Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca9-13-17071/USCOURTS-ca9-13-17071-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 530
Nature of Suit: Prisoner Petitions - Habeas Corpus
Cause of Action: 

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FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

MANUEL TARANGO, JR.,

Petitioner-Appellant,

v.

E. K. MCDANIEL; NEVADA

ATTORNEY GENERAL,

Respondents-Appellees.

No. 13-17071

D.C. No. 

3:10-cv-00146-

RCJ-VPC

OPINION

Appeal from the United States District Court

for the District of Nevada

Robert Clive Jones, District Judge, Presiding

Argued and Submitted

December 12, 2014—San Francisco, California

Filed March 3, 2016

Before: Raymond C. Fisher, Johnnie B. Rawlinson, and

Mary H. Murguia, Circuit Judges.

Opinion by Judge Murguia;

Dissent by Judge Rawlinson

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2 TARANGO V. MCDANIEL

SUMMARY*

Habeas Corpus

The panel vacated the district court’s judgment denying

a habeas corpus petition, and remanded, in a case in which a

Nevada state prisoner claims violation of his right to a fair

and impartial jury, where a police vehicle followed a known

hold-out juror, for approximately seven miles, on the second

day of deliberations in a highly publicized trial involving

multiple police victims.

The panel held that the Nevada Supreme Court’s decision

upholding the petitioner’s convictions was contraryto Mattox

v. United States, 146 U.S. 140 (1892), because the court

improperly limited its inquiry to whether the external contact

amounted to a “communication” and did not investigate the

prejudicial effect of the police tail. The panel therefore

reviewed de novo the question whether the extrinsic contact

could have influenced the jury’s verdict and prejudiced the

petitioner. Because the state trial court prevented the

petitioner from offering certain evidence to demonstrate

prejudice, the panel remanded for an evidentiary hearing and

further fact finding.

Dissenting, Judge Rawlinson wrote that Mattox is far

afield from the dispositive issue, the majority gives no

deference to the decision of the Nevada Supreme Court but

engages in impermissible appellate fact finding, and no

Supreme Court case supports the majority’s conclusion.

* This summary constitutes no part of the opinion of the court. It has

been prepared by court staff for the convenience of the reader.

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TARANGO V. MCDANIEL 3

COUNSEL

Rene Valladares, Federal Public Defender; Ryan Norwood

(argued), Assistant Federal Public Defender, Las Vegas,

Nevada, for Petitioner-Appellant.

Catherine Cortez Mastro, Attorney General; Victor-Hugo

Schulze, II (argued), Senior Deputy Attorney General, Las

Vegas, Nevada, for Respondents-Appellees.

OPINION

MURGUIA, Circuit Judge:

Petitioner Manuel Tarango, Jr. appeals the district court’s

denial of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. He claims

violation of his due process right to a fair and impartial jury,

where a police vehicle followed Juror No. 2, a known holdout against a guilty verdict, for approximately seven miles, on

the second day of deliberations, in a highly publicized trial

involving multiple police victims. Tarango argues that the

Nevada Supreme Court’s decision upholding his convictions

“was contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of,

clearly established federal law,” see 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1),

because the court failed to consider whether the contact

between the juror and the police vehicle prejudiced the jury’s

verdict. 

We hold that the Nevada Supreme Court’s decision was

contrary to Mattox v. United States, 146 U.S. 140 (1892),

because the court improperly limited its inquiry to whether

the external contact amounted to a “communication” and did

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4 TARANGO V. MCDANIEL

not investigate the prejudicial effect of the police tail. We

therefore review de novo the question whether the extrinsic

contact could have influenced the verdict and prejudiced

Tarango. Because the trial court prevented Tarango from

offering certain evidence to demonstrate prejudice, we

remand for an evidentiary hearing and further fact finding.

BACKGROUND

On December 5, 1999, a rock band of off-duty Las Vegas

police officers, Metro Mike’s Pigs in a Blanket, was

performing at a local bar called Mr. D’s. The bar was filled

with off-duty police officers. A group of masked men

entered the bar announcing a robbery, and a shoot-out ensued. 

Several patrons were shot, one robber was shot and killed,

and one police officer, Officer Dennis Devitte, was shot

several times. The surviving robbers escaped the scene and,

six years later, Tarango was brought to trial on seven felony

counts. The 2005 trial received considerable local media

attention, and numerous Las Vegas Metro police officers

attended as both witnesses and spectators. 

After the jury began its deliberations, on November 1,

2005, the foreperson sent a note to the trial judge indicating

that the jury had “reached a stalemate” because of a “problem

juror” who had “made it very clear he does not want to be

part of [the] process [and] is refusing to discuss or interact

with the other jurors.” The “problem juror” separately wrote

to the judge indicating that he had “doubt of which [he]

feel[s] is beyond the limit of reasonable doubt,” and that

deliberations were “not curing [his] doubt.” In his note, the

“problem” juror identified himself as Juror No. 2. 

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TARANGO V. MCDANIEL 5

Over Tarango’s objection,1the judge advised the jury to

continue deliberating. The next day, November 2nd, the jury

returned a verdict finding Tarango guilty of all seven felony

counts as charged: burglary with the use of a deadly weapon,

attempted robbery with the use of a deadly weapon,

conspiracy to commit robbery with the use of a deadly

weapon, three counts of battery with the use of a deadly

weapon, and attempted murder with the use of a deadly

weapon—all in violation of Nevada state law.

On November 3rd, the Las Vegas Review-Journal

reported the guilty verdict in an article titled Man Convicted

in 1999 Case. The article referenced “a juror who spoke to

the Review-Journal.” Discussing the jury’s deliberation

process, the interviewed juror mentioned the hold-out juror: 

“the case was close to a hung jury because one juror seemed

unwilling to convict following nearly two days of

deliberations.” 

On November 4th, prompted by the previous day’s

newspaper article, Juror No. 2 wrote a letter to the court

referencing the article:

I am the one Juror mentioned in the article. .

. . I am also the Juror that wrote you the note

during deliberations. It read: “I have doubt

beyond the limit of what I consider reasonable

doubt.” I also stated, “I did not believe

further deliberations would cure that doubt.” 

1 Tarango argued that Juror No. 2’s note indicated that the jury was

hung, and moved for a mistrial, there being no alternate jurors left to take

Juror No. 2’s place.

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6 TARANGO V. MCDANIEL

Further deliberations in fact, did not cure my

doubt.

However, when returning to re-deliberate

Wednesday November 2nd from the

Henderson area, a Metro squad car followed

me northbound on I-95 and into the

downtown area.

I found that action unnerving.

I realize the State has much time and money

invested in this case. There were [sic] no

alternate Juror. I concluded Metro somehow

knew who I was and knew of my

unwillingness to convict. I have never been in

trouble with the law. Therefore, I

relinquished my vote under duress. I only

ask, within the law, please show [Tarango]

leniency.

One week later, on November 11th, Juror No. 2 emailed

Tarango’s trial attorney, Marc Saggese, and attached a copy

of his “Letter to the Judge.” The juror told Saggese that he

felt “compelled to notify” Saggese of the letter. Saggese

promptly filed a motion to dismiss all charges with prejudice

or, alternatively, to grant a new trial on the ground of juror

misconduct, arguing that Juror No. 2’s communication

indicated that the deliberation process had been tampered

with in violation of Tarango’s right to due process. Under

Nevada law, juror misconduct refers to two categories of

conduct: (1) intrinsic misconduct, that is, “conduct by jurors

contrary to their instructions or oaths;” and (2) extrinsic

misconduct, or “attempts by third parties to influence the jury

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TARANGO V. MCDANIEL 7

process.”2 Meyer v. State, 80 P.3d 447, 453 (Nev. 2003). 

Tarango alleged both forms of misconduct, arguing that (1)

Juror No. 2 changed his vote under pressure, rather than

based on admissible evidence of Tarango’s guilt, because of

(2) an improper third party influence. 

