United States of America Ex Rel. George Alvarez v. Robert Murphy, Warden of Auburn Prison, and the People of the State of New York

277 F.2d 304, 1960 U.S. App. LEXIS 4862

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
• Decided: April 13, 1960
• Docket: 25759_1
• Status: Published

Opinions

MOORE, Circuit Judge.

Relator appeals from a decision and order of the district court dated May 20, 1959 discharging a writ of habeas corpus. A brief résumé of the various court reviews of this case from conviction to date is desirable to provide a background for this decision.

In January 1951 relator was found to be guilty by a jury in Bronx County, New York, of the crimes of robbery first degree, assault first degree and of violation of § 1944, New York Penal Law (committing crime while armed). He claimed upon the trial that a confession used against him had been obtained by coercion, i. e., by his having been beaten by detectives. This issue was submitted to the jury which convicted him. The conviction was affirmed upon appeal (People of State of New York v. Soto [Alvarez], 282 App.Div. 1042, 126 N.Y.S.2d 896 leave to appeal to the New York Court of Appeals denied). Thereafter relator by writ of error coram nobis in the New York courts sought to vacate his conviction on the ground that he had been denied due process. The motion was denied and the Appellate Division affirmed (People of State of New York v. Alvarez, 1 A.D.2d 660, 147 N.Y.S.2d 681). Leave to appeal to the New York Court of Appeals was denied as was certiorari (351 U.S. 955, 76 S.Ct. 853, 100 L.Ed. 1478).

Relator then applied to the United States district court for a writ of habeas corpus which was denied without a hearing. This court reversed and remanded for a hearing so that “the additional proof which petitioner seeks to offer should be heard by the District Judge on the issue of whether the confession of Alvarez was the result of coercion and brutality” (2 Cir., 246 F.2d 871, 875). A hearing was then held upon which relator was represented by counsel as he had been upon the original trial and throughout the ensuing proceedings. Relator’s counsel for purposes of the hearing had the right to call by subpoena or otherwise such persons to testify in relator’s behalf as in his judgment would aid relator’s cause. In the exercise of this privilege and presumably in accordance with good judgment and trial strategy he called only relator and relator’s original trial counsel. No subpoena was quashed; no witness called was not allowed to testify. The trial judge also had before him the trial record and the coram nobis record in the state courts together with the briefs in support thereof. He saw and heard the relator who “gave every evidence of an intelligent, shrewd, experienced individual,” whose “schooling consisted of nine years in the public schools” and who was “versed in police woi"k by his attendance at a police school.” Although the trial judge was mindful under the law that he should “make its [his] own independent examination of the record and independent determination on the undisputed facts as to whether or not the constitutional standards of fundamental fairness under the Fourteenth Amendment have been violated” and did consider both the testimony on the hearing itself and on the trial, nevertheless his opinion was so written as to give this court (on review) the impression that “the judge ultimately grounded his decision on the assessment of relator’s credibility made by the state court trial judge and jury.” Because “At the hearing held below the district judge had before him a more complete view of the facts than was presented at the New York trial [and hence was] best able to determine the true facts surrounding Alvarez’s confession,” the cause was remanded “for such findings, with or without a further hearing as the judge may determine” (2 Cir., 1959, 265 F.2d 497, 498).

In his opinion upon remand the trial judge stated that it was “entirely an oversight that the prior decision failed to state directly that the conclusion reached was the result of his independent investigation and appraisal,” and found “as a result of an independent inquiry examination and appraisal of the state court’s record herein and of all the exhibits and testimony offered upon the hearing held by this court that the relator has failed to bear the burden of establishing that the admissions or confessions made by him as they appear in the record of the state court trial were obtained by coercion or in violation of his fundamental rights.”

The appellate questions here are, first, whether the federal trial judge has afforded relator an opportunity to present facts outside of the state court record and, second, whether independently of any factual conclusions disclosed by that record, upon all the facts he has reached conclusions which this court should not disturb.

The hearing now under review was held upon remand by this court so that “the additional proof which petitioner seeks to offer should be heard by the District Judge on the issue of whether the confession of Alvarez was the result of coercion and brutality” (246 F.2d 871, 875). After seeing and hearing Alvarez himself and his state court trial counsel, after receiving a jail medical report, and after Alvarez’s counsel had an opportunity to offer evidence on the issue of coercion, the trial judge concluded as a matter of fact that the admissions or confessions in the state court trial were not obtained by coercion or in violation of his [Alvarez’s] fundamental rights. It cannot be said that the trial judge shirked his duty to resolve disputed fact questions. To the contrary he was quite aware of the dispute. A reading of his opinion discloses that he accepted this responsibility and rested his independent determination upon all the evidence before him on the federal court hearing. Having done so, he satisfied the federal requirements. In arriving at the factual conclusions, he should be entitled to the benefit of that recognition which should be accorded to “the superior opportunity of the trial court and jury to observe the witnesses and weigh the fleeting intangibles which may indicate truth or falsehood” (Thomas v. State of Arizona, 1958, 356 U.S. 390, 403, 78 S.Ct. 885, 892, 2 L.Ed.2d 863. Here the judge did receive new additional evidence and upon the entire record made his own findings of lack of coercion.

The role of the federal district court is well defined in Wade v. Mayo, 1948, 334 U.S. 672, 683-684, 68 S.Ct. 1270, 1276, 92 L.Ed. 1647. There the question was whether the defendant was denied due process because of the refusal of the state court to appoint counsel to represent him on the trial. Upon the hearing the district court found that the defendant “was an inexperienced youth incapable of adequately representing himself even on a trial which apparently involved no complicated legal questions.” The Court of Appeals reversed but the Supreme Court reinstated the judgment of the district court, saying, “This is a judgment which is peculiarly within the province of the trier of the facts, based upon personal observation of Wade. And we do not find that the District Court’s determination was clearly erroneous.” So here, after the same opportunity for “personal observation,” the district court has found upon all the evidence that there was “an entire lack of any of the elements” for holding the confession to be involuntary. In contrast to the “inexperienced youth” of the Wade case the trial judge observed Alvarez to be “an intelligent, shrewd and experienced individual” who, both at the trial and hearing “displayed no evidence of timidity.” If the Supreme Court’s opinion as to the reliance to be placed upon the district court’s findings is to have meaning and practical application, it would appear to call for similar recognition here.

Accordingly, the order of the district court dismissing the writ is affirmed.