendant. Each is entitled to have his case decided on the evidence and the law which is applicable to him. Any evidence which was limited to one defendant should not be considered by you as to any other defendant.

Finally Galvan’s attorney moved for a mistrial or alternatively a severance on the ground that the impeachment of Soto impermissibly permeated the entire trial. That motion was also denied. All defendants were convicted.

Exhaustion and Waiver Contentions

En route to a consideration of Galvan’s substantive contentions DeRobertis makes two procedural claims that, if upheld, would bar further inquiry into Galvan’s case:

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
530 F. Supp. 487, 1981 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16984, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-ex-rel-galvan-v-derobertis-ilnd-1981.