In support of the motion, Saggese submitted a declaration

indicating that, after the trial court read the juror notes into

the record and while deliberations were ongoing, Saggese

overheard Deputy District Attorney Marc DiGiacomo report

to Detective James Vacarro over the phone that one juror,

Juror No. 2, was holding out. Saggese thus indirectly

corroborated Juror No. 2’s stated belief that he was being

targeted as a hold-out juror by introducing evidence that

members of the Las Vegas police department both knew that

 

2 Meyer further clarifies the distinction:

The first category includes jurors failing to follow

standard admonitions not to discuss the case prior to

deliberations, accessing media reports about the case,

conducting independent research or investigation,

discussing the case with nonjurors, basing their

decision on evidence not admitted, discussing

sentencing or the defendant’s failure to testify, making

a decision on the basis of bias or prejudice, and lying

during voir dire. It also includes juror incompetence

issues such as intoxication. The second category

involves attempts to influence the jury’s decision

through improper contact with jurors, threats, or

bribery.

80 P.3d at 453. (internal citations omitted).

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8 TARANGO V. MCDANIEL

Juror No. 2 favored acquittal and had knowledge of Juror No.

2’s identity.

3

The trial court held a full hearing on Tarango’s motion the

following month. Juror No. 2, Defense Attorney Saggese,

Detective Vacarro, and Deputy D.A. DiGiacomo were all

called to testify regarding their knowledge of the alleged

events and communications in question. At the hearing, the

court limited the questioning of Juror No. 2 pursuant to a

provision of the Nevada Code of Evidence, Nev. Rev. Stat.

§ 50.065, which prohibits the admission for any purpose of

testimony, affidavits, or evidence of any statement by a juror

indicating an effect on the jury’s deliberative process. The

court also relied on the Nevada Supreme Court case of Meyer

v. State, which provides that “[u]pon an inquiry into the

validity of a verdict . . . , a juror may not testify as to any

matter or statement occurring during the course of the jury’s

deliberations, or to the effect of anything upon that or any

other juror’s mind.”480 P.3d at 454 (quoting Fed. R. Evid.

3 During voir dire, the parties and the trial court learned various details

about Juror No. 2’s life. Juror No. 2 had served in the Air Force for four

years doing “flight instrument trainers [sic], [and] navigation.” He

completed both high school and also trade school in electronics. At the

time of his jury service, Juror No. 2 was employed as a network

administrator, was married, and had a daughter. He had lived in Clark

County, Nevada since 1991.

4 Meyer also observes, though, that where juror misconduct involves

“extrinsic information or contact with the jury, juror affidavits or

testimony establishing the fact that the jury received the information or

was contacted are permitted.” Meyer, 80 P.3d at 454. Meyer distinguished

extrinsic information about which a juror may testify from intrinsic

influences that are “generally not admissible to impeach a verdict” as

follows: “An extraneous influence includes, among other things . . . thirdparty communications with sitting jurors. In contrast, intra-jury or

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TARANGO V. MCDANIEL 9

606(b)). The trial court ultimately conducted all questioning

of Juror No. 2 itself. Juror No. 2 testified as follows:

[Right after getting on the freeway,] I was in

the center lane [of US-95]. I noticed a Metro

squad car behind me; fairly close behind me.

. . . He was close enough I couldn’t see his

front wheels or bumper. And I looked down

and I was not exceeding the speed limit.

. . .

I signaled and got over to the far right lane

anticipating being pulled over and he stayed

tight behind me.

. . .

I maintained under the speed limit

anticipating being pulled over. A couple

minutes and he never lit up, he never

indicated that he was . . . going to pull me

over. So I just maintained right lane position

under the speed limit. This continued on.

. . .

[At Eastern Avenue] there was a lot of traffic

entering the freeway . . . . [T]here was so

many cars trying to merge into the freeway

intrinsic influences involve improper discussions among jurors . . . ,

intimidation or harassment of one juror by another, or other similar

situations . . . .” Id. (footnotes omitted).

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10 TARANGO V. MCDANIEL

that the Metropolitan squad car actually

pulled up closer to prevent anyone from

pulling in between our vehicles.

 . . .

And as soon as the . . . exit to Las Vegas

Boulevard came, I even slowed down under

50, and that’s a long exit there. It’s, um, a

quarter mile, half a mile, and even at that, he

maintained position.

And he’s not pulling me over. He’s not . . .

giving me a citation for nothing. He followed

me down the hill, and at the stoplight for Las

Vegas Boulevard. . . . He followed me, still

tight. And there’s several stop lights,

something, Stewart, and then Carson is where

the juror parking garage is. And we did get a

red light there. He was still behind me. I took

a right to enter the . . . jurors parking lot. 

That’s when he relieved me from the escort or

whatever he was doing. That’s when he left

me alone.

When questioned, Juror No. 2 indicated that he could not tell

whether the driver of the vehicle was male or female, and he

could not report the squad car number. However, Juror No.

2 averred that the car behind him was “a Metropolitan black

and white vehicle.” When questioned a second time, Juror

No. 2 reiterated that the car remained “consistently” tight

behind him for the duration of his commute to the

courthouse—“[c]lose enough that [he] couldn’t see the

officer’s bumper.”

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TARANGO V. MCDANIEL 11

At the end of the hearing, the court orally denied

Tarango’s motion to dismiss or to grant a new trial. The trial

court did not discredit Juror No. 2’s testimony, and made one

factual finding that Juror No. 2 “was followed closely, tightly,

however you want to state it from Tropicana on US-95 to Las

Vegas Boulevard and Carson.”5 The court went on to reach

the following legal conclusion:

I don’t think there’s any evidence of juror

misconduct. There were no attempts to

influence the jury. There’s no outside

influence on this particular juror. There’s no

communication or contact. The alleged

conduct is ambiguous, it’s vague and

nonspecific in content. I’m required to

consider this extrinsic influence in light of the

trial as a whole, and consider the weight of the

evidence against Mr. Tarango and with that,

and based on the [Meyer] decision, and the

reasonable person test that I’m required to

apply. I don’t think that Mr. Tarango has met

his burden. Therefore, the motion is denied.6

 

5

 Having taken judicial notice of a roadmap of Las Vegas, Nevada, we

confirm that the distance from East Tropicana Avenue on US-95 to South

Las Vegas Boulevard and East Carson Avenue is approximately 7.5 miles.

6

Juror No. 2 wrote a second letter to the trial judge following the

hearing. The letter begins, “Your Honor; Please accept this letter as an

apology. I was given the privilege to serve as a Juror and I failed.” Juror

No. 2 went on to apologize to God, his fellow Jurors, the Las Vegas

Metropolitan Police Department, and the “Citizens of this Great State

Nevada.” He explained that his verdict was “untrue to [his] conscience,”

because he “let fear of reprisal enter into [his] mind and heart.” As a

result, Juror No. 2 expressed his desire “to nullify [his] verdict.” Juror No.

2 conceded that his request “may not be taken legally,” because he was

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12 TARANGO V. MCDANIEL

Weeks later, at a televised proceeding on February 8,

2006, the trial court denied Tarango’s motion to reconsider on

the basis of jury misconduct and entered judgment against

him. The trial court sentenced Tarango to a 22–58 year term

of imprisonment. Tarango promptly appealed the denial.

In September 2007, the Nevada Supreme Court affirmed

the state trial court’s denial of Tarango’s motion for a new

trial. Tarango v. State, No. 46680 (Nev. Sept. 25, 2007). The

Nevada Supreme Court stated the relevant test as follows: 

“For a defendant to prevail on a motion for a new trial based

on misconduct, the defendant must present admissible

evidence sufficient to establish (1) the occurrence of

misconduct, and (2) a showing that the misconduct was

prejudicial.”7Id., slip op. at 2 (citing Meyer, 80 P.3d at 455).

The Nevada Supreme Court first concluded that Juror No.

