United States ex rel. Horton v. Mancusi

365 F. Supp. 596, 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11558
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. New York
DecidedOctober 10, 1973
DocketNo. Civ. 1971-171
StatusPublished

This text of 365 F. Supp. 596 (United States ex rel. Horton v. Mancusi) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. New York 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. Horton v. Mancusi, 365 F. Supp. 596, 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11558 (W.D.N.Y. 1973).

Opinion

CURTIN, District Judge.

This petition for a writ of habeas corpus presents a question relating to the duty of the government to disclose evidence to the defendant in a criminal trial.

In 1954 in Chemung County Court, petitioner Norman Horton was convicted of murder in the first degree and sentenced to death, a sentence later commuted to life imprisonment. In 1967, after the decisions in Jackson v. Denno, 378 U.S. 368, 84 S.Ct. 1774, 12 L.Ed.2d 908 (1964), and People v. Huntley, 15 N.Y.2d 72, 255 N.Y.S.2d 838, 294 N.E.2d 179 (1965), a hearing was held in Chemung County Court to determine the voluntariness of two confessions used against petitioner at his trial. The court found the confessions to be voluntary, a determination upheld on appeal, People v. Horton, 30 A.D.2d 709, 290 N.Y.S.2d 767 (3d Dept. 1968), cert. denied, 394 U.S. 991, 89 S.Ct. 1478, 22 L.Ed.2d 765 (1969), and on application to this court for a writ of habeas corpus. United States ex rel. Horton v. Mancusi, Civil No. 1969-282 (W.D.N.Y., Nov. 19, 1969). In 1969 petitioner returned to the Chemung County Court, seeking a writ of error cor am nobis on the ground that testimony given at the 1967 hearing constituted newly discovered evidence showing he had been deprived of his right to due process of law at his trial. The application was denied without a [597]*597hearing, the denial was affirmed, People v. Horton, 35 A.D.2d 784, 315 N.Y.S.2d 613 (3d Dept. 1970), and leave to appeal to the Court of Appeals was denied.

Petitioner’s claim arises out of the following facts. On May 24, 1955 petitioner’s father was stabbed to death while he slept. For several days thereafter petitioner was questioned by law enforcement officials, although he denied involvement in the crime. Subsequently petitioner voluntarily entered the Binghamton State Hospital for the purpose of taking “truth serum” to satisfy officials that he had not committed the crime. After maintaining his innocence on two occasions, while under the influence of the “truth serum”, petitioner revealed his guilt to one Mathias Barrows, a fellow patient. Barrows reported the confession to the police and was enlisted to aid them in obtaining more facts from petitioner.

Barrows testified at trial about petitioner’s confession. Although he stated on direct examination that he had been on parole at the time he entered the hospital and had gone there on the recommendation of his parole officer, he was not asked on cross-examination whether he had received any promises or other inducements for his cooperation at the hospital and for his testimony at trial.

At. the 1967 hearing Barrows was questioned about the circumstances surrounding petitioner’s confession. During his direct examination, the following colloquy occurred:

Q. You eventually testified at the trial of Mr. Horton ?
A. Yes sir, I did.
Q. Relative to the conversation you had at the State Hospital?
A. Yes sir.
Q. Did you ever have any conversation with Mr. Cramer [the District Attorney] ?
A. Yes sir, before and after.
Q. What was that about ?
A. Well we had our conversation, of course, about what I was going to testify and they gave me my statement.
Q. Did you read it over?
A. I read it over to refresh my memory.
Q. Did Mr. Cramer say anything else to you at that time ?
A. Yes sir.
Q. What did he tell you ?
A. I was on parole and I had five and a half years to go and Mr. Cramer did say to me that it would help my parole by testifying here.
Q. What was the ultimate outcome of your parole?
A. It was dropped. I had five years left.
Q. And it was terminated?
A. Yes sir.
Q. This was before you testified?
A. Yes sir.
Q. Where did that conversation with Mr. Cramer occur ?
A. In his office.
Q. Was there anybody else present?
A. There was someone else there but I don’t recall who it was. Yes sir I do, it was a State Policeman assigned to me while I was here. I don’t recall his name.

On cross-examination, the following dialogue took place:

Q. You went into the State Hospital at the suggestion of your parole officer, is that right ?
A. Yes.
Q. Before you went into the State Hospital at his suggestion, did he ever discuss the name Norman Horton with you ?
A. No, sir.
Q. Before you went into the State Hospital had you ever heard of Norman Horton?
A. No.
Q. Before you went into the State Hospital did the State Police ever discuss Norman Horton with you?
[598]*598A. No, sir.
Q. Before you went into the State Hospital did anybody from the Chemung County District Attorney’s Office discuss Norman Horton with you?
A. No one.
Q. Before you went into the State Hospital did you discuss with anyone the question of Ray Horton’s death?
A. No, sir. I never heard of these people before.
Q. You didn’t even know Norman Horton’s father had been killed?
A. I didn’t know there was a Ray Horton.
Q. The first you knew anything about this was after you met Norman at the hospital?
A. That’s right.
Q. You weren’t sent there with any promise of a quick parole ?
A. No, sir.

In the New York State courts, see N. Y.Crim.Proc. Law § 440.10(1) (g) (McKinney 1971), as well as in federal courts, see Fed.R.Crim.P. 33, a conviction may be overturned on the ground of newly discovered evidence. In order to merit such relief, the evidence (1) must have been discovered after trial, (2) must be material to the factual issues at the trial and not merely cumulative or impeaching and (3) must be of such a character that it would probably produce a different verdict in the event of a retrial. United States v. Kahn, 472 F.2d 272, 287 (2d Cir. 1973); People v. Eng Hing and Lee Dock, 212 N.Y. 373, 386, 106 N.E. 96 (1914).

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Related

Napue v. Illinois
360 U.S. 264 (Supreme Court, 1959)
Jackson v. Denno
378 U.S. 368 (Supreme Court, 1964)
Giles v. Maryland
386 U.S. 66 (Supreme Court, 1967)
Giglio v. United States
405 U.S. 150 (Supreme Court, 1972)
Collar v. Allen County Department of Public Welfare
294 N.E.2d 179 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1973)
People v. . Eng Hing and Lee Dock
106 N.E. 96 (New York Court of Appeals, 1914)
People v. Huntley
204 N.E.2d 179 (New York Court of Appeals, 1965)
People v. Horton
30 A.D.2d 709 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1968)

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Bluebook (online)
365 F. Supp. 596, 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11558, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-ex-rel-horton-v-mancusi-nywd-1973.