United States v. Carvahlo

109 F. Supp. 3d 441, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79101, 2015 WL 3795819
CourtDistrict Court, D. Massachusetts
DecidedJune 18, 2015
DocketCriminal No. 08-10215-PBS
StatusPublished

This text of 109 F. Supp. 3d 441 (United States v. Carvahlo) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Massachusetts primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Carvahlo, 109 F. Supp. 3d 441, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79101, 2015 WL 3795819 (D. Mass. 2015).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

PATTI B. SARIS, Chief Judge.

Kevin Carvahlo is a federal prisoner serving a sentence'of 126 months of imprisonment after being convicted by a jury of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine base (Count 1) and possession with intent to distribute cocaine base (Count 2). Carvahlo' now moves to vacate his convictions and sentence under 28 U.S.C. § 2255, arguing that: (1) the Court violated his Sixth Amendment rights by imposing a mandatory minimum sentence based on judicial fact-finding; and (2) the government failed to disclose the scandal involving chemist Annie Dookhan and the Hinton Drug Lab in Jamaica Plain.1 The government opposes the motion and has requested summary dismissal. (Docket No. 234). For the following reasons, Carvahlo’s Motion to Vacate under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 (Docket No. 221) is DENIED. The government’s request for summary dismissal (Docket No. 234) is ALLOWED.

DISCUSSION

A. Judicial Fact-Finding and the Sixth Amendment

Carvahlo first raises a Sixth Amendment claim, arguing that the Court improperly imposed a mandatory minimum' sentence after finding that he was personally responsible for more than 50 grams of cocaine base as part of the conspiracy charged in Count 1: Instead, Carvahlo argues that the jury should have been asked to make the determination beyond a reasonable doubt. In support of these arguments, Carvahlo highlights the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Alleyne v. United States, which held that “any fact that increases the mandatory minimum is an ‘element’ that must be submitted to the jury.” - U.S. -, 133 S.Ct. 2151, 2155, 186 L.Ed.2d 314 (2013). In doing so, the Supreme Court overruled its own precedent that existed at the time of Carvahlo’s sentencing. Id. at 2151 (overruling Harris v. United States, 536 U.S. 545, 122 S.Ct. 2406, 153 L.Ed.2d 524 (2002)).

Carvahlo’s argument fails because Alleyne’s sea change in the law is not retroactively applicable to his case. Alleyne was decided in June 2013, more than a year after Carvahlo’s conviction became final. Thus, Carvahlo can only benefit from Alleyne’s newly announced rule of criminal procedure if it is retroactively applicable on collateral review. See Sepulveda v. United States, 330 F.3d 55, 59 (1st Cir.2003) (explaining that the Supreme Court’s decision in Teague v. Lane, 489 U.S. 288, 109 S.Ct. 1060, 103 L.Ed.2d 334 (1989) “constitutes a general bar to the retroactive application of newly announced rules of criminal procedure”). But the First Circuit has squarely held that it is not. See Butterworth v. United States, 775 F.3d 459, 468 (1st Cir.2015) (“We therefore conclude that the rule announced in Alleyne is not retroactively applicable to sentences on collateral review on an initial habeas petition.”). As a result, Carvahlo [443]*443cannot benefit from Alleyne to the extent that it overruled First Circuit precedent at the time of his sentencing and direct appeal.

B. Government’s Failure to Disclose the Hinton Drug Lab Scandal

Carvahlo next argues that the government failed to disclose exculpatory evidence to him prior to trial, namely the scandal involving Annie Dookhan and the Hinton Drug Lab. In August 2012, the public learned that 'Dookhan had falsely certified drug test results and tampered with samples at the Hinton Drug Lab. Had the government disclosed these misdeeds, Carvahlo argues that his trial would have turned out differently. The Court disagrees.

The framework for analyzing Carvahlo’s claim was first established in Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963). There, the Supreme Court held that the government’s suppression of evidence favorable to the accused violates due process where the evidence is material to guilt or punishment. Id. at 87, 83 S.Ct. 1194. “To establish a Brady violation, a habeas petitioner must demonstrate: (1) the evidence at issue is favorable to him because it is exculpatory or impeaching; (2) the Government suppressed the evidence; and (3) prejudice ensued from the suppression (i.e. the suppressed evidence was material to guilt or punishment).” Conley v. United States, 415 F.3d 183, 188 (1st Cir.2005). see also Kyles v. Whitley, 514 U.S. 419, 435, 115 S.Ct. 1555, 131 L.Ed.2d 490 (1995) (evidence is material if it “could reasonably be taken to put the whole case in such a different light as to undermine confidence in the verdict”). For example, a new trial may be required if the government suppressed impeachment evidence “where the evidence is highly impeaching or when the witness’ testimony is uncorroborated and essential to the conviction.” United States v. Martinez-Medina, 279 F.3d 105, 126 (1st Cir.2002). On the flip side, suppressed evidence may be immaterial under Brady “if the evidence is cumulative or impeaches on a collateral issue.” Conley, 415 F.3d at 189.

With these principles in mind, Carvahlo’s Brady claim falls short because he cannot establish materiality. In other words, he has not shown a reasonable probability that his trial would have come out differently if the government had disclosed the Hinton Lab scandal to him. This conclusion is based on several factual findings:

To begin with, there was overwhelming evidence at trial that Carvahlo and his codefendant Charles Doutre possessed authentic cocaine base on the night of their arrest, not some counterfeit substance. That night, police officers followed a car from an apartment complex at 157 Second Street in Framingham, Massachusetts to a nearby liquor store. After parking, Carvahlo exited the driver’s side of the car and walked into the store. Meanwhile, one of the officers approached Doutre, who was sitting in the front passenger seat. The officer saw Doutre attempt to hide something in his waist area, piquing the officer’s suspicion that Doutre was trying to conceal contraband. As a result, the officer asked him to step out of the car, which revealed a ziplock bag where Doutre had been sitting. Multiple officers on the scene identified the substance in the bag as a chunk of cocaine base (otherwise known as crack cocaine).

After arresting Doutre and Carvahlo, both of them were later strip searched. These strip searches revealed a second bag of crack cocaine hidden in Carvahlo’s buttocks and a third bag of crack cocaine hidden in Doutre’s clothing. Combined, [444]*444these two bags contained approximately 40 smaller baggies of crack cocaine. Police testified that these small baggies were packaged in a way that was commonly sold for $40 or $50 on the street.

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Related

Brady v. Maryland
373 U.S. 83 (Supreme Court, 1963)
Teague v. Lane
489 U.S. 288 (Supreme Court, 1989)
Kyles v. Whitley
514 U.S. 419 (Supreme Court, 1995)
Harris v. United States
536 U.S. 545 (Supreme Court, 2002)
Sepulveda v. United States
330 F.3d 55 (First Circuit, 2003)
Conley v. United States
415 F.3d 183 (First Circuit, 2005)
Alleyne v. United States
133 S. Ct. 2151 (Supreme Court, 2013)
Wilkins v. United States
754 F.3d 24 (First Circuit, 2014)
Butterworth v. United States
775 F.3d 459 (First Circuit, 2015)

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Bluebook (online)
109 F. Supp. 3d 441, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79101, 2015 WL 3795819, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-carvahlo-mad-2015.