2’s letters to the trial court were properly deemed

inadmissible to prove that Juror No. 2 had voted guilty in

violation of the jury instructions or contrary to his oath as a

juror, reasoning that “for misconduct to be proved it ‘must be

based on objective facts and not the state of mind or

deliberative process of the jury.’” Id., slip op. at 6 (quoting

Meyer, 80 P.3d at 454). Absent Juror No. 2’s letters, the

Nevada Supreme Court concluded that the “testimony of

ignorant of legal procedures, but that he “personally nullif[ies] [his]

verdict to all those that will forgive me.”

7 The Nevada Supreme Court did not cite any United States Supreme

Court authority in rendering its decision, but this is immaterial provided

the state law is not inconsistent with clearly established federal law. See

Early v. Packer, 537 U.S. 3, 8 (2002). Rather, as did the trial court, the

Nevada Supreme Court relied almost entirely on its 2003 decision in

Meyer.

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TARANGO V. MCDANIEL 13

[Defense Attorney Saggese, Detective Vacarro, and Deputy

D.A. DiGiacomo] was insufficient to show by objective facts

that [Juror No. 2] committed misconduct.” Id. The Nevada

Supreme Court held that Tarango had thus failed to show by

admissible evidence that Juror No. 2 had committed

misconduct. Id.

The Nevada Supreme Court further held that there was no

evidence of an improper external influence on Juror No. 2.

Although the Nevada Supreme Court assumed “arguendo that

[Juror No. 2] was followed by a marked police car,” and

observed that “anyunauthorized communication between law

enforcement and a juror about a matter pending before a jury

may be ‘presumptively prejudicial,’” the court concluded that

“[Juror No. 2] failed to show by objective facts that there was

an improper external communication between him and the

police.” Id., slip op. at 6–7. The Nevada Supreme Court

explained that “it is not clear whether being followed by a

marked car qualifies as a communication at all. It is even

more dubious as to whether such a ‘communication’ was

about a matter pending before the jury.” Id., slip op. at 7. In

other words, having found that no “communication” had

occurred, the Nevada Supreme Court determined that the

alleged influence of the non-communicative contact was “too

speculative” to sustain Tarango’s motion for a new trial and

did not reach the second prong of the misconduct

inquiry—whether the contact was prejudicial. Id.

Following state habeas proceedings, Tarango timely filed

his federal habeas petition on March 15, 2010. The federal

district court for the District of Nevada was “tempted to say

that the fact Juror 2 rendered his verdict based not upon the

law and evidence, but because of his perception of a threat, is

dispositive.” However, without citing authority, the district

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14 TARANGO V. MCDANIEL

court concluded that “Supreme Court case law is clear that

objective proof of external contact is required.” It further

concluded that the state court did not err in concluding that no

external contact had occurred, although the court found that

determination “debatable.” The district court therefore

dismissed Tarango’s petition in September 2013, upholding

as reasonable the state court’s determination that Tarango had

failed to show any improper external contact. 

On October 16, 2013, the district court granted Tarango

a Certificate of Appealability as to Ground One of his

amended petition, and Tarango filed a Notice of Appeal the

same day. Ground One reads as follows:

Tarango was convicted because one of the

jurors believed that the State was trying to

intimidate him, and not because he believed

Tarango was guilty. As such, Tarango is

incarcerated in violation of his right to a Fair

Trial, an Impartial Jury, and Due Process

under the 6th and 14th Amendments of the

United States Constitution.

Tarango raises only the certified issue in his appeal before us.

DISCUSSION

I.

We review de novo a district court’s denial of a habeas

corpus petition. Hurles v. Ryan, 752 F.3d 768, 777 (9th Cir.

2014). But where, as here, a state court has adjudicated a

claim on the merits, the Antiterrorism and Effective Death

Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA) compels us to accord

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TARANGO V. MCDANIEL 15

significant deference to the underlying state court decision. 

See 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1)–(2). This court may grant relief

only when the state court’s adjudication of that claim either

(1) “resulted in a decision that was contrary to, or involved an

unreasonable application of, clearly established federal law,

as determined by the Supreme Court of the United States,” or

(2) was “based on an unreasonable determination of the facts

in light of the evidence presented at the State Court

proceeding.” Id. 

Where a state court fails to apply the clearly established

federal law, applying an incorrect standard in reaching its

decision, “the state court’s adjudication [is] contrary to

clearly established law.” Lafler v. Cooper, 132 S. Ct. 1376,

1390 (2012) (holding that state court adjudication was

contrary to clearly established federal law because it failed to

apply Strickland to an ineffective-assistance-of-counsel

claim). And in that circumstance, federal habeas courts “can

determine the principles necessary to grant relief.” Id. (citing

Panetti v. Quarterman, 551 U.S. 930, 948 (2007)). In other

words, a state court’s failure to apply the proper standard

under clearly established federal law “allows federal-court

review . . . without deference to the state court’s decision”

and “unencumbered by the deference AEDPA normally

requires.” Panetti, 551 U.S. at 948; see also Castellanos v.

Small, 766 F.3d 1137, 1146 (9th Cir. 2014) (“If the state court

applies a legal standard that contradicts clearly established

federal law, we review de novo the applicant’s claims,

applying the correct legal standard to determine whether the

applicant is entitled to relief.” (citing Cooperwood v.

Cambra, 245 F.3d 1042, 1047 (9th Cir. 2001))).

In conducting this review, we look to the “last reasoned

decision” by a state court addressing the issue at hand. Miles

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16 TARANGO V. MCDANIEL

v. Ryan, 713 F.3d 477, 486 (9th Cir. 2012) (citing Robinson

v. Ignacio, 360 F.3d 1044, 1055 (9th Cir. 2004)). In this case,

we look to the Nevada Supreme Court’s September 2007

decision affirming the state trial court’s judgment on direct

appeal. 

II.

The Nevada Supreme Court, after assuming that Juror No.

2 was followed by a police car, decided that such contact did

not implicate Tarango’s right to due process because it did

not amount to a “communication,” much less a

communication “about a matter pending before the jury.”

The court declined to consider whether the police tail could

have prejudiced the verdict. We hold that the Nevada

Supreme Court violated clearly established Supreme Court

case law, first by limiting its inquiry to whether the contact

amounted to a “communication . . . about a matter pending

before the jury” and, second, by failing to examine the

potential impact of the non-communicative contact on Juror

No. 2’s verdict. 

A.

In criminal trials, well-entrenched Supreme Court

authority “absolutely” forbids “external causes tending to

disturb the [jury’s] exercise of deliberate and unbiased

judgment . . . at least until their harmlessness is made to

appear.” Mattox v. United States, 146 U.S. 140, 149–50

(1892). We have held that Mattox established a bright-line

rule: any external contact with a juror is subject to a

presumption that the contact prejudiced the jury’s verdict, but

the government may overcome that presumption by showing

that the contact was harmless. Caliendo v. Warden of Cal.

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TARANGO V. MCDANIEL 17

Men’s Colony, 365 F.3d 691, 696 (9th Cir. 2004) (citing

United States v. Armstrong, 654 F.2d 1328, 1331–33 (9th Cir.

1981)). 

Clearly established federal law provides that any

unauthorized “private communication, contact, or tampering

directly or indirectly, with a juror during a trial about the

matter pending before the jury is, for obvious reasons,

deemed presumptivelyprejudicial.” Remmer v. United States,

347 U.S. 227, 229 (1954) (emphasis added). However,

clearly established federal law also compels a criminal trial

court to consider the prejudicial effect of any external contact

that has a “tendency” to influence the verdict, irrespective of

whether it is about the matter pending before the jury. 

Mattox, 146 U.S. at 150–51. Moreover, an external contact

need not amount to a “communication” to trigger some

judicial inquiry into possible prejudice. See Smith v. Phillips,

455 U.S. 209, 212–15 (1982) (requiring judicial inquiry into

possible prejudice arising from a juror’s job application in the

office of the prosecutor trying the case); Mattox, 146 U.S. at

150 (recognizing the prejudicial potential of “the reading of

newspapers”). 

B.

The Supreme Court has not established a bright-line test

for determining what constitutes a possibly prejudicial

“external” influence on a jury. The Court has devoted more

recent attention to clarifying what “falls on the ‘internal’ side

of the line.” Warger v. Shauers, 135 S. Ct. 521, 529 (2014)

(holding that a juror’s dishonesty during voir dire is internal

to the deliberative process and not admissible to impeach a

verdict); see also Tanner v. United States, 483 U.S. 107,

118–25 (1987) (holding that jurors’ consumption of drugs and

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18 TARANGO V. MCDANIEL

alcohol during trial is internal to the deliberative process and

not admissible to impeach a verdict). It is clearly established

that a juror’s physical or mental incapacity, substance abuse,

and dishonesty during voir dire all amount to internal—not

external—influences on a jury’s verdict. Tanner, 483 U.S. at

118–25; Warger, 135 S. Ct. at 529. On the other end of the

spectrum, the Court long ago explained that an “extraneous

influence” would include “something which did not

essentially inhere in the verdict,—an overt act, open to the

knowledge of all the jury, and not alone within the personal

consciousness of one.” Mattox, 146 U.S. at 149 (quoting

Perry v. Bailey, 12 Kan. 539, 545 (1874)).

In more recent decisions interpreting the Mattox rule, the

Court has clarified that an external contact need not be

intentional, Gold v. United States, 352 U.S. 985 (1957)

(granting a new trial where the FBI approached jurors about

a different but related case, even though “the intrusion was

unintentional”), nor verbal, Smith, 455 U.S. at 212–15, 221;

see also Mattox, 146 U.S. at 150 (noting that the presence of

an officer in the jury room during the deliberations would be

“fatal to the verdict”). Rather, an impermissible external

influence can arise where, for example, a juror is shown to

have a relationship with the office of the prosecutor trying the

case. Smith, 455 U.S. at 212. In addition, an external contact

need only have influenced one juror, because a defendant is

“entitled to be tried by 12 . . . impartial and unprejudiced

jurors.” Parker v. Gladden, 385 U.S. 363, 366 (1966). 

The Supreme Court has identified an “extraneous

influence” requiring judicial inquiry into prejudice in cases

where the jury heard and read information about the

defendant’s propensity for murder, which was not admitted

into evidence, Mattox, 146 U.S. at 150–51; where members

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of a jury overheard the bailiff make disparaging comments

about the defendant, Parker, 385 U.S. at 363–65; where a

juror was contacted by an FBI agent after being offered a

bribe to acquit the defendant, Remmer, 347 U.S. at 228–30;

and where a juror had submitted an application for

employment at the office of the prosecutor trying the case,

Smith, 455 U.S. at 212, 216–17. 

C.

Mattox requires a trial court to examine possible prejudice

when it is confronted with evidence of an external contact

that has a “tendency” to be “injurious to the defendant.” 

Mattox, 146 U.S. at 150. Thus, an external contact with a

juror need only raise a risk of influencing the verdict to be

deemed possibly prejudicial. Mattox and its progeny further

establish that undue contact with a juror by a government

officer almost categorically risks influencing the verdict.

Indeed, Mattox observed that the mere presence of a court

officer or bailiff during the jury’s deliberations would

“absolutely vitiate the verdict . . . without regard to whether

any improper influences were actually exerted over the jury

or not.” Mattox, 146 U.S. at 150 (emphasis added); see also

Smith, 455 U.S. at 221 (holding that a juror’s pending job

application with the prosecutor’s office required a post-trial

hearing on juror bias); Parker, 385 U.S. at 365 (“[T]he

official character of the bailiff—as an officer of the court as

well as the State—beyond question carries great weight with

a jury . . . .”); Remmer, 347 U.S. at 229 (“The sending of an

FBI agent in the midst of a trial to investigate a juror as to his

conduct is bound to impress the juror and is very apt to do so

unduly.”).

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20 TARANGO V. MCDANIEL

To be sure, “it is virtually impossible to shield jurors from

every contact or influence that might theoretically affect their

vote.” Smith, 455 U.S. at 217. “[D]ue process does not

require a new trial every time a juror has been placed in a

compromising situation.” Id. Mindful of this reality, and

given the need to preserve the finality of a jury’s verdict,

courts universally prohibit jurors from impeaching their own

verdicts through evidence of their internal deliberative

process. See, e.g., Tanner, 483 U.S. at 117–20. However,

regardless of the forms of evidence admissible to demonstrate

that a contact occurred, see United States v. Rutherford, 371

F.3d 634, 644–45 (9th Cir. 2004), the Supreme Court has

unequivocally and repeatedly held that due process requires

a trial judge to endeavor to “determine the effect” of

occurrences tending to prejudice the jury when they happen.8

Smith, 455 U.S. at 217; see also Parker, 385 U.S. at 365;

Remmer, 347 U.S. at 229–30; Mattox, 146 U.S. at 150–51. 

D.

Once a defendant shows an external occurrence having a

tendency toward prejudice, federal law clearly requires a trial

court to investigate the harmlessness or actual prejudice of

the occurrence. Mattox, 146 U.S. at 150; Smith, 455 U.S. at

215 (“This Court has long held that the remedy for allegations

of juror partiality is a hearing in which the defendant has the

opportunity to prove actual bias.”). The Mattox Court

categorically mandated that “possibly prejudicial” external

contacts “invalidate the verdict, at least unless their

8

In Smith, for example, the Court held that the district court properly

conducted a hearing that explored the “effect” of a juror’s relationship

with the prosecutor’s office before concluding that the defendant was not

prejudiced by that relationship. 455 U.S. at 217–18.

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harmlessness is made to appear.” Mattox, 146 U.S. at 150.

This is required even if, as noted above, the contact did not

constitute a communication nor concern a matter pending

before the jury. See Smith, 455 U.S. at 215; Mattox, 146 U.S.

at 150. Supreme Court case law also requires this procedure

irrespective of whether or not the court knows “what actually

transpired” and when, as the dissent highlights, the influence

of that contact is speculative or uncertain.9 Remmer, 347 U.S.

at 229; see also id. at 229–30 (mandating an evidentiary

hearing where “information . . . [about an external contact]

was received” by a trial court (emphasis added)). The

Supreme Court has further held that prejudice is more

probable where the record reflects that a jury could not agree

as to the defendant’s guilt. Parker, 385 U.S. at 365 (citing as

evidence of prejudice the fact that “the jurors deliberated for

26 hours, indicating a difference among them as to the guilt

of petitioner”).

9 The dissent incorrectly characterizes our holding as requiring an

inquiry into prejudice even where the alleged contact or communication

is unsubstantiated. Dissent at 40. To be clear, we agree that if the trial

court had discredited Juror No. 2’s testimony and found that no pursuit

occurred, then neither the trial court nor the Nevada Supreme Court would

have had any cause to examine prejudice. See Caliendo, 365 F.3d at 698

n.4. But this is not the record before us. The trial court did not discredit

the juror’s testimony. The trial court characterized the “content” of the

police tail as “ambiguous,” “vague,” and “nonspecific,” but the court did

not find that no police tail had occurred. Absent any clear finding with

respect to the alleged police tail, the Nevada Supreme Court prudently

assumed that the juror had been followed. Based on that assumption, in

order to determine whether jury tampering occurred, Supreme Court case

law requires the court to consider the prejudice or influence of that

contact. Contrary to clearly established Supreme Court case law, the

Nevada Supreme Court failed to conduct this inquiry.

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III.

In sum, the governing Supreme Court case law can be

distilled as follows: Where a court receives information,

Remmer, 347 U.S. at 229–30, about an unauthorized external

contact between a juror and a government agent, whose

official position “beyond question carries great weight with

a jury,” Parker, 385 U.S. at 365, that contact has a “tendency

to . . . influence” the verdict, and the trial court must presume

the external contact prejudiced the defendant unless the

government provides contrary evidence. Mattox, 146 U.S. at

150. This is true whether or not the contact was intentional,

Gold, 352 U.S. at 985, whether or not the contact involved a

verbal communication, Smith, 455 U.S. at 212; Mattox, 146

U.S. at 150, and whether or not the trial court or defendant

“know[s] . . . what actually transpired,” Remmer, 347 U.S. at

229.10 Once a potentially prejudicial contact is alleged, the

courtshould “determine the circumstances, the impact thereof

upon the juror, and whether or not it was prejudicial, in a

hearing with all interested parties permitted to participate.” 

Id. at 230. 

In this case, the Nevada Supreme Court assumed a

contact—albeit not a “communication”—occurred. Our case

law compels our conclusion that the contact in question had

enough of a tendency to influence the jury’s verdict so as to

10 The dissent suggests that Mattox “expressly” requires “proof that jury

tampering actually occurred,” Dissent at 40, but this argument misses the

point. The Nevada Supreme Court presumed an unauthorized external

contact with a juror had occurred. As Mattox and its progeny explain, a

court must examine the prejudice of such a contact as part of its

determination as to whether the contact amounted to jury tampering. 

Here, the Nevada Supreme Court contravened clearly established federal

law by not evaluating whether the external contact was prejudicial.

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necessitate judicial inquiry into prejudice. It was thus error

for the Nevada Supreme Court not to conduct a prejudice

analysis merely because Juror No. 2’s police tail did not

amount to a “communication . . . about a matter pending

before the jury.”

A.

Assuming the truth of Juror No. 2’s testimony that he had

been followed closely for seven miles on the second day of

deliberations,11

the Nevada Supreme Court concluded that

this conduct does not constitute a “communication.” On this

basis, the Nevada Supreme Court then concluded that any

influence was “too speculative” to warrant examination of

prejudice. Thus, the Nevada Supreme Court declined to

consider whether the conduct in fact influenced the verdict. 

As set forth above, this decision contravenes the standard

clearly established by Supreme Court case law, under which

a defendant need not prove a “communication . . . about a

matter pending before the jury,” or even a “communication”

about an unrelated issue. See Smith 455 U.S. at 212–15. Only

a threshold showing of any “contact,” Remmer, 347 U.S. at

229, with a “tendency to adverse influence” is required to

prompt the court to investigate whether that contact was, in

fact, prejudicial. Mattox, 146 U.S. at 150. 

11 The trial court specifically found that Juror No. 2 “testified he was

followed closely, tightly, however you want to state it from Tropicana on

US-95 to Las Vegas Boulevard and Carson.” The trial court did not

discredit Juror No. 2’s testimony, and appears to have accepted the

allegation as true, at least for the sake of its decision denying Tarango’s

motion to dismiss. In any event, our review is limited to the Nevada

Supreme Court’s decision, see Miles, 713 F.3d at 486, which assumed that

Juror No. 2 was in fact followed.

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In light of this, we have little trouble concluding that the

contact that the Nevada Supreme Court assumed occurred had

enough potential for prejudice to cross Mattox’s low

threshold. Las Vegas police officers were deeply entangled

in this case as victims, witnesses, investigators, and trial

spectators. Juror No. 2 testified that he had been closely

followed by a marked police car for over seven miles. See

Parker, 385 U.S. at 365 (observing that government agents

“carr[y] great weight with a jury”). Juror No. 2’s testimony

indicates that the tail was maintained at a distance so close

that Juror No. 2 could not see the police vehicle’s front

wheels or bumper—if true, this conduct could have

reasonably been understood as an attempt to intimidate. 

Moreover, Juror No. 2 was a known hold-out before the

contact occurred. The Supreme Court has clearly established

that the likelihood of possible prejudice increases where, as

here, the jury was previously deadlocked. See id. 

B.

Thus, because the state court assumed that the contact did

in fact occur and clearly established case law demonstrates

that the contact had a tendency to affect the verdict, the court

should have, at a minimum, investigated the prejudice or

harmlessness of the contact even if at the time the court was

unaware what exactly transpired or whether the impact was

harmful. See Remmer, 347 U.S. at 229. The Nevada

Supreme Court erred when it failed to do so.

Certainly, there may be circumstances in which a trial

court finds a juror’s allegations of an external contact are

unsupported by sufficient evidence, or in which the

allegations are so implausible or incredible that they may be

reasonably disregarded. There may also be cases in which an

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TARANGO V. MCDANIEL 25

alleged external contact suggests paranoia or some underlying

mental incompetence on the juror’s part. See Tanner, 483

U.S. at 118–19. Under those circumstances, a court will not

run afoul of the Constitution by refusing to consider whether

the alleged contact affected the verdict. But this is not the

case on the record before us. 

Here, Juror No. 2’s testimony was not discredited. To the

contrary, crediting Juror No. 2’s testimony about a plausible

external contact with a juror reluctant to convict, the Nevada

Supreme Court declined to consider whether Juror No. 2 may

have been prejudiced by the police tail.12 This contravened

clearly established federal law.13

See Remmer, 347 U.S. at

229–30; Mattox, 146 U.S. at 150; Smith, 455 U.S. at 215.

12 The dissent suggests that the cited Supreme Court cases are

insufficiently specific to support our holding. See Dissent at 40. To the

contrary, Mattox and its progeny set forth a standard that “clearly

extend[s]” to the case before us. See Wright v. Van Patten, 552 U.S. 120,

123 (2008). Where, as here, contact between a hold-out juror and a

government official is shown, a court must investigate possible prejudice. 

The Nevada Supreme Court’s failure to reach the prejudice inquiry was

contrary to clearly established federal law.

13 Meyer, which the Nevada Supreme Court relied upon, appears to

require the same of Nevada courts. Although Meyer rejects “the position

that any extrinsic influence is automatically prejudicial,” it does not limit

the occasions in which a court must consider the possibility of prejudice. 

See 80 P.3d at 455. Rather, because prejudice is not presumed for less

egregious contacts, “the extrinsic information must be analyzed in the

context of the trial as a whole to determine if there is a reasonable

probability that the information affected the verdict.” Id. at 455–56. 

Meyer does not, however, wholly foreclose a prejudice inquiry in the face

of credible allegations of juror misconduct. Id.

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IV.

Because the Nevada Supreme Court failed to consider the

prejudicial impact of the contact, in violation of the law

clearly established in Mattox, we may evaluate Tarango’s

claim “without deference to the state court’s decision” and

“unencumbered by the deference AEDPA normally

requires.”

14 Panetti, 551 U.S. at 948; see also Castellanos,

766 F.3d at 1146. Reviewing de novo, we hold that the

Nevada trial court improperly restricted the scope of the

evidentiary hearing, effectively preventing Tarango from

proving prejudice. 

Under our precedent, where an external contact with the

jury is shown, a trial court should determine whether the

contact “raises a risk of influencing the verdict.” Caliendo,

365 F.3d at 697. Under such circumstances, prejudice is

presumed and the government bears the burden of rebutting

the presumption of prejudice. Id. To be sure, “certain chance

contacts between witnesses and jurymembers—while passing

in the hall or crowded together in an elevator—may be

inevitable.” Id. at 696 (internal quotation marks and citation

omitted). Therefore, if the contact involves a “prosaic” or

“more common and less pernicious extraneous influence”

14 The dissent cites a number of Ninth Circuit AEDPA cases that were

reversed by the Supreme Court, and in which the Supreme Court

“chastised us” for ignoring AEDPA’s demanding standard. See Dissent

at 33. These cases have no bearing on the issue presented in this appeal.

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than jury tampering, the court should determine whether the

jury was “substantially swayed” by the contact.15 United

States v. Henley, 238 F.3d 1111, 1115–16 (9th Cir. 2001). 

Under this circumstance, the defendant bears the burden of

offering sufficient evidence to trigger a presumption of

prejudice. See Caliendo, 365 F.3d at 696–97 (collecting

authorities).

Although the anti-impeachment rule, codified as Federal

Rule of Evidence 606(b)(1), prohibits juror testimony

regarding “any juror’s mental processes concerning the

verdict,” an exception to the rule permits juror testimony

about whether “an outside influence was improperly brought

to bear on any juror.” Fed. R. Evid. 606(b)(2)(B). This court

has accordingly deemed admissible limited juror testimony to

determine “the impact [of an outside influence] upon the

juror, and whether or not [the outside influence] was

prejudicial.” Remmer, 347 U.S. at 230; see also Rutherford,

371 F.3d at 643–45 (considering juror affidavits including

claims that the jury felt intimidated by police officers’

glares); Caliendo, 365 F.3d at 699 (considering a juror’s

testimony that the jury’s external communication with a

police officer left them with a favorable opinion of the

officer). 

Unlike Nevada law, our precedent instructs that a court

should not limit juror testimony to “the existence of [an

external contact].” Rutherford, 371 F.3d at 644 (quoting the

district court in that case). Rather, a court “should [also]

consider the ‘effect of extraneous information or improper

 

15 The Nevada Supreme Court has identified a similar dichotomy in its

own construction of Supreme Court case law prohibiting external

influences on criminal juries. Meyer, 80 P.3d at 455–56.

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contacts on a juror’s state of mind,’ a juror’s ‘general fear and

anxiety following’ such an incident, and any other thoughts

a juror might have about the contacts or conduct at issue.” Id.

(quoting United States v. Elias, 269 F.3d 1003, 1020 (9th Cir.

2001)). To that end, consistent with the anti-impeachment

rule, this court permits the introduction of limited evidence of

a juror’s state of mind to prove juror misconduct. A court

may not, consistent with the anti-impeachment rule, admit

testimony “regarding the affected juror’s mental processes in

reaching the verdict.” Id. (internal quotation marks omitted)

(quoting Elias, 269 F.3d at 1020). However, “a juror’s

testimony concerning his fear that individuals would retaliate

against him if he voted to acquit (or convict) would be

admissible, although his statement that he actually cast his

vote one way or the other because of that fear would not.” Id.

Consistent with the principles announced in Rutherford,

the district court should admit Juror No. 2’s statements about

how the police tail impacted him, although not how it

impacted his deliberations and verdict. Therefore, Juror No.

2’s statement that he found the police tail “unnerving” is

admissible, as are his statements that he “concluded Metro

somehow knew who [he] was.” By contrast, Juror No. 2’s

statements that he “relinquished his vote under duress,” and

“still [has] doubt as an X-Juror” are not admissible.

V.

Because the scope of the evidentiary hearing was

narrowly circumscribed in the state trial court, the record

before us is insufficient to determine whether the police tail

influenced the verdict and prejudiced Tarango. We

accordingly remand for the district court to hold an

evidentiary hearing and apply the proper standard to

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TARANGO V. MCDANIEL 29

determine whether the Nevada courts violated Tarango’s due

process right to a fair and impartial jury by failing to

adequately consider allegations of a prejudicial external

influence on the jury. Following this court’s precedent, the

district court should permit Tarango to offer limited evidence

to show prejudice, see Caliendo, 365 F.3d at 696–97; Henley,

238 F.3d at 1115–16, including evidence of Juror No. 2’s

“general fear and anxiety” following the police tail, see

Rutherford, 371 F.3d at 644. 

VACATED AND REMANDED.

RAWLINSON, Circuit Judge, dissenting:

I agree with the majority that if a member of the Las

Vegas Metropolitan Police Department purposefully tailgated a holdout juror on the freeway for over seven miles,

because the juror was a holdout, such conduct might

constitute external jury contact requiring further inquiry from

the court. However, the Nevada Supreme Court determined

that the juror’s assumption that the police officer targeted him

as the holdout juror was speculative and unsubstantiated.1 As

1 The majority mischaracterizes my description of the state courts’

factual determination. See Majority Opinion, p. 21 n.9. The state court

did not discredit, and I did not describe the state courts’ finding as

discrediting, Juror No. 2’s statement that he “thought he was followed by

a police car.” Nevada Supreme Court Order, p. 2. What the state courts

did discredit, and what I did describe the state courts as finding, was a lack

of substantiation that the police car was following Juror No. 2 on the

freeway because he was a holdout juror. There was insufficient evidence

in the state courts’ view that a tail-gating police officer in rush-hour

morning traffic constituted an improper external influence. Rather than

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recognized by the majority, the Nevada Supreme Court

expressly found that “there was no evidence of an improper

external influence on Juror No. 2. . . .” Majority Opinion,

p. 13. We are bound by that factual determination absent a

showing of unreasonableness. See 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(2).

Appellant Manuel Tarango moved for a new trial in the

state court on the basis of an “outside influence on the jury

process.” Nevada Supreme Court Order, p. 1. According to

the Nevada Supreme Court, the holdout juror conveyed that

“he thought he had been followed by a police car.” Id., p. 2.

(emphasis added). Because he felt intimidated, the juror

changed his vote to guilty from not guilty. 

The Nevada Supreme Court also noted that a recent

newspaper article attributed the juror’s change of heart to the

fact that “the other jurors were able to convince the holdout

to convict. . . .” Id., p. 4. After discussing the juror’s email

to the trial judge and the juror’s follow-up letter, the Nevada

Supreme Court concluded that the trial court properly

excluded from consideration the juror’s emails to the trial

judge and defense counsel under N.R.S. 50.065(2) and the

Nevada case of Meyer v. State, 80 P.3d 447 (Nev. 2003).

focusing on whether Tarango submitted evidence of an external influence,

see, e.g., Mattox v. United States, 146 U.S. 140, 141–44 (inflammatory

newspaper article read to the jury); Remmer v. United States (Remmer I),

347 U.S. 227, 228 (1954) (juror told he could profit from favorable

verdict), the majority concludes that the existence of police tail-gating

during rush hour traffic, and nothing more, compelled the state court to

conduct a prejudice inquiry.

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Nevada Revised Statute 50.065(2) provides:

Upon an inquiry into the validity of a

verdict or indictment:

(a) A juror shall not testify concerning the

effect of anything upon the juror’s or any

other juror’s mind or emotions as influencing

the juror to assent to or dissent from the

verdict or indictment or concerning the juror’s

mental processes in connection therewith.

(b) The affidavit or evidence of any

statement by a juror indicating an effect of

this kind is inadmissible for any purpose.

In Meyer, the Nevada Supreme Court interpreted N.R.S.

50.065. Initially, the court referenced Federal Rule of

Evidence 606(b), which it identified as an embodiment of

“the long-standing common-law rule against admission of

jury testimony to impeach a verdict . . .” 80 P.3d at 454 &

n.20 (citations and internal quotation marks omitted). The

court also noted that N.R.S. 50.065 was “substantially the

same” as the federal rule. Id. at n.20.

Importantly, the Nevada Supreme Court made a

distinction between juror misconduct and jury tampering. See

id. at 454–55. Citing Supreme Court authority, the court

identified extraneous influence as jury tampering rather than

juror misconduct. See id. at 455 (citing Remmer I; see also

Remmer v. United States (Remmer II), 350 U.S. 377 (1956)).

Under this framework established by its precedent, the

Nevada Supreme Court ruled that, after excluding the

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inadmissible evidence of the juror’s state of mind and of the

deliberative process of the jury, there was insufficient

evidence that the juror committed misconduct. See Nevada

Supreme Court Order, p. 6.

The Nevada Supreme Court then turned to the asserted

extraneous influence of a police car following the juror on the

freeway.

2 Admittedly, the court couched its analysis in terms

of whether being followed by a police car constituted a

“communication.” Id., p. 7. Nevertheless, the court

ultimately concluded that “the alleged external influence in

the case at bar was far too speculative to sustain a motion for

a new trial.” Id. It is this conclusion that is reviewed under

the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996

(AEDPA).

In the last ten years, the United States has repeatedly

rebuked this Circuit for attempting to make an end-run

around the formidable obstacles to review that are contained

in the AEDPA. As the majority acknowledges, habeas relief

under the AEDPA is available only if the decision of the state

court decision “was contrary to, or involved an unreasonable

application of, clearly established federal law, as determined

by the Supreme Court of the United States, or . . . was based

on an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the

evidence presented at the State Court proceeding.” Majority

Opinion, p. 15 (quoting 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1)–(2)) (internal

2 The majority takes judicial notice of a roadmap of Las Vegas, Nevada

to approximate the distance involved as 7.5 miles. See Majority Opinion,

p. 11 n.5. The majority should have also taken notice that US-95 is the

only freeway that accesses downtown from east on Tropicana Boulevard,

and therefore it would not be unusual for a police officer to take that route

to police headquarters downtown.

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TARANGO V. MCDANIEL 33

quotation marks omitted). Despite our recurring

acknowledgment of this demanding standard, the Supreme

Court of the United States has constantly chastised us for

failing to take our professed acknowledgment to heart. In

Glebe v. Frost, 135 S. Ct. 429, 431 (2014), the Court

observed that we acknowledged its ruling, “but tried to get

past it.” Similarly, in Lopez v. Smith, 135 S. Ct. 1, 4 (2014),

the Court chided this Circuit for “attempt[ing] to evade [the]

barrier” established by the AEDPA.3

In Nevada v. Jackson, 133 S. Ct. 1990, 1993 (2013), the

Court reversed us for relying on a decision that was “very far

afield.” Unfortunately, the majority opinion again strays

from the narrow confines of appropriate habeas review. 

Rather than reviewing the state court’s determination that

proof of the alleged external influence was too speculative to

constitute jury tampering, the majority grants habeas relief on

the basis that the Nevada Supreme Court “improperly limited

its inquiry to whether the external contact amounted to a

communication,” contrary to Mattox v. United States, 146

U.S. 140 (1892). Majority Opinion, p. 3 (internal quotation

marks omitted). The majority then proceeds to “review de

novo the question whether the extrinsic contact could have

influenced the verdict and prejudiced Tarango.” Id. at 4.

(emphasis added). Finally, the majority remands “for an

evidentiary hearing and further fact finding.” Id.

There are three problems with the majority’s analysis. 

The first is that Mattox is “far afield” from the dispositive

3 The majority makes light of the many rebukes we have received from

the Supreme Court for ignoring the demanding standard under which we

review habeas cases. See Majority Opinion, p. 26 n.14. I doubt the

Supreme Court will be amused.

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issue in this case. Jackson, 133 S. Ct. at 1993. The second is

that the majority gives no deference to the decision of the

Nevada Supreme Court, but rather engages in impermissible

appellate factfinding. The third is that no Supreme Court

case supports the majority’s conclusion. I will address each

problem in turn.

1. Reliance on Mattox

Mattox, a case decided in 1892, is notable not only for its

age and obvious pre-dating of the AEDPA, but for its

unremarkable holding. In Mattox, the United States Supreme

Court addressed the denial of a motion for a new trial made

by a defendant who was tried in federal court. See 146 U.S.

at 141. The basis of the motion was the reading of an

inflammatory newspaper article to jurors during their

deliberations, as well as prejudicial comments made to jurors

by the bailiff. See id. at 143–44, 151.

The Supreme Court observed that the affidavits submitted

by the jurors were properly received because they refrained

from articulating “what influence, if any, the communication

of the bailiff and the reading of the newspaper had upon

them, but confined their statements to what was said by the

one [the bailiff] and read from the other [the newspaper].” Id.

at 147. The Court emphasized that the extraneous influences

were “open to the knowledge of all the jury, and not alone

within the personal consciousness of one.” Id. at 149.

The Court held that “[p]rivate communications, possibly

prejudicial, between jurors and third persons . . . or the officer

in charge, are absolutely forbidden, and invalidate the verdict,

at least unless their harmlessness is made to appear.” Id. at

150 (emphasis added). However, the Court also provided that

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TARANGO V. MCDANIEL 35

any assertion of jury tampering was “subject to rebuttal by the

prosecution; or contingent on proof indicating that a

tampering really took place.” Id. at 149–50 (citations

omitted) (emphasis added).

In Mattox, the existence of the extraneous influence was

undisputed. The Supreme Court summarized the newspaper

article as stating:

that the defendant had been tried for his life

once before; that the evidence against him

was claimed to be very strong by those who

had heard all the testimony; that the argument

for the prosecution was such that the

defendant’s friends gave up all hope of any

result but conviction; and that it was expected

that the deliberations of the jury would not

last an hour before they would return a verdict

. . . 

Id. at 150–51.

The Court described the extraneous statement from the

bailiff as informing the jury “that this was the third person

Clyde Mattox had killed . . .” Id. at 151.

Considering these facts, it is unremarkable that the

Supreme Court held that the undisputed evidence of jury

tampering warranted the grant of a new trial. However,

nothing in the holding or reasoning of Mattox supports the

majority’s disregard of the state court’s determination that

Tarango’s evidence of jury tampering was speculative. The

majority cites Mattox for the proposition that the trial court

was compelled to “consider the prejudicial effect of any

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36 TARANGO V. MCDANIEL

external contact that has a ‘tendency’ to influence the verdict.

. . .” Majority Opinion, p. 17. However, the majority’s

analysis conveniently omits the discussion in Mattox of the

undisputed evidence that established, without challenge, the

existence of the external contact. See Mattox, 146 U.S. at

150–51. The majority also elides the language in Mattox

explaining that relief is “contingent on proof indicating that

a tampering really took place.” Id. at 149–50 (citations

omitted) (emphasis added). Unlike in Mattox, the evidence

submitted by Tarango was disputed. Indeed, the prosecutor

denied providing the identity of the holdout juror to anyone

at the Police Department. Having reviewed the testimony

presented to the trial court, the Nevada Supreme Court agreed

with the trial court that the evidence of jury tampering was

speculative in the absence of evidence that the identity of the

holdout juror was provided to anyone in the Police

Department. This determination was entirely consistent with

the requirement in Mattox of proof that jury tampering

actually occurred.

It cannot be fairly said that Mattox compels consideration

of the prejudicial effect of speculative evidence of jury

tampering. Rather, as with other factual determinations, the

existence of jury tampering is a matter to be resolved by the

trial court. See Uttecht v. Brown, 551 U.S. 1, 17, 20 (2007)

(explaining that “it is the trial court’s ruling that counts” due

to its ability to perceive the demeanor of the witnesses). The

trial court conducted an evidentiary hearing, and determined

that the allegation of jury tampering was “vague” and

“ambiguous” and “nonspecific.” The Nevada Supreme

Court’s affirmance of the trial court’s determination that the

evidence of jury tampering was “speculative” was not

contrary to Mattox because the holding of Mattox is “far

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TARANGO V. MCDANIEL 37

afield” from the facts of this case. Jackson, 133 S. Ct. at

1993. 

The majority also relies on our decision in United States

v. Armstrong, 654 F.2d 1328, 1331–33 (9th Cir. 1981). 

However, that case is more helpful to the dissent than to the

majority. In that case, a juror reported that her husband had

taken two calls using obscene language and directing the

husband to “[t]ell your wife to stop hassling my brother-inlaw at court.” Id. at 1331. On direct appeal, we determined

that an outside influence must be present to raise the

presumption of prejudice. See id. at 1332. That is where the

majority’s analysis falters, because the Nevada state courts

neverfound that an external influence was exerted upon Juror

No. 2. At most, the courts assumed the juror was followed,

but did not link the asserted tail-gating to Juror No. 2’s status

as a holdout juror. Tail-gating an individual who is not

known to be a holdout juror, or a juror at all, would not have

a “tendency” to influence the jury’s verdict, and would not

prompt a prejudice inquiry. Mattox, 146 U.S. at 150–51.4

The other cases cited by the majority as clearly

established Federal law are similarly “far afield.” In Remmer

I, 347 U.S. at 228–29, unlike in this case, the allegations of

jury tampering were unchallenged by the prosecution, yet the

district court denied the motion for a new trial. On direct

appeal, the United States Supreme Court remanded the case

4 Curiously, the majority opinion implies that a newspaper article is not

a “communication.” Majority Opinion, p. 17. Nothing could be further

from the truth. See Hillard v. Arizona, 362 F.2d 908, 909 (9th Cir. 1966)

(noting that the Judge admonished jurors “to avoid out of court

communications . . . including newspaper articles).

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for a hearing on prejudice. See id. at 229–30. Not only is this

case “far afield” because it did not involve habeas review. 

See Cullen v. Pinholster, 131 S. Ct. 1388, 1410 (2011)

(clarifying that a case offers no guidance for habeas review

under the AEDPA if the court did not apply AEDPA

deference); see also Harrington v. Richter, 562 U.S. 86, 101

(2011). The allegations were also unchallenged, and the trial

court failed to conduct a hearing. See Remmer I, 347 U.S. at

228–29; see also Parker v. Gladden, 385 U.S. 363, 364–65

(1966) (allegations unrefuted).

In Smith v. Phillips, 455 U.S. 209, 215 (1982), the

Supreme Court held that “the remedy for allegations of juror

partiality is a hearing in which the defendant has the

opportunity to prove actual bias. . . .” That is precisely what

occurred in the state court. Tarango had the opportunity to

prove the allegations, and the state courts determined that his

proof was inadequate. That should be the end of the matter

under habeas review. See Premo v. Moore, 562 U.S. 115, 131

(2011).

2. Failure to defer to the Nevada Supreme Court

The United States Supreme Court has consistently and

repeatedly stressed our obligation on habeas review to defer

to the rulings and factual determinations made by the state

courts. See Uttecht, 551 U.S. at 10 (“By not according the

required deference, the Court of Appeals failed to respect the

limited role of federal habeas relief in this area prescribed by

Congress and by our cases.”); see also Jackson, 133 S. Ct. at

1994 (referencing the “substantial deference” required by

AEDPA); Cavazos v. Smith, 132 S. Ct. 2, 7 (2011)

(mentioning Supreme Court opinions “highlighting the

necessity of deference to state courts in § 2254(d) habeas

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TARANGO V. MCDANIEL 39

cases”); Pinholster, 131 S. Ct. at 1398 (describing the “highly

deferential standard for evaluating state-court rulings, which

demands that state-court decisions be given the benefit of the

doubt”) (citation omitted); Richter, 562 U.S. at 104 (reversing

this Circuit for “a lack of deference to the state court’s

determination and an improper intervention in state criminal

processes, contrary to the purpose and mandate of AEDPA

and to the now well-settled meaning and function of habeas

corpus in the federal system”).

The trial court determined that Tarango failed to

adequately establish that jury tampering occurred, due to the

speculative, vague, ambiguous and disputed nature of the

allegations that a police officer identified Juror No. 2 as the

holdout juror and tail-gated that juror for over seven miles. 

Although the trial court could have credited the juror’s

version of events over the prosecution’s rebuttal, it did not do

so. Rather than deferring to the state court’s determination,

the majority engaged in its own factfinding, stating that: 

“[W]e have little trouble concluding that the contact that the

Nevada Supreme Court assumed occurred had enough

potential for prejudice to cross Mattox’s low threshold. . . .” 

Majority Opinion, p. 24.5

The majority’s disregard ofthe state court’s determination

and substitution of its alternate conclusion strays from our

appointed role on habeas review. See Richter, 562 U.S. at

104.

5 The majority completely ignores the fact that the state court never

found that the police officer was aware of the identity of the holdout juror. 

For that reason, the state court merely assumed that there was a tail-gating,

not that there was “external contact.” The assumption of “external

contact” is made by the majority.

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3. No supporting Supreme Court authority

Under the rule expressed by the majority, a trial court

would have to conduct a prejudice analysis whenever an

allegation of jury tampering is made, even if the trial court

ultimately determines that the allegation is unsubstantiated. 

See Majority Opinion, p. 21 n.9 (discounting the trial court’s

determination that the allegation of jury tampering was

“ambiguous, vague and nonspecific”) (internal quotation

marks omitted). 

No Supreme Court precedent supports the majority’s

rationale. As previously noted, Remmer I and Mattox

involved undisputed evidence of extraneous influence. See

Remmer I, 347 U.S. at 229; see also Mattox, 146 U.S. at 151. 

Smith merely stands for the proposition that the defendant

asserting jury tampering must be afforded a hearing. See 455

U.S. 215. It is without question that Tarango was afforded a

hearing. So we are left with the majority’s premise

untethered to any controlling Supreme Court authority.

Rather, Mattox expressly points in the other direction,

requiring proof that jury tampering actually occurred. See

146 U.S. at 149–50.6

The Supreme Court has addressed the tendency of this

Circuit to reach beyond the confines of Supreme Court

precedent. In Lopez, 135 S. Ct. at 4, the Supreme Court

 

6 The majority accuses me of missing the point, see Majority Opinion,

p. 22 n.10, but it is the majority that is off-base. The state courts NEVER

“presumed an unauthorized external contact with a juror had occurred.” 

Id. The most the state courts assumed was that a police car tail-gated

Juror No. 2 during morning rush-hour traffic on the only freeway that

accesses downtown from east Tropicana Boulevard. The majority

presumes the rest.

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TARANGO V. MCDANIEL 41

scolded us for relying on “older cases that stand for nothing

more than [a] general proposition.” Here, the majority

similarlycites older cases standing for the general proposition

that a defendant is entitled to a hearing when jury tampering

is asserted, and a determination of prejudice when jury

tampering has been established. See Remmer I, 347 U.S. at

228–29; see also Smith, 455 U.S. at 215. Just as in Lopez,

“[n]one of [the Supreme Court] decisions that the [majority]

cited addresses, even remotely, the specific question

presented by this case.” 135 S. Ct. at 4 (citations omitted). 

The specific question in this case is whether the trial court is

required to conduct a prejudice inquiry when that court has

determined that the allegations of jury tampering are

“ambiguous, vague and nonspecific.” The majority has cited

no Supreme Court case addressing this specific question.

7

Consequently, the Nevada Supreme Court decision could not

have been contrary to federal law under the AEDPA. See

Knowles v. Mirzayance, 556 U.S. 111, 122 (2009) (“With no

Supreme Court precedent establishing [the standard adopted

by the panel], habeas relief cannot be granted pursuant to

§ 2254(d)(1) based on such a standard. . . .”).

7 The majority takes issue with, and in the process implicitly concedes,

my point that the Supreme Court cases relied upon by the majority “are

insufficiently specific.” Majority Opinion, p. 25 n.12. In the very next

sentence, the majority seeks to “extend” the standards set forth in “Mattox

and its progeny.” Id. However, the Supreme Court has expressly

instructed us against extending its precedent beyond its specific holdings. 

See White v. Woodall, 134 S. Ct. 1697, 1706 (2014) (“[I]f a habeas court

must extend a rationale before it can apply to the facts at hand, then by

definition the rationale was not clearly established . . .”) (citation and

internal quotation marks omitted).

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CONCLUSION

I have no quarrel with the notion that we must faithfully

adhere to the panoply of procedural protections afforded the

criminal defendant. However, on habeas review, we are

cabined by the deference owed to state court decisions and by

the requirement that relief be granted only if the decision of

the state court was contrary to established Supreme Court

authority. Mattox is not that authority in this case. 

The Supreme Court has repeatedly reminded us that the

standard for relief on habeas review “is difficult to meet . . .

because it was meant to be. . . .” Richter, 562 U.S. at 102. 

Federal habeas review “is a guard against extreme

malfunctions in the state criminal justice systems, not a

substitute for ordinary error correction through appeal. . . .” 

Id. (citation and internal quotation marks omitted) (emphasis

added). Rather than applying the “difficult” habeas standard,

at best the majority engages in “ordinary error correction.” 

Id.

Because the majority cites no applicable Supreme Court

authority to support its grant of habeas relief, because the

majority completely disregards the findings of the state

courts, and because the majority fails to adhere to the

confines of habeas review, I respectfully dissent.

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